Labelled mock paper

SSC CGL 2021 Previous Year Question Paper

SSC CGL 2021 question paper was never officially released. Practise our labelled 2021 mock: 20 questions with answers, built on the reported pattern.

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No official SSC CGL 2021 paper was released.Practise the labelled mock paper built from that year's reported pattern.Open mock

The SSC CGL 2021 question paper was not officially published, so this page does not host it. Instead it has a clearly labelled mock paper with original questions modelled on the reported 2021 pattern, plus a timed attempt plan and an error-log routine. The SSC CGL exam covers Quant, Reasoning, English and GA.

Explore: SSC CGL hub · Syllabus & pattern · SSC CGL 2025 · How to use PYQs

No official paper released

The conducting body did not publish the SSC CGL 2021 question paper. Practise the SSC CGL 2021 mock paper: original questions modelled on candidate reports, clearly labelled as a mock.

Why this year matters

2021 will not mirror every new question type, but it still trains selection, stamina, and the chapters that keep coming back. Speed with accuracy is the game. Tag silly misses ruthlessly; they repeat on SSC papers.

Count attempts and accuracy by section. A high raw score with a failed sectional cut-off is still a fail in the real exam.

Paper analysis

Snapshot of SSC CGL 2021

Useful English + Quant accuracy year.

2021 may feel differently paced than the newest cycle. Borrow stamina and theme lessons; do not copy obsolete section orders or marking quirks.

What this paper stresses

  • Quant silly misses at high attempt rates.
  • Shift normalisation anxiety that wrecks accuracy.
  • English error patterns that repeat every year.
  • GA current + static mix that coaching dumps mis-weight.

What to extract before you move on

  • Quant chapters producing silly misses.
  • English error rules worth a one-page sheet.
  • Attempt-rate targets per section under current negatives.
  • GA static lists that actually appeared (not the 200-page PDF).

How 2021 sits next to other years

Use 2021 only after SSC CGL 2025, SSC CGL 2024, SSC CGL 2023 are logged. Archive years are for frequency maps, not for predicting tomorrow’s cut-off.

Analyst note: The conducting body did not publish the SSC CGL 2021 paper. The mock below is original practice in the reported pattern; treat coaching “memory-based” papers as unofficial reconstructions.

SSC CGL 2021 Tier-I mock paper (modelled on candidate reports)

This is a mock paper we wrote. The official 2021 paper was never released.The conducting body has not published it. These 20 questions are original, written by previousyearquestions.app to match what candidates and exam analyses reported about the 2021 exam: section mix, topics and difficulty. Use it to practise the pattern. The questions themselves are not from the real exam.

Since it moved to computer-based tests, SSC has not published CGL question papers publicly: each candidate can see their own response sheet and the provisional key only inside their login for a few days, for personal use, and ssc.gov.in's previous-year page holds only an old generic model paper. This original 20-question mini-paper follows exam analyses of the CGL 2021 Tier-I computer-based test held from 11 to 21 April 2022.

What candidates reported about 2021

  • CGL 2021 Tier-I was held online from 11 to 21 April 2022 in three shifts a day.
  • 100 questions in 60 minutes (four sections of 25 questions, 50 marks each); +2 per correct answer, −0.50 per wrong answer.
  • Overall difficulty was reported as easy to moderate, with good attempts of roughly 73-79.
  • English had a story-based 5-question cloze test plus about two questions each of fill in the blanks, sentence improvement, error detection, rearrangement, idioms, synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution and spelling.
  • Quantitative Aptitude was rated moderate: a small DI set and about three mensuration questions, with ratio, profit and loss, time and work and geometry.
  • Reasoning covered analogy, coding-decoding, odd one out, series, missing numbers, dictionary order, seating arrangement and blood relations.
  • General Awareness had about 7-8 current affairs questions, a heavy science share (chemistry and biology), and history, polity and geography.

Suggested time: 12 minutes. Tier-I 2021 (held April 2022) was a computer-based test of 100 questions (25 per section) in 60 minutes, worth 200 marks. For this 20-question mock allow 12 minutes. Each question has four options with one correct answer; +2 for a correct answer and −0.50 for a wrong one; unattempted questions score zero.

General Intelligence and Reasoning

  1. Arrange the following words in the order in which they would appear in an English dictionary. 1. Plant 2. Planet 3. Plan 4. Plane 5. Plank

    1. 3, 2, 4, 5, 1
    2. 3, 4, 5, 2, 1
    3. 3, 4, 2, 5, 1
    4. 4, 3, 2, 5, 1
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (3, 4, 2, 5, 1)

    Plan comes first (shortest prefix), then Plane, then Planet (plane + t), then Plank (k after e), then Plant (t after k): 3, 4, 2, 5, 1.

  2. Select the number that will replace the question mark. 4, 9, 25, 49, ?, 169

    1. 81
    2. 121
    3. 100
    4. 144
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (121)

    The terms are squares of consecutive primes: 2², 3², 5², 7², 11², 13². So the missing term is 11² = 121.

  3. In a certain code language, TABLE is written as ELBAT. How will CHAIR be written in that language?

    1. RIAHC
    2. RIAHD
    3. CHIAR
    4. RAIHC
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (RIAHC)

    The word is written in reverse order: TABLE → ELBAT. So CHAIR → RIAHC.

  4. Five friends P, Q, R, S and T sit in a row facing north. R sits at the left end and T at the right end. S sits second from the left. P sits immediately to the left of Q. Who sits in the middle?

    1. Q
    2. S
    3. R
    4. P
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (P)

    Positions from the left: R = 1, S = 2, T = 5. P and Q take 3 and 4 with P immediately left of Q, so P = 3 (middle) and Q = 4.

  5. A is the brother of B. C is the mother of A. D is the father of C. How is B related to D?

    1. Grandson
    2. Grandchild
    3. Granddaughter
    4. Son
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Grandchild)

    C is the mother of both A and B, and D is C's father, so B is D's grandchild. B's gender is not given, so 'grandson' or 'granddaughter' cannot be decided.

General Awareness

  1. Which team won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final played in Dubai on 14 November 2021?

    1. New Zealand
    2. England
    3. Australia
    4. Pakistan
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Australia)

    Australia beat New Zealand by 8 wickets in the final at Dubai on 14 November 2021, winning their first T20 World Cup title; Mitchell Marsh was player of the match.

  2. What is the chemical formula of baking soda?

    1. NaHCO₃
    2. Na₂CO₃
    3. NaCl
    4. CaCO₃
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (NaHCO₃)

    Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (sodium hydrogen carbonate), NaHCO₃. Na₂CO₃ is sodium carbonate (washing soda is its decahydrate), NaCl is common salt and CaCO₃ is limestone.

  3. Which Article of the Constitution of India, called 'the very heart and soul of the Constitution' by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, gives the right to move the Supreme Court to enforce Fundamental Rights?

    1. Article 21
    2. Article 226
    3. Article 14
    4. Article 32
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (Article 32)

    Article 32 guarantees the right to constitutional remedies before the Supreme Court; Ambedkar described it as the very soul and heart of the Constitution. Article 226 is the High Courts' writ power.

  4. Who founded the Mamluk (Slave) dynasty and was the first Sultan of Delhi?

    1. Iltutmish
    2. Qutb-ud-din Aibak
    3. Balban
    4. Razia Sultan
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Qutb-ud-din Aibak)

    Qutb-ud-din Aibak was the first Sultan of Delhi and first ruler of the Mamluk dynasty; he began the Qutb Minar, which his son-in-law Iltutmish completed.

  5. Which is the longest river of peninsular India, also called 'Dakshina Ganga'?

    1. Krishna
    2. Narmada
    3. Godavari
    4. Kaveri
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Godavari)

    The Godavari (about 1,465 km) rises at Trimbakeshwar near Nashik and is the longest river of peninsular India, second in India only to the Ganga; it is called Dakshina Ganga.

Quantitative Aptitude

Data Interpretation

The table shows the number of students enrolled in five courses of a college.

CourseArtsScienceCommerceLawManagement
Students240300180120160

  1. What percentage of all enrolled students are in Science?

    1. 25%
    2. 30%
    3. 32%
    4. 28%
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (30%)

    Total = 240 + 300 + 180 + 120 + 160 = 1000. Science share = 300 ÷ 1000 × 100 = 30%.

  2. What is the ratio of students in Commerce to students in Law?

    1. 2 : 3
    2. 4 : 3
    3. 3 : 2
    4. 5 : 3
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (3 : 2)

    Commerce : Law = 180 : 120 = 3 : 2 (dividing both by 60).

  1. The diagonals of a rhombus are 16 cm and 12 cm. What is its perimeter?

    1. 40 cm
    2. 48 cm
    3. 36 cm
    4. 56 cm
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (40 cm)

    Diagonals bisect each other at right angles, so each side = √(8² + 6²) = √100 = 10 cm. Perimeter = 4 × 10 = 40 cm.

  2. A shopkeeper sells an article at a 12% profit. Had he bought it for 10% less and sold it for ₹18 more, his profit would have been 30%. What is the cost price?

    1. ₹400
    2. ₹320
    3. ₹450
    4. ₹360
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (₹360)

    Let CP = x. SP = 1.12x. New CP = 0.9x, new SP = 1.3 × 0.9x = 1.17x. So 1.17x − 1.12x = 18, i.e. 0.05x = 18, x = ₹360.

  3. If A : B = 3 : 4 and B : C = 6 : 7, what is A : B : C?

    1. 3 : 4 : 7
    2. 9 : 12 : 14
    3. 18 : 24 : 21
    4. 6 : 8 : 7
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (9 : 12 : 14)

    Make B equal: A : B = 3 : 4 = 18 : 24 and B : C = 6 : 7 = 24 : 28. So A : B : C = 18 : 24 : 28 = 9 : 12 : 14.

English Comprehension

Cloze test

Meera had saved for months to buy a bicycle. On the morning of her birthday she counted the coins (1) she had kept in an old tin box and walked to the market. The shopkeeper, (2) by her patience, gave her a small discount and a free bell.

  1. Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank (1).

    1. who
    2. which
    3. whom
    4. whose
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (which)

    The relative pronoun refers to 'the coins', a thing, and is the object of 'had kept', so 'which' is correct.

  2. Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank (2).

    1. moving
    2. move
    3. moves
    4. moved
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (moved)

    The shopkeeper was affected by her patience (passive sense), so the past participle 'moved by her patience' fits.

  1. Select the most appropriate replacement for the phrase 'since five years' in the sentence. If no change is needed, select 'No improvement'. He has been living here since five years.

    1. for five years
    2. from five years
    3. since five years ago
    4. No improvement
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (for five years)

    'Since' is used with a point in time; 'for' is used with a period of time. Five years is a period, so 'for five years' is correct.

  2. Select the most appropriate meaning of the idiom. A blessing in disguise

    1. A gift given secretly
    2. Something good that at first seemed bad
    3. A false promise
    4. An unexpected visitor
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Something good that at first seemed bad)

    'A blessing in disguise' is a misfortune that later turns out to be beneficial.

  3. Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word. Diligent

    1. Industrious
    2. Careful
    3. Lazy
    4. Sincere
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Lazy)

    Diligent means hard-working and careful; its opposite is lazy. Industrious is a synonym.

Reports this mock is modelled on

How to sit SSC CGL 2021

  1. Work through the mock paper above under exam timing. It follows the reported pattern, but the questions are our own.
  2. Sit the paper under current brochure rules (timers, negatives, NAT/MSQ norms), even if 2021’s interface looked different.
  3. When the clock ends, stop. Review should take at least as long as the attempt.
  4. Fill the error log the same day: section, topic, and miss type (concept, silly, time, or misread).
  5. Next session, repair only logged items. Then pick another year from the decade list.

Other years in this decade

FAQ

Where can I download the official SSC CGL 2021 question paper?

The conducting body did not release it publicly. This page has a clearly labelled mock paper modelled on candidate reports instead.

What does the SSC CGL 2021 paper analysis include?

A year snapshot, what the paper stresses, what to extract into your error log, and how 2021 compares with neighbouring years on this hub.

How should I practise the SSC CGL 2021 previous year paper?

Open the official PDF, sit it timed under current brochure rules, fill an error log the same day, read the paper analysis, then move to another year in the decade list.

Is SSC CGL 2021 still useful if I finished newer papers?

Yes, for theme and weightage mining after your newest papers are logged. Skip deleted syllabus pockets.

Are memory-based SSC CGL 2021 papers reliable?

Treat memory-based sets as interim. Reconcile contested items with official keys or response sheets when the conducting body publishes them.

Where is the SSC CGL syllabus and pattern for this paper?

See the SSC CGL syllabus & pattern page on this hub, and always re-check the latest official brochure before exam day.