SSC CGL syllabus, topic by topic

Divisibility, remainders, unit digits, factors and recurring decimals — the base layer every other Quant topic uses. CGL asks 1–3 direct questions per Tier 1 shift (missing-digit divisibility, remainders and unit digit are near-certain) and a few more in Tier 2.

BODMAS, identity-based fractions, surds and indices, square/cube roots and approximation. These are the fastest marks in Tier 1 — usually 1–2 questions per shift — and the same skills (identities, surd handling) power the algebra questions.

Highest common factor and lowest common multiple — a small but near-guaranteed slot in CGL. Most questions are template word problems: greatest divisor with remainders (HCF of differences), least number with given remainders (LCM + r), bells, tiles and ratio pairs.

The language of the whole arithmetic section — profit-loss, interest, discount and DI are all percentage questions in disguise. Tier 1 asks 1–2 direct questions per shift (successive change, more/less flips, election and population problems) and Tier 2 leans on it heavily.

Ratio technique with its three biggest exam containers: proportion (mean/third/fourth proportional), partnership (capital × time profit splits) and ages (present vs shifted ratios). Tier 1 reliably has 2 questions from this cluster; most are 30–45 second marks once the multiplier habit is built.

One guaranteed question in almost every Tier 1 shift: a member joining or leaving, a batsman's innings, or a weighted two-group average. The whole topic collapses to one habit — convert averages to sums (Sum = Avg × n) before touching anything.

Simple and compound interest — a near-certain slot in every shift. Tier 1 favourites: direct SI, amount at CI with clean chips, CI–SI differences and doubling chains. Tier 2 adds instalments and multi-year rate cases. Everything runs on the multiplier-chip habit.

The highest-yield arithmetic block in Tier 1. CP–SP basics, successive discounts, the marked-price chain and dishonest-dealer cases appear in nearly every shift; Tier 2 layers on trade chains and price-shift comparisons. Everything reduces to multiplier chips.

Alligation is the highest-leverage tool in arithmetic — it solves mixtures, dilutions, adulteration profits and even average-group questions in one crossing. Replacement chains and two-mixture blending complete the set. Expect one sure question per Tier 1 shift and more in Tier 2.

Rates, LCM units and the men-days chain solve nearly every question: combined work, efficiency ratios, pipes and cisterns, mid-work join/leave, alternate days, provisions and wages. One slot is near-guaranteed in Tier 1, with staged pipe problems and wage splits rising in Tier 2.

Trains, relative speed, boats & streams, average-speed traps and races — two dependable slots per Tier 1 shift and more in Tier 2. Everything hangs on D = S×T, the 5/18 conversion, and the add/subtract rule for relative speed.

Identities, $x+\frac1x$ expressions, $a^3+b^3+c^3-3abc$, surds, linear equations and simple max–min. Algebra gives 2–4 marks-rich questions in every CGL shift, and almost all of them fall to a handful of identities plus value-putting — the highest return per hour of study in advanced maths.

Lines and angles, triangles and their four centres, similarity and BPT, Pythagoras, quadrilaterals, polygons and circles. The single largest advanced-maths block in CGL (3–5 questions per shift), and nearly every question runs off a memorised angle result, a triplet, or a ratio rule.

Areas and perimeters of triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, sectors and regular polygons, plus paths, wheels and percentage-change effects. A reliable 1-3 questions per shift; the formulas are few and heavily recycled, so this converts to marks faster than almost any other advanced topic.

Volumes and surface areas of cubes, cuboids, cylinders, cones, spheres, hemispheres, prisms and pyramids, plus melting-recasting, capacities and painted-cube counts. About 1-3 questions per shift; every question reduces to one formula plus a unit conversion, so memorising the formula sheet is nearly the whole job.

Ratios, the standard-value table, the three identities, complementary angles, value-putting and max-min values. Tier 1 reliably holds 2-4 trig questions and they fall almost mechanically to the value table, one identity, or a 3-4-5 style triangle — among the cheapest marks in the paper.

Applied trigonometry: angles of elevation and depression, the 30-45-60 rules, two-angle configurations, moving observers and compound figures. Every question reduces to one right triangle and one tangent — learn the three standard-angle multipliers and the cot-difference formula and this becomes near-guaranteed marks.

Mean, median, mode and simple dispersion: raw-data medians, the mode = 3·median − 2·mean relation, grouped-data formulas, range and SD with shift-scale effects. Every question is formula-driven with small numbers — statistics is among the most scoring blocks in the Quant paper once the six formulas above are memorised.

Reading tables and charts: totals, percentage change, pie-chart angles and shares, row averages, weighted averages and successive growth. DI rewards calm reading more than calculation — every question is one fraction or one product away, and the data is given in clean, round numbers by design. Tier 2 sets often attach a 5-question block to one table, so per-table setup pays twice.

Analogy questions give you one pair (of words, numbers or letter clusters) and ask you to repeat its relationship on a second pair. CGL typically asks 3-5. The skill is naming the relationship precisely — as a one-line sentence or a shift tuple — and testing every option against it.

Classification questions list four or five similar items and ask which one does not belong. The hidden rule — a shared category, number property or letter structure — must hold for every option except one. CGL asks 2-4 per shift, drawn from number properties, letter clusters, word categories and pairs.

Series questions ask for the next or missing term of a number or letter sequence, or the term that spoils a given sequence. CGL asks 4-5 per Tier 1 shift. The universal tool is the difference ladder; the recurring families are AP, ×k±r, squares/cubes, interleaved pairs and stepped letter tracks.

Coding questions reveal how a word (or sentence) is transformed into a code and ask you to apply the same transformation to a new word. CGL asks 3-5 per shift. Rules are mechanical: letter shifts, opposites, reversal, position sums, renames. Compute the rule from the sample pair, then apply it without creativity.

Operator-substitution puzzles: signs are redefined or interchanged, equations must be balanced, and the correct equation picked from four. The arithmetic is primary-school level — marks are lost to BODMAS slips and half-applied substitutions, not to difficulty. A disciplined rewrite-then-evaluate habit makes this one of the safest scoring topics in the paper.

Figure-based puzzles — paired grids, single grids, circles — where one cell is hidden behind a numerical rule. Every rule connects the cells of a row (or segment), and the same rule is demonstrated by at least two complete instances. The winning habit is two-line verification: fit the rule on one complete row, confirm on the other, then apply. Digit-sum and digit-reversal variants reward students who switch families quickly when plain arithmetic stalls.

One of the highest-yield reasoning topics: family-tree puzzles, pointing-at-photograph statements and symbol-coded chains, all solvable by drawing a small tree with parent-to-child arrows. Marks are lost to direction reversals and assumed genders, never to difficulty. A fixed decoding habit — inside-out for pointing questions, pairwise for coded strings, top-down for statement lists — makes nearly every question here a 30-45 second correct answer.

Compass-walking puzzles: multi-leg journeys with left/right turns, questions on the shortest distance back, the direction faced, the endpoint's bearing from the start, and shadow-based facing. Everything reduces to two signed running totals plus one Pythagoras step, and most answers are 3-4-5 multiples. Shadow questions add one conversion line (morning shadow West, evening shadow East). A written trace of headings and components turns the whole topic into bookkeeping.

Rank-conversion and ordering puzzles: ranks from either end, totals from two ranks, people between two positions, queue shifts, and taller/heavier comparison chains. Two formulas (n + 1 − p and a + b − 1) plus the between-count run the entire numeric half; the comparison half is inequality chaining into one unique order. Speed comes from drawing a mini-row and from the built-in check a + b = n + 1.

Seating puzzles — linear rows and circular tables — are the highest-value reasoning block in CGL, appearing as a linked set of 3-5 questions. Mastery is mechanical: pin absolute seats (ends, middle, opposite) first, chain the fixed-distance and immediate-neighbour clues as arrows, apply negative clues last, and read the answer off the finished sketch. Circular variants hinge on one convention — facing centre, left = clockwise — and flip when people face outward.

Syllogism questions hand you 2-3 statements (All / No / Some / Some-not / Only-a-few) as true and ask which conclusions follow. The reliable method is minimal-diagram plus counter-example hunting: draw the least-committal picture, then try to break each conclusion — a conclusion follows only if no valid diagram breaks it. Modern twists (possibility conclusions, either-or complementary pairs, 'only a few') all reduce to the same discipline with one twist: possibility needs just one supporting diagram, and either-or needs the two conclusions to be exact negations.

Two question families: (1) region arithmetic — count union, intersection, only-regions, exactly-two, neither using inclusion-exclusion over labelled Venn regions; (2) relation selection — decide whether categories nest (definitional necessity), stay apart (impossibility) or intersect (possible but not forced). The arithmetic family is pure formula discipline; the relation family is two quick tests per pair. Label every region before computing and both become near-90% accuracy topics.

Arranging words as in a dictionary, alphabet-position arithmetic (EJOTY anchors, from-right = 27 − p, shifts), modified-alphabet sequences, and the dictionary rank of a word among its letter arrangements. The whole topic runs on one rule — the first differing letter decides, and a prefix comes before its extensions — plus small, careful counting on paper.

Judge what a short statement definitely supports: conclusions (forced or clearly implied by the statement alone), assumptions (what the speaker must take for granted — use the negation test) and courses of action (practical, proportionate responses). The traps are predictable: extreme words, outside facts, overgeneralisation, averages read as limits, and 'only X are eligible' misread as a guarantee.

Count triangles, squares, rectangles or straight lines in a figure. Recognise the standard shapes first (square with diagonals = 8, with midlines too = 16; apex lines (k+1)(k+2)/2; grid rectangles C(m+1,2)C(n+1,2); squares 1² + … + n²), and count anything irregular size by size so nothing is missed or counted twice.

A vertical mirror reverses left-right (character order reversed and every character flipped); water reverses top-bottom (order kept, characters upside down). Know the symmetric letters for each (AHIMOTUVWXY for mirrors, BCDEHIKOX for water), use 11:60 − time for clock mirrors, and track one asymmetric feature in figure questions.

A folded sheet is punched or cut, and you must predict the unfolded pattern. Unfold in reverse order, reflecting every hole across each fold line; count layers first (p × 2ⁿ for full folds) to eliminate options, then match positions. Diagonal folds swap the two coordinates; partial folds double only what the flap covers.

Find a small figure hidden inside a bigger one exactly as drawn — same size and orientation (rotation is not allowed). Anchor on the most distinctive stroke, usually a slant, and reject options that are flips or rotations of the true part.

Dice questions ask for opposite faces from several positions (adjacent-four, two-common-faces and same-position rules), or from an unfolded net (skip one; ends of a Z). Painted-cube questions use 8, 12(n−2), 6(n−2)² and (n−2)³.

A row of figures changes by fixed rules — an element moves round the border, an arrow rotates, a shaded quarter turns, or a count grows. Track each element separately, find its step, and pick the only option that satisfies every rule.

One 250–350-word passage with 5 questions in Tier 1; 3 passages (12–15 questions) in Tier 2. Passages come from editorials, science reporting and social issues, and every answer is traceable to a line. RC is the highest-value block in the English section — five marks for one fixed routine.

One short passage with five numbered blanks, attempted as a single set — 5 marks that reward method over memory. Most blanks are decided by the passage's tense anchor, clause logic or a fixed collocation, so a trained routine converts cloze into the most reliable scoring block in the English section.

A sentence is split into parts and one part carries a grammatical fault. Errors cluster in a short list — agreement, tense, articles, prepositions, pronouns, correlative pairs and comparison — so a fixed audit order (SVA → tense → article → preposition → pronoun → pairs → word choice) converts this into the most mechanical scoring topic in the section.

One highlighted segment per sentence must be corrected — or left alone ('No substitution required'). The same fault families recur as error-spotting (agreement, tense, comparison, prepositions, inversion), so the elimination ladder — verb form, agreement, structure, word choice, economy — resolves most items in under thirty seconds.

One sentence, one or two blanks, four options — decided almost always by a collocation, a phrasal unit, a tense anchor or a confusable pair, not by dictionary size. Every blank has a governor (a word beside it) that dictates the answer; finding that governor first is the whole technique.

One synonym and one antonym in a typical Tier 1 shift — two fast marks that reward a word bank, not guesswork. The root-word method decodes unknown words; degree and charge matching settle the rest. Below: 100 high-frequency synonyms and 60 antonyms with meanings, written for revision in daily 15-minute doses.

A phrase such as 'murder of a king' must be replaced by one word (regicide). Options are built from suffix families —cide, -phobia, -logy, -cracy, -phile — so classifying the family first kills half the options. The bank below carries 150+ exam-frequency substitutions grouped for daily revision.

One idiom per shift, four meanings, and the literal option always planted as bait. Idioms are frozen pictures — animals, body parts, colours, food — and every bank below decodes them into families so that even a half-remembered idiom yields its meaning. 130+ idioms with meanings written for daily 15-minute banking.

Two spelling items per shift, and they come from a predictable trap list: i/e flip-flops, double-letter failures, suffix endings and 90+ famous misspells. A rules layer (c-test, stress-doubling, keep-e) plus a weekly revised bank makes these near-guaranteed marks — the fastest scoring topic in Tier 1 English.

Two voice conversions per shift, built from an eight-row tense table and five named fault classes. Learn the table once — simple present to future perfect, being vs been slots, modal + be + V3, the Let-anchor for imperatives and By-whom order for questions — and both directions (active→passive, passive→active) become 25-second kills.

Two narration items per shift, all built from four moving parts: reporting verb, backshift ladder, pronoun anchors and the time/place word table. Statement, question, command, request and exclamation each have one fixed skeleton — learn the skeletons plus the exceptions (universal truths, frozen modals) and narration becomes a formula topic, both directions.

One PQRS jumble per Tier 1 shift and several paragraph jumbles in Tier 2 — all solved by the same chain method: tag each part's role (opener, pronoun continuation, contrast, conclusion), lock 2-3 mandatory pairs (noun→pronoun, a→the, cause→effect), then eliminate option strings layer by layer. Timeline markers and opener bans do most of the work.

A complete working grammar for SSC: parts of speech, tenses, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, modals, conditionals, comparison, question tags, non-finites and inversion. It is rarely asked by name, but it decides roughly 7 Tier 1 questions (error spotting, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, voice and narration) and about 10 in Tier 2.

From the Harappan cities to the Cholas: sites and finds, Vedic texts, Buddhism & Jainism, Mauryas, Guptas, Harsha and the southern dynasties. SSC asks 1–2 direct fact questions per shift — mostly pairings (site–find, council–king, book–author, dynasty–capital), so tables and mnemonics give quick marks.

From the tripartite struggle to the Third Battle of Panipat: Delhi Sultanate reforms, Vijayanagara and the Deccan sultanates, the Mughals and Sher Shah, Marathas, Sikh Gurus, Bhakti–Sufi saints, and the books and travellers of the period. SSC asks 1–2 questions per shift, nearly always a pairing (ruler–reform, battle–year, book–author, traveller–ruler), so the tables here cover most of them.

From Vasco da Gama to 1947: British expansion and the Governor-Generals, the Revolt of 1857, reform movements, early Congress, the Gandhian movements, revolutionaries, and the newspapers and books of the freedom struggle. It is the most-asked history block in SSC CGL. Expect 1–2 questions per shift, mostly event–year, reform–Governor-General and founder–organisation pairs.

Classical and folk dances, music and maestros, paintings and crafts, temple architecture, festivals and fairs, and India's UNESCO lists. SSC asks 1–2 culture questions in almost every shift. Nearly all are pairings: dance–state, artist–instrument, craft–state or festival–state. The tables below cover almost all of them.

The Constitution — its making, Preamble, Parts and Schedules, Rights, the three organs of government, amendments and constitutional bodies. CGL consistently asks 3-4 factual one-liners here, the single most predictable GA block.

India's location, physiography, passes, rivers and dams, monsoon, soils, crops, minerals and national parks. CGL asks 2-3 direct factual questions here in almost every shift — mostly 'X is located in / built on / famous for' one-liners.

Solar system, Earth's motions and time, interior and rocks, atmosphere and winds, oceans and currents, continental superlatives and boundary lines. CGL usually asks one question here — local winds, planets, straits and 'largest/longest' facts dominate.

Planning legacy, national income, RBI and monetary policy, inflation indices, the Budget, taxes and GST, flagship schemes and economic institutions. CGL asks 2-3 questions, increasingly tilted to current numbers (rates, budget, index revisions).

SI units and instruments, laws of motion, gravitation, fluids, heat, sound, light, electricity, EM waves, nuclear physics and famous inventions. CGL asks 1-2 questions — mostly units, instruments and 'which principle explains this everyday effect'.

Matter and atomic structure, the periodic table and element records, acids-bases-pH and common compound names, ores and alloys, carbon compounds, fuels, polymers, industrial processes and pollution. CGL asks 1-2 direct factual questions.

Cell and genetics, human body systems, vitamins and minerals, diseases with pathogens, vectors and vaccines, plant physiology and classification, and branches of biology with ecology. Biology is the most-asked science area in CGL GA — mostly direct one-line facts.

Books and authors, sports, awards, important days, national symbols and firsts, and organisations with their headquarters, currencies and parliaments. These are facts that do not change year to year and add up to 2–4 GA questions in almost every shift. Learn them as tables and review often.

The static layer of current affairs: how CA questions are framed, the award, sports, summit, day and index categories to track every month, and the pairing-based method to revise them — structure that never expires, whatever the news cycle.

Generations of computers, types, basic organisation (CPU, ALU, CU), pioneers and the abbreviations bank. Two to three guaranteed marks in the Tier-2 Computer Knowledge Test and the base for every other computer topic.

Memory hierarchy and units, binary/octal/decimal/hex conversions, input-output devices, ports and storage media. Number-conversion and memory-unit questions are near-guaranteed marks because they need no theory recall - only method.

System vs application vs utility software, what an OS does, Windows features, and file systems. Classification (odd-one-out) questions are the most frequent pattern here.

Word-processing features, formatting defaults, mail merge, references and the Word shortcut set. Shift analyses regularly put 2-4 CKT questions on Word - mostly shortcut keys and default settings.

Spreadsheet structure, cell references, functions, formula errors, charts and shortcuts. Excel gives the most 'compute-the-answer' questions in CKT - COUNT/IF/VLOOKP outputs are verifiable, so marks are safe.

Slides, placeholders, views, slide master, transitions vs animations and the show-control keys (F5, Esc, B/W). PowerPoint questions are short-recall - mostly extensions, views and slideshow keys.

Internet history and structure, browsers vs search engines, URL/DNS, e-mail mechanics (To/CC/BCC, SMTP/POP3/IMAP) and India's e-banking rails (UPI, NEFT, RTGS). Full forms and the browser-vs-engine trap are asked every year.

Network types and topologies, devices (hub/switch/router), the OSI model, IP addressing and TCP/UDP with port numbers. Device-to-layer matching and IP-class identification are CKT regulars.

Malware families (virus, worm, trojan, ransomware), social-engineering attacks (phishing and cousins), preventive measures, and IT Act 2000 sections with CERT-In. Statement-based malware questions appear in nearly every CKT shift.

One consolidated bank of Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, browser and function-key shortcuts. The syllabus names keyboard shortcuts explicitly, and 2-4 of the 20 CKT questions are pure shortcut recall, so these are the cheapest marks in the module.