Exam Pattern
CGPSC State Service Exam Pattern
CGPSC State Service Examination 2025: Preliminary Paper II (Aptitude Test)
The CGPSC State Service exam pattern below is checked stage by stage, so one stage cannot inherit another stage's scoring rules.
Preliminary Paper II Aptitude Test
Official 2025 pattern| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 200 |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0.67 (one third of 2 marks) per wrong answer |
| Sections | Aptitude Test |
Timing: Single unrestricted 120-minute timer for the whole paper: no sectional lock.
Paper II of the CGPSC State Service preliminary examination is the aptitude paper: 100 objective questions for 200 marks in two hours, four options each, 2 marks for a correct answer and one third of that, about 0.67 marks, deducted for a wrong one. It is qualifying only. A candidate needs 33 per cent to qualify, or 23 per cent in the reserved categories, and the marks are not added to the preliminary merit used to shortlist for the Main Examination. Seven domains are examined: interpersonal skills including communication, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision making and problem solving, general mental ability, Class X basic numeracy and data interpretation, Class X Hindi, and Chhattisgarhi. The commission publishes no per-domain question quota, so none is claimed here. The language rules of the real paper are reproduced rather than smoothed over: the general questions are set in both Hindi and English, the Hindi-language questions in Hindi only, and the Chhattisgarhi-language questions in Chhattisgarhi only, none of them translated. Preliminary Paper I on General Studies is not built here, and neither are the Mains papers.
Official source · checked 12 September 2026The CGPSC State Service Preliminary Paper II Aptitude Test exam pattern is 100 questions carrying 200 marks, to be answered in 120 minutes. That works out to about 72 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. It is a single Aptitude Test paper.
CGPSC State Service Preliminary Paper II Aptitude Test marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 2 marks.
- A wrong answer deducts 0.67 (one third of 2 marks); an unattempted question scores zero.
- A guess therefore breaks even at 25.1% accuracy: above that it gains you marks on average, below it loses them. A blind guess between four options is right only 25% of the time, which is below that line, so guessing at random costs you marks: guess only when you can genuinely eliminate options.
- Worked example: attempt 80 of the 100 questions and get 60 right and 20 wrong, and you score 106.6 out of 200.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 72 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free CGPSC State Service mock test to see where your time actually goes.
CGPSC State Service exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in CGPSC State Service?
CGPSC State Service deducts 0.67 (one third of 2 marks) for a wrong answer. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in CGPSC State Service?
CGPSC State Service has 100 questions. That leaves about 72 seconds per question in CGPSC State Service.
What are the total marks in CGPSC State Service?
CGPSC State Service is out of 200 marks.
How long is the CGPSC State Service exam?
CGPSC State Service runs for 120 minutes.