The Staff Selection Commission (Combined Higher Secondary Level) Exam (morning slot), conducted on December 20, 2015, saw certain changes as compared to the previous yearâs papers. Overall, the difficulty level of the paper ranged from easy to moderate but it was slightly easier than last yearâs paper. The morning slot saw various number of sets with 1 unique question paper. All sections, except English Language, were available bilingually, that is, in both English and Hindi. Each question was followed by 4 options. There was a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each incorrect answer.
The pattern of the paper was as given below:
Section | Total Questions |
Level of difficulty |
Good Attempts |
Approximate time taken (in minutes) |
General Intelligence |
50 |
Easy-Moderate |
35-37 |
35 |
English Language |
50 |
Easy |
34-36 |
25 |
Quantitative Aptitude |
50 |
Easy-Moderate |
38-40 |
45 |
General Awareness |
50 |
Moderate-Difficult |
25-30 |
15 |
Total |
200 |
Easy-Moderate |
132-143 |
120 |
A score of about 125 can be considered a good score.
Expected Cut-offs (Out of 200 marks)
For Typing Test for LDC
UR (General) | OBC |
SC |
ST |
107-111 |
97-101 |
91-94 |
87-91 |
For Skill Test for Data Entry Operator
UR (General) | OBC |
SC |
ST |
114-117 |
104-109 |
99-103 |
89-94 |
The section primarily saw questions of easy to moderate level. There are two questions based on circular arrangement and analogy for which more than one option was correct.
Topic | Number of questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Odd one out |
9 |
Easy-Moderate |
Series |
6 |
Easy |
Directions |
1 |
Easy |
Visual Reasoning |
5 |
Easy |
Verbal Reasoning |
2 |
Easy |
Analogy |
9 |
Easy-Moderate |
Puzzles |
4 |
Easy |
Word Matrix |
1 |
Easy |
Dictionary arrangement |
2 |
Easy |
Venn Diagram |
1 |
Easy |
Word formation |
2 |
Easy |
Circular arrangement |
1 |
Easy-Moderate |
Coding decoding |
4 |
Easy |
Maths based questions |
2 |
Easy |
Meaningful order |
1 |
Easy-Moderate |
The section comprised questions of easy level. The questions covered topics such as Active-Passive, Direct-Indirect Speech, Sentence jumble, fill in the blanks, etc.
Topic | Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Antonyms |
4 |
Easy |
Synonyms |
4 |
Easy |
Cloze Test |
10 |
Easy-Moderate |
Spellings |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
One word Substitution |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
Sentence Improvement |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
Error Spotting |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
Idioms/Phrases |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
Direct/Indirect |
2 |
Easy |
Active/Passive |
2 |
Easy |
Sentence Jumble |
4 |
Easy |
Sentence Completion (FIB) |
4 |
Easy |
This section comprised questions from a variety of areas. A major part of the section was based on Number System, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry and Data Interpretation. The paper also had questions from Ratio, Profit & Loss, Averages, SI & CI, Time-Speed-Distance and Time & Work.
Topic | Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Number System |
5 |
Easy |
Percentage |
2 |
Easy |
Profit, Loss & Discount |
4 |
Easy |
SI & CI |
2 |
Easy |
Ratio/Mixture/Alligation |
3 |
Easy-Moderate |
Time, Speed & Distance |
2 |
Easy |
Time & Work |
2 |
Easy-Moderate |
Average |
2 |
Easy |
Algebra |
3 |
Easy-Moderate |
Geometry |
7 |
Easy-Moderate |
Mensuration |
3 |
Easy-Moderate |
Trigonometry |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Coordinate geometry |
1 |
Easy |
DI (Bar Graph) |
5 |
Easy |
DI (Pie Chart ) |
4 |
Easy |
Questions from History, Geography, Economics and Biology were difficult in comparison to the last slot which held on 6th Dec 2015. Questions on polity were easy. There was a question from history for which the answer is debatable as more than one option may be correct. Questions from abbreviation and important days were not asked. Miscellaneous GK was easy but 2-3 questions of this sector were moderate. A candidate may easily attempt 25-30 questions.
Topic | Number of questions |
Level of difficulty |
History |
7 |
Moderate to difficult |
Geography |
9 |
Moderate to difficult |
Polity |
2 |
Easy to moderate |
Economics |
2 |
Moderate to difficult |
Physics |
3 |
Easy to moderate |
Chemistry |
2 |
Easy to moderate |
Biology |
7 |
Moderately difficult |
Computers |
1 |
Moderate |
Miscellaneous GK |
12 |
Easy to moderate |
Books and authors |
2 |
Easy to moderate |
Sports |
3 |
Moderately difficult |
Disclaimer: All information on cut-offs, analysis, answer key and scores are based on independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.
All the best!
Team CL