Labelled mock paper

SSC CGL 2023 Previous Year Question Paper

SSC CGL 2023 question paper was never officially released. Practise our labelled 2023 mock: 20 questions with answers, built on the reported pattern.

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No official SSC CGL 2023 paper was released.Practise the labelled mock paper built from that year's reported pattern.Open mock

The SSC CGL 2023 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 2023 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 2023 question paper. Practise the SSC CGL 2023 mock paper: original questions modelled on candidate reports, clearly labelled as a mock.

Why this year matters

By 2023, you should already have an error log. Open this paper to pressure-test whether those tags still hold. 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 2023

Strong mid-recent CGL for shift-normalisation calm.

2023 is a mid-decade stress test. Difficulty spikes here usually come from topic mix and selection pressure, not from obsolete exam software.

What this paper stresses

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

What to extract before you move on

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

How 2023 sits next to other years

Compare 2023 with SSC CGL 2025, SSC CGL 2024, SSC CGL 2022. Themes that repeat across this band deserve deliberate notes; one-off oddities do not.

Analyst note: The conducting body did not publish the SSC CGL 2023 paper. The mock below is original practice in the reported pattern; treat coaching “memory-based” papers as unofficial reconstructions.

SSC CGL 2023 Tier-I mock paper (modelled on candidate reports)

This is a mock paper we wrote. The official 2023 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 2023 exam: section mix, topics and difficulty. Use it to practise the pattern. The questions themselves are not from the real exam.

SSC has not released CGL question papers publicly since the exam moved online: from 2016 the question paper and key are shown only inside each candidate's login for a few days, and SSC's notices describe the saved copy as for personal use. The ssc.gov.in 'Previous Year Question Paper' page holds only a 2011 generic model paper, so there is no official 2023 paper to host. This original 20-question mini-paper is modelled on candidate and coaching analyses of the computer-based Tier-I held from 14 to 27 July 2023.

What candidates reported about 2023

  • Tier-I was a computer-based test held from 14 to 27 July 2023 in multiple shifts a day.
  • 100 questions in 60 minutes: 25 each in General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension; 2 marks per question and 0.50 negative marking.
  • Overall level was rated easy to moderate, with estimated good attempts of roughly 74 to 82 out of 100.
  • General Awareness was the hardest section by most estimates; polity articles (e.g. Article 143 and Article 44), science, geography and a few current-affairs items such as India's G20 presidency were reported.
  • Reasoning included coding-decoding, number series, syllogism, dice, analogy and order-ranking, mostly easy to moderate.
  • Quantitative Aptitude mixed ratio, time and distance, profit and loss, algebra, trigonometry and geometry, with a couple of data-interpretation questions.
  • English Comprehension was vocabulary-heavy: synonyms, antonyms, spelling, idioms, fill in the blanks and a cloze or comprehension passage.

Suggested time: 12 minutes. Practice set of 20 questions, 5 from each section (the real Tier-I had 100 questions, 25 per section, in 60 minutes); allow about 12 minutes. Each correct answer earns 2 marks and 0.50 mark is deducted for each wrong answer; unattempted questions carry no penalty. Sections are in the real exam's order; there was no sectional time limit in Tier-I.

General Intelligence and Reasoning

  1. Select the number that can replace the question mark (?) in the following analogy. 7 : 50 :: 9 : ?

    1. 72
    2. 80
    3. 82
    4. 90
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (82)

    The rule is n² + 1. 7² + 1 = 49 + 1 = 50, so 9² + 1 = 81 + 1 = 82.

  2. What will come in place of the question mark (?) in the series? 3, 8, 18, 38, 78, ?

    1. 156
    2. 158
    3. 160
    4. 154
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (158)

    Each term is (previous × 2) + 2: 3×2+2 = 8, 8×2+2 = 18, 18×2+2 = 38, 38×2+2 = 78, 78×2+2 = 158.

  3. In a certain code language, MANGO is written as NBOHP. How will GRAPE be written in that language?

    1. HSBQF
    2. HTBQF
    3. FSBQF
    4. HSCQF
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (HSBQF)

    Each letter moves one place forward: M→N, A→B, N→O, G→H, O→P. So G→H, R→S, A→B, P→Q, E→F gives HSBQF.

  4. Read the statements and decide which conclusion(s) logically follow. Statements: All pens are books. Some books are bags. Conclusions: I. Some pens are bags. II. Some bags are books.

    1. Only conclusion I follows
    2. Only conclusion II follows
    3. Both I and II follow
    4. Neither I nor II follows
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Only conclusion II follows)

    II follows because 'Some books are bags' converts directly to 'Some bags are books'. I does not follow: the books that are bags need not include any pens, so a pen-bag overlap is only possible, not certain.

  5. In a row of 40 students, Ravi is 14th from the left end. What is his position from the right end?

    1. 25th
    2. 26th
    3. 28th
    4. 27th
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (27th)

    Position from right = total − position from left + 1 = 40 − 14 + 1 = 27th.

General Awareness

  1. Which Article of the Constitution of India empowers the President to refer a question of law or fact of public importance to the Supreme Court for its opinion?

    1. Article 32
    2. Article 72
    3. Article 143
    4. Article 226
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Article 143)

    Article 143 gives the President power to consult the Supreme Court (its advisory jurisdiction); the Court may report its opinion. Article 32 is the right to constitutional remedies, Article 72 the President's pardoning power and Article 226 the High Courts' writ jurisdiction.

  2. The Battle of Plassey (23 June 1757) was fought between the forces of the English East India Company under Robert Clive and which ruler?

    1. Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal
    2. Tipu Sultan of Mysore
    3. Shuja-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Awadh
    4. Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal)

    At Plassey on 23 June 1757, Clive's Company forces defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal after his commander Mir Jafar held back; Mir Jafar was then installed as Nawab.

  3. Scurvy is caused by a deficiency of which vitamin?

    1. Vitamin A
    2. Vitamin B1
    3. Vitamin D
    4. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (Vitamin C (ascorbic acid))

    Scurvy results from a deficiency of vitamin C, chemically ascorbic acid (ascorbate). Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness, B1 beriberi and D rickets.

  4. Loktak Lake, known for its floating masses of vegetation called phumdis, is located in which state?

    1. Assam
    2. Manipur
    3. Meghalaya
    4. Tripura
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Manipur)

    Loktak Lake is near Moirang in Manipur. Its phumdis are floating mats of vegetation and soil, and Keibul Lamjao National Park on the lake is described as the world's only floating national park.

  5. On which date did India assume the presidency of the G20, which it held until 30 November 2023?

    1. 1 January 2023
    2. 15 August 2022
    3. 1 December 2022
    4. 9 September 2023
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (1 December 2022)

    India took over the G20 presidency on 1 December 2022 under the theme 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future'; the leaders' summit was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 9–10 September 2023.

Quantitative Aptitude

  1. If A : B = 3 : 5 and B : C = 4 : 7, then A : C is:

    1. 12 : 35
    2. 3 : 7
    3. 15 : 28
    4. 21 : 20
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (12 : 35)

    Make B equal: A : B = 12 : 20 and B : C = 20 : 35. So A : C = 12 : 35.

  2. A train 240 m long passes a pole in 12 seconds. How long will it take to pass a platform 360 m long at the same speed?

    1. 18 seconds
    2. 24 seconds
    3. 30 seconds
    4. 36 seconds
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (30 seconds)

    Speed = 240 ÷ 12 = 20 m/s. To pass the platform it covers 240 + 360 = 600 m, so time = 600 ÷ 20 = 30 seconds.

  3. If sec θ + tan θ = 3, where 0° < θ < 90°, then sin θ is:

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

    Answer: B (4/5)

    Since sec²θ − tan²θ = 1, sec θ − tan θ = 1/3. Adding: 2 sec θ = 10/3, so sec θ = 5/3. Subtracting: 2 tan θ = 8/3, so tan θ = 4/3. sin θ = tan θ ÷ sec θ = (4/3) ÷ (5/3) = 4/5.

  4. If x + 1/x = 4, then the value of x³ + 1/x³ is:

    1. 48
    2. 60
    3. 52
    4. 76
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (52)

    x³ + 1/x³ = (x + 1/x)³ − 3(x + 1/x) = 4³ − 3×4 = 64 − 12 = 52.

  5. A shopkeeper marks an article 25% above its cost price and then allows a discount of 12% on the marked price. What is his profit percentage?

    1. 8%
    2. 9%
    3. 12%
    4. 10%
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (10%)

    Let CP = 100. Marked price = 125. Selling price = 125 × 0.88 = 110. Profit = 10 on 100, i.e. 10%.

English Comprehension

  1. Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word. CANDID

    1. Secretive
    2. Frank
    3. Rude
    4. Timid
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Frank)

    Candid means open and honest in expression, which is the meaning of frank.

  2. Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word. FRUGAL

    1. Thrifty
    2. Careful
    3. Extravagant
    4. Modest
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Extravagant)

    Frugal means sparing or economical with money; its opposite is extravagant (spending wastefully). Thrifty is a synonym.

  3. Select the correctly spelt word.

    1. Accommodate
    2. Accomodate
    3. Acommodate
    4. Accommodete
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (Accommodate)

    The correct spelling has double c and double m: a-c-c-o-m-m-o-d-a-t-e.

  4. Select the most appropriate meaning of the given idiom. To burn the midnight oil

    1. To waste resources carelessly
    2. To start a quarrel
    3. To be extremely angry
    4. To work or study late into the night
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (To work or study late into the night)

    'To burn the midnight oil' means to stay up late working or studying.

  5. Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. The committee decided to ________ the meeting until next week as the chairperson was unwell.

    1. prepone
    2. postpone
    3. cancel off
    4. delay off
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (postpone)

    Moving a meeting to a later date is to postpone it; 'until next week' signals a later date. 'Cancel off' and 'delay off' are not standard English, and prepone means to bring forward.

Reports this mock is modelled on

How to sit SSC CGL 2023

  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 2023’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 2023 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 2023 paper analysis include?

A year snapshot, what the paper stresses, what to extract into your error log, and how 2023 compares with neighbouring years on this hub.

How should I practise the SSC CGL 2023 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 2023 still useful if I finished newer papers?

Yes. Recent years sharpen timing; stack them after a same-day review of each attempt.

Are memory-based SSC CGL 2023 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.