SSC Stenographer is an all-India competitive examination conducted for recruitment to the post of Stenographer Grade ‘C’ and Grade ‘D’. Almost 38.04 lakh candidates register for the exam every year but only a handful are recruited. To succeed in such high level of competition, one don’t just need to prepare but do so strategically.
Apart from knowing the exam pattern, syllabus, and mock test, a candidate must also understand what is demanded of them through the exam. Hence, to help the readers, we have given SSC Stenographer Exam Preparation 2017. These will help in enhancing the preparation in the most effective manner.
Selection Process
The selection procedure of this examination consists of two stages:
- Written Examination
- Skill Test in Stenography
SSC Stenographer Exam Preparation
The examination for SSC Stenographer is a two tier process with an objective type examination followed by a skill test in stenography for posts of Stenographer Grade ‘C’ &’D’ respectively.
SSC Stenographer Exam Preparation for Written Examination
Written Examination consists of one objective type paper as shown in table below
| Part | Subject | No. of Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | General Intelligence & Reasoning | 50 | 50 | Two Hours (40 Min extra for Visually Handicapped/cerebral palsy candidates) |
| II | General Awareness | 50 | 50 | |
| III | English Language and Comprehension | 100 | 100 |
There is negative marking of 0.25 marks each for every wrong answer. The questions are set in both English and Hindi languages except Part III.
Part I : General Intelligence & Reasoning
- No, of questions asked : 50
- No. of Marks : 50
This section checks the aptitude of the candidate by testing their reasoning skills. Both verbal and non-verbal type questions are asked and the test contains questions on various areas like problem solving, decision making , similarities and differences, space visualization, visual memory , relationship concepts, verbal and figure classification, arithmetical number series etc.
The test will also include questions designed to test the candidate’s abilities to deal with abstract ideas and symbols and their relationship, arithmetical computation and other analytical functions.
Important Topics to Prepare: Semantic Series, Number Series, Venn Diagrams, Inferential Reasoning, Patterns, Space Orientation, Symbolic operations and Number Analogy, Figures and Space orientation.
How to prepare for Part I
- For General Intelligence and reasoning portion, practice verbal and non-verbal reasoning portion focusing on topics such as Syllogism, Analogies, Similarities, Differences, Space visualization, Decision making, Problem solving, Visual memory, Discrimination & Relationship concepts.
- Your goal should be to enhance your reasoning, analytical and logical skills while preparing for this section.
- Practice as much questions as you can from the previous year papers first and then open a conventional book for this part.
Important Books for Part I
- Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Agarwal
- Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by Kiran Publications
- Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey
- Quantitative Aptitude by RS Agarwal
- SSC Stenographer Grade C and D Exam by Arihant Publications
Part II: General Awareness
- No, of questions asked : 50
- No. of Marks : 50
In the second part, questions which are specifically aimed at testing the candidate’s general awareness of the environment around him and its application to society are asked. Some questions aimed to test the candidate’s knowledge of current affairs and day to day events as well as of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects as may be expected of an educated person are asked.
Also questions related to India and its Neighbour nations especially pertaining to Sports, History, Culture, Geography, Economy, General Polity including Indian Constitution, and Scientific research are asked in this part. These questions do not demand a specific preparation of this portion rather a very generic knowledge of these topics on the part of the candidate is expected.
For visually handicapped candidates of 40% and above visual disability /cerebral palsy affected candidates and opting for scribe, no component of Maps / Graphs / Diagrams / Statistical Data in the General Intelligence & Reasoning / General Awareness Paper are asked.
Important Topics to Prepare: Current affairs, Indian Geography, Indian History, books and authors, Indian Economy, Indian constitution , Economic policies and Scientific Research issues.
How to prepare for Part II
- For the General Awareness portion, topics such as History, Culture, Geography, Economics and General Polity should be prepared from Class X level NCERT Textbooks. Questions on Indian Constitution, Indian Freedom Struggle, Indian Economy and basic current affairs can be expected.
- Reading a national newspaper daily along with following a current affairs magazine can suffice your preparation for this portion.
- You can also prepare this portion from Lucent’s General Knowledge book especially for scientific research and polity portion.
- Again, before starting on any kind of topic, you should look at last ten years papers for this section and try to get an idea of recurring topics.
- If you keep a tab on day to day events and keep notes of the background events , this section can be very less time consuming , basically a cakewalk for you.
Important Books for Part II
- Class X Level NCERT for History, Geography, Culture etc.
- Lucent General Knowledge (English/Hindi)
- Any one monthly magazine, such as PD, Chronicle or wizard etc.
- A year book from a good publication such as India or Manorama year book.
- Any one national newspaper such as The Indian Express, The Tribune etc.
Part III: English Language and Comprehension
- No, of questions asked : 100
- No. of Marks : 100
In Part III of this exam, candidates are tested on their basic understanding of the English Language. Also questions on vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, synonyms, antonyms and its correct usage, etc. his/her writing ability are also asked in this part.
Important Topics to Prepare: Comprehension passages , Active and passive voice, Spellings , Synonyms and antonyms, Fill ups , Miss spellings , Direct and Indirect Conversion , vocabulary and sentence structure.
How to prepare for Part III
- Since English Language & comprehension section carries more weightage, you should try to focus more on this part and divide your preparation time accordingly.
- Regular Comprehension practice from a good book along with some parallel English text reading like any book/magazine etc. can really be an added advantage to your preparation.
- You should always keep a dictionary handy so as to check out meanings, antonyms, synonyms of unfamiliar words you come across.
- Practice as many RC passages as you can and keep a track of time while you solve them.
- Follow one good grammar book for active, passive voice, sentence structure etc.
Important Books
- High School English Grammar by Wren and Martin
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
- Objective General English by Dr. RS Aggarwal & Vikas Aggarwal
- Objective General English by SP Bakshi
- Essential English Grammar by Raymond Murphy
SSC Stenographer Preparation for Stage II – Skill Test
Once a candidate obtains the qualifying marks in the Written Examination ; he gets a call for the Skill Test. The skill test is of qualifying nature and the qualifying standards for different categories of candidates are set by the commission.
The candidates who appear for the stenography test are given one dictation for 10 minutes in English / Hindi at the speed of 100 w.p.m. for the post of Stenographer Grade ‘C’ and 80 w.p.m. for the post of Stenographer Grade ‘D’ respectively.
Transcription time:
For Stenographer Grade D: 50 minutes (English) 65 minutes (Hindi)
For Stenographer Grade C: 40 minutes (English) 55 Minutes (Hindi)
- There is no exemption from skill test for any category of candidates.
- The matter will have to be transcribed on computer only.
Preparation Tips
- Go through the whole syllabus carefully and keep a copy of it handy for reference.
- Start with the basic concepts and then move over to the complex or unfamiliar topics.
- At least solve five previous year question papers just to get an idea of the examination pattern.
- Carefully pick and choose one book for one section to prepare from.
- Focus on your speed and accuracy since time is of utmost essence in this paper.
- Always keep a timer while attempting practice tests. You should be able to manage your time in the examination hall.
-: Words of Wisdom :-
Divide your time carefully while preparation and maintain a daily prep schedule; both of these can lead you to your success in this examination.
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