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SSC CGL Tier 1 has −0.50 negative marking. Each correct answer = 2 marks; each wrong answer = −0.50 marks. Tier 2 negative marking: −1 mark in Paper 1 (Maths/English), −0.50 in other papers. Total Tier 1: 100 questions, 200 max marks.
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The SSC Combined Graduate Level examination recruits for Group B and Group C posts across central government ministries and departments. It is a speed-and-accuracy test: the question bank is large, the time per question is short, and negative marking is designed to punish reckless attempting. Tier 1 is a 100-question objective paper worth 200 marks, split across General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Comprehension.
Because Tier 1 is a screening stage that decides who advances to Tier 2, your net score after negative marking is what determines your fate — not how many questions you touched. The calculator above lets you model both tiers, since the deduction differs between them.
In SSC CGL Tier 1, each correct answer earns 2 marks and each wrong answer deducts 0.50 marks— a one-quarter penalty relative to the 2-mark value. In Tier 2, the penalty is heavier: 1 mark is deducted for a wrong answer in the Mathematical Abilities and English sections (Paper 1), and 0.50 marks in the other papers. Unattempted questions are never penalised. Knowing which tier you are modelling matters, because the same number of wrong answers costs twice as much in Tier 2 Paper 1.
Suppose in Tier 1 you attempt 90 of the 100 questions, getting 70 correct and 20 wrong.
Marks for correct: 70 × 2 = 140. Penalty for wrong: 20 × 0.50 = 10. Final score: 140 − 10.
Your net score is 130 out of 200.
SSC cutoffs are tight and normalised across shifts, so a few wrong answers can drop you below the line. The discipline that wins is leaving a question blank rather than gambling: a candidate who attempts 95 questions at 75% accuracy (71 correct, 24 wrong) scores 142 − 12 = 130, exactly matching the example above despite attempting five more questions, because the extra wrong answers cancel the extra correct ones. Volume without accuracy is wasted effort.
Track your section-wise accuracy across mock tests, especially in General Awareness, where you either know the fact or you do not — guessing there is the most common source of avoidable negative marks. Reserve your guesses for Reasoning and English, where option elimination genuinely improves your odds.
Because Tier 1 is normalised across many shifts spread over several days, your score is compared against candidates who faced a different paper of similar difficulty. That makes your accuracy relative to the field, not your raw total, the deciding factor — and accuracy is precisely what you control. Remember too that the deduction doubles in Tier 2 Paper 1, where a wrong answer costs a full mark; carry forward the habit of selective attempting from Tier 1 so it is second nature when the penalty rises. The single most useful number to watch through your preparation is the ratio of correct to attempted in each section, and the calculator above lets you see immediately how a change in that ratio moves your net score.
In Tier 1, each wrong answer deducts 0.50 marks while each correct answer earns 2 marks. Unattempted questions are not penalised.
Yes. In Tier 2, wrong answers in the Mathematical Abilities and English sections (Paper 1) deduct 1 mark each, while wrong answers in the other papers deduct 0.50 marks each.
SSC CGL Tier 1 has 100 questions for a maximum of 200 marks, with each correct answer worth 2 marks, spread across four sections of 25 questions each.
No. Only wrong answers are penalised. Questions you leave blank score zero with no deduction, in both Tier 1 and Tier 2.
Multiply correct answers by 2 and subtract wrong answers multiplied by 0.50. For example, 80 correct and 15 wrong gives (80 × 2) − (15 × 0.50) = 160 − 7.5 = 152.5. The calculator above does this instantly.