SSC CGL Tier 2 – Pattern Practice Pack

Tier-II Pattern, Marking, Qualifying Rules and Time Plan

This chapter maps the Tier-II stage of the Staff Selection Commission’s Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026, using the Commission’s notice dated 21 May 2026. It covers what each paper tests, how marks and penalties work, which qualifying minima apply, how final merit is built and how to pace the timed sections. This book is original practice aligned to the official syllabus: no item is labelled a previous-year question, and no claim is made about which questions repeat.

KarmSakha preparation topics covered

• Tier-II paper structure: Paper-I with four sections, Paper-II and Paper-III
• Marks per question, wrong-answer penalties and sectional timers
• Qualifying minima for each section and paper, and DEST error limits
• Which papers each post family sits, after the Tier-I shortlist
• Final merit aggregates and tie-break rules by post family
• Tier-I as the shortlisting gate: format, marking and penalty
• Session timing, automatic closure and a pacing plan
• Dates the notice fixes, and dates that remain tentative or reported

Where Tier-II Fits in the 2026 Cycle

The Commission conducts the Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026 as a computer-based examination in two tiers (clause 13.1). Tier-I is an objective test of 100 questions. Tier-II is where final merit is built: the merit list rests on “overall performance of candidates in Tier-II Examination only” (clause 16.10). Candidates are shortlisted category-wise on Tier-I marks, with separate cut-offs for the Paper-II and Paper-III post groups (clause 16.3). The online application window closed on 22 June 2026. Section 2 explains which papers each candidate sits, and Section 5 shows how the final merit list is built.

The notice gives two tentative months: Tier-I in August–September 2026 and Tier-II in December 2026. Clause 13.5 says any change will be communicated only through the Commission’s website. Oliveboard’s summary repeats the December Tier-II month as tentative. Press coverage reports a different Tier-I window, 30 September to 30 October 2026, attributed to an SSC schedule notice dated 12 September 2026. That schedule notice is not the 21 May 2026 notice used in this chapter, so the window is reported, not verified, until ssc.gov.in confirms it. Confirm every date on ssc.gov.in.

The Three Tier-II Papers and Who Sits Which

Paper-I is compulsory for every post (clause 13.9.2). Paper-II is set only for candidates shortlisted in Tier-I for Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) or Statistical Investigator Grade-II. Paper-III is set only for candidates shortlisted in Tier-I for Assistant Audit Officer or Assistant Accounts Officer (AAO) (clause 13.9.3). The three papers may run in separate shifts or on separate days (clause 13.9.1). Marks from multiple shifts are normalised under the Commission’s notice of 02-06-2025 (clause 13.2); that procedure is not set out here.

Clause 13.11.8 sets the level of the questions: Part A of Section-I is at matriculation level, Part A of Section-II at 10+2 level, and Papers II and III at graduation level. Level does not change marks, penalties or qualifying minima. The notice names Paper-III “General Studies (Finance and Economics)”, with Part A, Finance and Accounts (80 marks), and Part B, Economics and Governance (120 marks), and gives no question count per part (clauses 13.11.7.1 and 13.11.7.2). Every Tier-I qualifier sits Paper-I; only the post groups named above sit Paper-II or Paper-III (clause 16.4).

Paper-I: Four Sections, Two Sessions and Automatic Closure

Paper-I has four sections (clauses 13.9.4.1 to 13.9.4.4). Section-I has Part A, Mathematical Abilities, and Part B, Reasoning and General Intelligence. Section-II has Part A, English Language and Comprehension, and Part B, General Awareness. Section-III is the Computer Knowledge Test (CKT). Section-IV is the Data Entry Speed Test (DEST), a typing task rather than a multiple-choice section (clause 13.9.7). Sections I to III are objective and set in English and Hindi, except the English part of Section-II. The four sections are summarised in the table in Section 2.

Session-I holds Sections I, II and III and lasts 2 hours 15 minutes (clause 13.9.5.1). Section-I runs for one hour and closes automatically at its end; Section-II starts at once and runs for another hour with its own automatic closure (clauses 13.9.5.2 and 13.9.5.3). The CKT follows immediately for 15 minutes, and Session-I ends when it closes (clause 13.9.5.4). A break for re-registration comes next; the notice does not say how long it lasts (clause 13.9.5.5). The notice closes each section automatically when its time ends and does not say whether unused time carries over, so plan each section on its own clock. Qualifying is separate too: every section must be qualified on its own (clause 13.9.6), so a high score in one section cannot cover a shortfall in another.

Session-II holds Section-IV alone, for 15 minutes on the same day (clauses 13.9.5.6 and 13.9.10.1). The passage is about 2,000 key depressions, and the Commission’s Regional Offices issue the detailed instructions (clause 13.9.10.2). DEST is mandatory and qualifying (clause 13.9.10.3). Clause 13.9.10.6 allows PwBD-OH candidates a DEST exemption on a certificate in the prescribed format from the Civil Surgeon of a Government Health Care Institution, declaring them permanently unfit for the typing test. The exemption is not available for posts where computer proficiency is prescribed (clause 13.9.9) or where DEST is prescribed (clause 13.9.10.4). The one exception is Tax Assistant in CBDT, a DEST post for which the exemption is available (clause 13.9.10.6). Eligible PwBD candidates who use a scribe also receive 5 minutes of additional time in DEST (clause 13.9.10.7).

Marking, Penalties and Qualifying Minima

The notice prints each section as a question count times a value per question. Section-I is 60 × 3 = 180 marks, Section-II is 70 × 3 = 210 and Section-III is 20 × 3 = 60, so each Paper-I objective question is worth 3 marks. Papers II and III are each 100 × 2 = 200, so each question is worth 2 marks. Tier-I is also 2 marks per question (200 over 100). Part-wise figures such as 90 for Section-I Part A (30 × 3) are derived, because the notice prints only section totals.

Negative marking applies only to wrong answers. Clause 13.9.8 deducts 1 mark per wrong answer in Sections I to III of Paper-I and 0.50 mark per wrong answer in Papers II and III. Clause 13.8.2 deducts 0.50 per wrong answer in Tier-I. The notice states no penalty for DEST and no deduction for unattempted questions. The ratios differ: Paper-I’s penalty is one-third of a 3-mark question, while Papers II and III and Tier-I deduct a quarter of a 2-mark question’s value.

The penalties decide when a guess is worth taking. The notice does not state the number of options, so these figures assume four. A blind guess in Section-I is worth 0.25 × 3 − 0.75 × 1 = 0 marks on average. After one elimination, a guess among three options is worth (1/3) × 3 − (2/3) × 1, about +0.33 marks. In Papers II and III and Tier-I, a blind guess among four options is worth 0.25 × 2 − 0.75 × 0.50 = +0.125 marks. These are averages over many questions, not a case for random guessing, since every guess also costs time.

Clause 16.1 sets minimum qualifying marks of 30 per cent for UR (unreserved), 25 per cent for OBC/EWS and 20 per cent for all other categories, for Tier-I, Sections I to III of Paper-I, and Papers II and III. Clause 16.2 sets maximum DEST error percentages of 20 per cent (UR), 25 per cent (OBC/EWS) and 30 per cent (all other categories). Clause 16.1 names no base for its percentages. This chapter reads them as percentages of the maximum marks of the section or paper, and every example uses that reading. Each threshold is a floor for its own section, not a rank. The notice gives no rounding rule, so 52.5 is shown unrounded.