English typing test tips
Many Punjab posts test English typing as well as Punjabi, usually straight after the Punjabi test. Candidates often spend all their time on Punjabi and assume English will be easy, then lose marks on capital letters, punctuation and spelling. Here is how to make sure the English part does not let you down.
The standard
The usual standard is the same as for Punjabi: at least 30 words per minute with at least 92% accuracy, scored with full and half mistakes. A full mistake is a wrong, missing or extra word; a half mistake is a spacing error. Check your own recruitment notice, because the speed, time and rules can differ.
Where candidates lose marks in English
- Capital letters. "Punjab" and "punjab" are different words for the checker. Every sentence start, name, place and department needs a capital. Use the Shift key on the opposite hand.
- Punctuation. Commas, full stops, apostrophes and hyphens all count. Leaving out a comma can make the word before it wrong.
- Spelling under pressure. Words like "government", "environment", "necessary", "responsibility" and "transparency" are often typed with a letter missing or swapped.
- Transposed letters. Typing "teh" for "the" or "adn" for "and" happens when one hand gets ahead of the other. Slowing down slightly usually fixes it.
- No autocorrect. The exam software does not fix anything for you, so habits picked up on a phone keyboard do not help.
Touch typing in English
If you can already touch type in English, the English part is your safety margin. If you cannot, learn it alongside Punjabi: the home row position is the same (A S D F and J K L ;), so the finger habits you build for one language help the other.
Switching from Punjabi to English
In the exam you go from the INSCRIPT layout straight to English. Your fingers may still try to type Punjabi patterns for the first few words. Two things help:
- Practise the switch. Akhar's PSSSB mock test runs Punjabi and then English in one sitting, just like the exam.
- Type the first sentence a little slower than normal, then settle into your rhythm.
A simple practice plan
- Three times a week, take a 10-minute English typing test (choose "English typing test" on the login screen).
- Read your word-by-word result and note every capital letter or punctuation mistake.
- Type the sentences that contained those mistakes again, slowly and correctly, three times each.
- Once a week, take the full Punjabi plus English test to practise the switch.
The scoring formula and a worked example are in Punjab typing test rules and tips.
Common words to drill
Official passages repeat the same vocabulary: government, department, public, citizens, development, district, scheme, implementation, administration, officer, application, information, responsibility, environment, education and committee. Type a list of these ten times a day for a week. Once they are automatic, a large share of every passage becomes easy.
Numbers and special characters
Passages can include years, amounts and percentages, such as "in the year 2005", "Rs. 500" or "30 per cent". Use the number row, not the number pad, so your hands stay near the home row. Practise the Shift symbols you are likely to meet: the apostrophe, quotation marks, brackets, the hyphen and the colon.
What to do when you make a mistake
If Backspace is allowed, fix an error only if you notice it within the word you are typing. Going back more than a word or two costs time and often causes new errors. If Backspace is not allowed, simply carry on: one wrong word is one full mistake, but losing your place in the passage can cost several.
On the day
- Check that the keyboard is set to English before the English part starts. If the Punjabi keyboard is still on, you will see Gurmukhi letters.
- Check whether Caps Lock is on before you start.
- Read the first line before you begin typing, so your eyes are already ahead.
- Keep an eye on the timer only at the start and near the end. Watching it constantly slows you down.
How long it takes to prepare
A candidate who already types English with two or three fingers at 20 words per minute can usually reach 30 to 35 words per minute by touch within six to eight weeks of daily practice. If you have never typed in English, plan for longer and start early, ideally at the same time as your written exam preparation. Because the home row is shared with the Punjabi layout, the two languages support each other: improving your finger control in one makes the other easier.
Keep a simple log of each test: date, gross speed, net speed, accuracy and your most common mistake. Looking back over two or three weeks shows you whether you are improving and what to work on next. Akhar's progress page keeps this record for you automatically.