Clerical and stenographer recruitments are decided on a typing test. Practise against the same measure the examiners use — net words per minute, with your mistakes counted against you.
⌨️ Typing Speed Test
Lower Division Clerk, Upper Division Clerk and Stenographer posts are decided on a typing test. Practise against the same measure the examiners use.
How the score is worked out
- Five keystrokes count as one word. That is the standard convention in government typing tests, so long words are not penalised.
- Gross speed is everything you typed. Net speed subtracts your incorrect keystrokes, and net is what a test measures.
- Common benchmarks are 35 words per minute in English and 30 words per minute in Hindi. Check the exact requirement in your notification.
Practise on a physical keyboard. A phone screen gives a speed that will not match the one you achieve in an examination hall.
Which Posts Need a Typing Test
A typing or skill test commonly applies to Lower Division Clerk, Upper Division Clerk, Data Entry Operator, Junior Secretariat Assistant and Stenographer posts — in the A&N Administration, in SSC recruitments such as CHSL and Stenographer, and in many departmental vacancies.
It is usually qualifying in nature, which catches people out. Scoring well in the written examination does not help if you fall below the typing threshold — you are simply out, whatever your rank. The exact speed and the medium are printed in the notification.
Gross Speed Against Net Speed
Five keystrokes count as one word, spaces and punctuation included. Gross speed counts everything you typed. Net speed counts only what you typed correctly, and net is what decides the result.
This is why racing is a losing strategy. Typing at 45 words per minute with frequent errors produces a worse net score than a steady 36 with almost none — and the steady typist passes.
How to Practise
- Use a physical keyboard. A phone screen will give you a number that has nothing to do with your examination-hall speed.
- Do not look down. Touch typing feels slower for the first two weeks and is far faster after a month. Correcting your technique now costs less than failing a skill test later.
- Practise for the full duration. Most people hold a good speed for one minute and fall apart by the fifth. Run the ten-minute test at least once a week.
- Chase accuracy first. Get to 98% accuracy at a comfortable pace, then let the speed rise on its own.
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