The MTS syllabus is pitched at matriculation level, and that single fact is the one most aspirants either over-trust or under-trust. It will not ask you coordinate geometry or advanced algebra, but it will ask ordinary arithmetic quickly and under pressure. More importantly, the paper is split into two sessions with two completely different risk profiles: Session-I carries no negative marking at all, while Session-II takes a full mark off for every wrong answer. Preparing for both with the same instincts is how candidates lose marks they had already earned. Below is the full topic list for all four subjects, the marks each carries, and what the Havaldar physical stage adds on top of the written paper.
The MTS Computer Based Examination runs as two sessions on the same day and both are compulsory to attempt - skipping either leads to disqualification. Session-I is 40 questions for 120 marks in 45 minutes with no negative marking. Session-II is 50 questions for 150 marks in 45 minutes, with 1 mark deducted for every wrong answer. Every question carries 3 marks, making 90 questions and 270 marks in total. Session-I is evaluated first and Session-II is assessed only for candidates who qualify Session-I, and the MTS merit list is drawn from Session-II performance. Candidates applying for Havaldar posts in CBIC and CBN face an additional Physical Efficiency Test and Physical Standard Test after the CBE. Question counts and marking above are the announced structure; confirm this cycle's dates, vacancies, qualifying percentages and any pattern revision in the official notification at ssc.gov.in.
A large part of failing MTS preparation is practising on CGL-level arithmetic and concluding you are behind. Our question bank of roughly 31,000 questions can be filtered to genuine MTS papers, so the LCM, percentage and profit-and-loss questions you drill are the ones the Commission actually set at matriculation standard. That keeps your speed calibration honest: a question you should finish in forty seconds should be practised at forty seconds.
With no negative marking in Session-I, every unanswered question is a pure loss and a considered guess is free. That is a habit, and habits need rehearsal. Practising full 40-question Session-I sets under the 45-minute clock teaches you to reserve the final two minutes to fill in every remaining bubble rather than running out of time with eight questions untouched.
In Session-II, 1 mark comes off each wrong answer while a correct one earns 3, so blind guessing turns negative quickly. The difficulty is psychological: you have just spent 45 minutes being rewarded for attempting everything. Our Session-II practice carries the correct penalty so the switch becomes muscle memory, and the post-mock analysis separates your wrong answers into genuine knowledge gaps and guesses you should not have taken.
Roughly 29,000 of our questions are authentic previous-year SSC questions carrying official answer keys, including MTS papers alongside CGL and CHSL. For a syllabus described in broad topic headings, previous-year papers are the only reliable guide to how deep each heading actually goes - which is the difference between revising the whole Indian Constitution and revising the parts SSC keeps returning to.
The topic headings overlap heavily but the standard does not. MTS is set at matriculation level, so Numerical and Mathematical Ability stays within integers, LCM and HCF, decimals and fractions, BODMAS, percentages, ratio and proportion, work and time, averages, simple interest, profit and loss, discount, basic area and perimeter, distance and time, and simple data interpretation. CGL adds algebra, trigonometry, deeper geometry and far harder data interpretation. Someone preparing for CGL will find MTS material easy, but the reverse is not true, so do not use CGL-level books as your primary source for MTS.
Session-I covers Numerical and Mathematical Ability and Reasoning Ability and Problem Solving, 20 questions each, 40 questions for 120 marks in 45 minutes, with no negative marking. Session-II covers General Awareness and English Language and Comprehension, 25 questions each, 50 questions for 150 marks in 45 minutes, with 1 mark deducted per wrong answer. Both run on the same day and both must be attempted. Session-I is evaluated first and acts as a gate, while the MTS merit list is drawn from Session-II performance.
Only in Session-II. Session-I has no penalty for a wrong answer, which means you should attempt all 40 questions there without exception. Session-II deducts 1 mark for each wrong answer against 3 marks for a correct one. In practice that means a pure random guess across four options is a losing bet in Session-II, while a guess narrowed to two plausible options is still usually worth taking. Reserve the last few minutes of Session-I purely for filling in anything left blank.
The Commission describes it as broadly non-verbal, covering alpha-numeric series, coding and decoding, analogy, following directions, similarities and differences, jumbling, problem solving and analysis, non-verbal reasoning based on diagrams, age calculations, and calendar and clock problems. There is no heavy puzzle or seating-arrangement load of the kind seen in banking exams. Most candidates find this the fastest-improving section, because the question types repeat closely across years and a few weeks of previous-year practice covers most of what appears.
Yes. The Commission evaluates Session-I first, and Session-II is assessed only for candidates who qualify Session-I. Both sessions must be attempted; not attempting one leads to disqualification. Recent notices have specified separate minimum qualifying marks by category for each session, commonly stated as 30 per cent for UR, 25 per cent for OBC and EWS and 20 per cent for other categories - confirm the exact figures in the notification for your cycle, since they are the Commission's to set and can be revised.
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