Syllabus
SSC CGL Tier 1 Syllabus 2026
Staff Selection Commission: Combined Graduate Level
Tier 1 contains 25 questions from each of four subjects. Candidates receive 15 minutes per subject, and every wrong answer deducts 0.50 marks.
Reasoning, General Awareness and English are set at graduation level. Quantitative Aptitude is set at Class 10 level, according to the official notice.
General Intelligence and Reasoning
- • Analogies, similarities and differences
- • Space visualisation and spatial orientation
- • Problem solving, analysis, judgement and decision making
- • Visual memory, observation and relationship concepts
- • Arithmetical reasoning and figural classification
- • Number and non-verbal series
- • Coding-decoding, statement-conclusion and syllogistic reasoning
General Awareness
- • Current events and everyday observations in their scientific aspect
- • India and neighbouring countries
- • History and culture
- • Geography
- • Economic scene
- • General policy and scientific research
Quantitative Aptitude
- • Whole numbers, decimals, fractions and relationships between numbers
- • Percentage, ratio and proportion, square roots and averages
- • Interest, profit and loss, discount, partnership, mixture and alligation
- • Time and distance, time and work
- • School algebra, elementary surds and graphs of linear equations
- • Triangles, circles, quadrilaterals and regular polygons
- • Prisms, cones, cylinders, spheres, hemispheres and pyramids
- • Trigonometric ratios, identities, heights and distances
- • Histograms, frequency polygons, bar diagrams and pie charts
English Comprehension
- • Understanding correct English
- • Basic comprehension
- • Writing ability
Source: Staff Selection Commission, Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 notice, paragraphs 13.8 and 13.10. View the official notice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SSC CGL syllabus?
It runs to 4 sections: General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension. 25 named topics are listed on this page beneath them, each taken from the official syllabus rather than inferred from past papers.
How many questions are there in the SSC CGL paper, and how long is it?
The Tier 1 stage is 100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes. Wrong answers are penalised 0.5 per question. Knowing that alongside the syllabus is what turns a topic list into a plan: it tells you how many marks each section is actually worth and how many minutes you can afford per question.
How do I practise the whole SSC CGL syllabus?
Sit a full mock first, before working through the topic list. A syllabus tells you what can be asked; it does not tell you which parts of it are costing you marks, and most candidates find that is not where they expected. There are 62 free tests for SSC CGL here, and the sectional ones let you rebuild a single section once the full paper has shown you which one to rebuild.
Is this SSC CGL syllabus current?
It is taken from the official notice, cited and linked at the foot of this page, rather than from another preparation site, so you can check it against the source yourself. Syllabuses do change between cycles, usually through a corrigendum to the notification rather than a fresh document, so confirm against the current notice before planning a whole revision cycle around any topic list, including this one.