SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 15 September 2025, Shift 3 · English Comprehension · Question 4 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Identify the misspelt word

(a)Mnemonic
(b)Occassionally
(c)Surveillance
(d)Bureaucracy

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The correct spelling is occasionally: double c, single s.

Build it from its parts: occasion + -al + -ly. Occasion has cc and one s, and -al followed by -ly gives the double l at the end.

Occassionally doubles the s, so it is the misspelt word → option (b). Mnemonic, Surveillance and Bureaucracy are all spelt correctly.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Mnemonic — Mnemonic is correct. It begins with a silent m, from Greek mnēmōn, 'mindful', so the mn- opening is right.
(c)
Surveillance — Surveillance is correct. It comes from French surveiller, 'to watch over', which is why it keeps the -eill- cluster: e, i, double l.
(d)
Bureaucracy — Bureaucracy is correct: bureau, with its eau kept whole, plus -cracy, 'rule', as in democracy.

Concept

Spell long words by their parts. Occasionally is occasion + al + ly, and each part keeps its own letters: cc and a single s in occasion, the l of -al, the l of -ly.

The other words reward the same habit. Surveillance is sur + veill + ance, bureaucracy is bureau + cracy, and mnemonic keeps the Greek mn- at its start.

Accommodate makes a useful contrast: it doubles both c and m. Occasion doubles only its c.

Key facts

Occasion has double c and single s.
Occasionally is occasion + -al + -ly, which is why it ends in double l.
Mnemonic starts with a silent m, from Greek mnēmōn, 'mindful'.
Surveillance comes from French surveiller, 'to watch over'.

Study next

Double-consonant spellings such as accommodate, embarrass and occurrenceWords with silent opening letters, such as mnemonic, pneumonia and psychologyFrench borrowings with -eill- and -eau-, such as surveillance and bureaucracy

Common traps

Doubling the s by analogy with possession, which really does have ss
Suspecting Mnemonic because its mn- opening looks odd, when it is correct

Here the stem is 'Identify the misspelt word' and one of four words carries the error. The same stem keys Indispensible at 14 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.4.

Bureaucracy is a correctly spelt option at 9 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.12 as well. Occasion appears, spelt correctly, in the keyed error-free sentence at 12 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.2.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Spelling — all 84 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.