How to prepare for SSC Stenographer?

The staff selection commission (SSC) conducts national open test every year for selection of Stenographer Grade C and Grade D for posts vacant under various ministries. This year the exam is scheduled to be held on 27th December 2015. We take a look at how to prepare for the upcoming exam and maximize our scores. But before creating a strategy, let�s take a look at the pattern of the exam.

Pattern of SSC Stenographer (Grade C& D)

Total No. Of Questions: 200
Total Time Allotted: 120 Minutes
Overall Difficulty level: Moderate

How to Build a Strategy for SSC Stenographer?

• Start by knowing the test � If it is your first attempt or you have been out of touch for a while, then it is a good idea to take Mock Test immediately. Online Mock Test will help you not only to understand the exact pattern of the exam but also to analyze your strengths and weakness.

• Benchmark Yourself � After taking the test, it is essential for you to go through the detailed analysis of your performance. Make a note of your weak areas and put the note in front of you. Also check your ranking among all test takers and keep a note of where you stand.

• Design your Study Plan � It is essential to have a thoroughly designed study plan at an early stage of preparation. It gives you a clear road map of when and how to clear SSC Stenographer. Keep your study plan handy and adhere to it strictly to gain maximum out of it.

• Balance out Time for your Weakness � This is where most students make mistakes; they provide either too little or too much time to their weak areas. Both can be harmful in the long run. Providing too little time to your weak areas does not allow for substantial increase in competency in these areas, providing too much time means that you are neglecting your strengths. We strongly recommend that you have a balanced study plan, where 60-65% of your time is dedicated to your weakness and the rest to your strengths.

• Practice Daily � In exams like the SSC Stenographer, both speed and accuracy decide who will make it and who won�t. Hence dedicate at least 2 hours every day for taking real time Mock Tests and another hour or two in analyzing what and where you need to improve.

TO-DO LIST for SSC Stenographer

• Read newspapers � A major segment of the test is English Language, and reading newspapers can be a very useful way of building your competency in English language.

• Keep the dictionary handy � A lot of questions in the English section are asked from antonyms, synonyms, spelling etc. Hence, keep learning new words daily. Try to learn at least 5 new words with their antonyms, synonyms every day.

• No need to learn every book by heart � Many students find it difficult to deal with the General Awareness section of the test. The biggest of all complains is huge syllabus. However, you are not expected to be an encyclopedia. Just remember key points like important dates, terminologies, awards etc and you will do just fine in the general awareness section.

• Learn something everyday � General Awareness is not something that can be mastered overnight. So keep a target of learning something new every day.

• Make Notes � It is good idea to keep a note of important points, especially while preparing general awareness. Ensure you have everything important at one place just before the exam.

Additional Information

• Attempting all 200 questions is not compulsory. However, a candidate is expected to maximize his/her score by attempting as many question as he/she can.

• Looking at the level of difficulty of last year�s paper, an attempt of around 140 questions will be considered good. However, with proper preparation, a candidate may be able to answer as many as 160-165 questions.

• Each wrong answer will attract penalty of -0.25; hence it�s a good idea to avoid making casual mistakes.

• Most of the questions asked last year were in the Indian context; hence focus on Indian History, Indian Geography etc.

• Very few questions are asked from economics and hence you shouldn�t spend so much time in remembering the economic terms.

• The previous year paper had questions from non-verbal reasoning too; hence you shouldn�t skip it while preparing.