This page sets out the syllabus exactly as the Staff Selection Commission printed it in the notice for the Stenographer Grade 'C' & 'D' Examination, 2026, uploaded on 24 April 2026. That is the newest notified cycle as of 13 November 2026: its Computer Based Examination was held in September 2026 and the skill test is still ahead. The same list is the best starting point for the next cycle, because the scheme did not change between the 2025 and 2026 notices.
One thing to know before reading: the official syllabus for this exam is short. SSC calls it an "indicative syllabus" and gives a paragraph per subject, not a chapter list. We reproduce what the notice names, and we label our own study notes as ours.
What you are tested on, in one table
| Part | Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | General Intelligence and Reasoning | 50 | 50 |
| II | General Awareness | 50 | 50 |
| III | English Language and Comprehension | 100 | 100 |
| Total | 200 | 200 |
After the Computer Based Examination (CBE) there is a skill test in stenography, which is qualifying. Timers, negative marking and the skill-test rules are on the exam pattern page.
Two points stand out from the table:
- There is no separate Quantitative Aptitude part. Candidates coming from CGL or CHSL preparation often assume one. Arithmetic appears only inside the reasoning syllabus (see below).
- English is half the paper. It carries 100 of 200 marks, and marks in English are also the first tie-break when two candidates have equal totals.
Part I: General Intelligence and Reasoning (50 questions)
The notice says the part "would include questions of both verbal and non-verbal type". The areas it names:
- Analogies, and similarities and differences.
- Space visualisation.
- Problem solving, analysis, judgment and decision making.
- Visual memory and discriminating observation.
- Relationship concepts.
- Arithmetical reasoning.
- Verbal and figure classification.
- Arithmetical number series and non-verbal series.
The notice then adds that the test will include questions designed to test the candidate's ability to deal with abstract ideas and symbols and their relationship, arithmetical computation and other analytical functions.
Our study notes:
- "Arithmetical reasoning", "arithmetical number series" and "arithmetical computation" are the only places arithmetic enters this exam. In practice that means number-based puzzles, series, and short calculations, not the full CGL-style Quantitative Aptitude list of algebra, geometry and trigonometry. The notice names none of those, so we would not spend weeks on them for this exam alone.
- The list is the older SSC reasoning wording. Topics such as coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogism and Venn diagrams are not named individually, but they sit comfortably under "relationship concepts", "analysis" and "problem solving", and the list ends with "etc.". Prepare the standard SSC reasoning set.
- Figure-based topics (space visualisation, figure classification, non-verbal series) improve with volume more than with theory.
Part II: General Awareness (50 questions)
The notice describes this part by purpose. Questions are designed to test:
- the candidate's general awareness of the environment around them and its application to society;
- knowledge of current events;
- matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspects, as may be expected of an educated person;
- questions relating to India and its neighbouring countries, especially pertaining to Sports, History, Culture, Geography, Economic scene, General Polity including the Indian Constitution, and Scientific Research.
It closes by saying these questions "will be such that they do not require a special study of any discipline".
Our study notes:
- The notice gives no sub-topic list and no split between static subjects and current affairs. Nobody outside SSC can state a fixed weightage, and we do not.
- Polity "including Indian Constitution" is named explicitly. Give the Constitution its own slot in your plan.
- Sports is named first in the list. It is an easy area to neglect.
- Current affairs is the only part that must be refreshed continuously, so a short daily habit works better than a cram in the last month.
Part III: English Language and Comprehension (100 questions)
The whole official syllabus for the largest part of the paper is one sentence. In addition to testing the candidate's:
- understanding of the English language,
- vocabulary,
- grammar,
- sentence structure,
- synonyms and antonyms, and
- correct usage,
the notice says "his/her writing ability would also be tested".
Our study notes:
- The paper is objective-type multiple choice only, so "writing ability" is tested through questions about writing: choosing the correctly written sentence, improving a sentence, ordering sentences, filling blanks in a passage. There is no descriptive paper in the 2026 scheme.
- The title of the part includes "Comprehension", so expect reading passages even though the sentence above does not use the word.
- The notice does not list question types. SSC's CHSL notice does, as our CHSL syllabus page sets out (error spotting, fill in the blanks, one-word substitution, idioms and phrases, active and passive voice, direct and indirect narration, sentence shuffling, cloze passage, comprehension). That list is for another exam, but it is SSC's own description of what grammar, sentence structure and usage look like as multiple-choice questions, so it is a sensible checklist here too. That inference is ours.
- A stenographer's daily work is taking down and transcribing language accurately. That is presumably why English is weighted at half the paper and used as the first tie-break.
The skill test in stenography
It is not a syllabus topic, but it is the stage that decides whether your CBE marks count at all. From para 15 of the notice:
- Shortlisted candidates take one dictation of 10 minutes, in English or in Hindi, as opted in the online application form.
- Dictation speed: 100 words per minute for Grade C and 80 words per minute for Grade D.
- The dictated matter is then transcribed on a computer within a fixed time:
| Post | Language of skill test | Transcription time | For scribe-eligible candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stenographer Grade D | English | 50 minutes | 70 minutes |
| Stenographer Grade D | Hindi | 65 minutes | 90 minutes |
| Stenographer Grade C | English | 40 minutes | 55 minutes |
| Stenographer Grade C | Hindi | 55 minutes | 75 minutes |
- SSC's addendum of 23 September 2026 says candidates who opt for Hindi must type in Mangal font only. A script typed in any other font will not be evaluated, and the candidate will be treated as not qualified.
- Candidates who take the test in Hindi are required to learn English stenography after appointment, and the other way round. The notice says probation may not be cleared otherwise.
Arithmetic from those figures, not an SSC statement: 10 minutes at 100 words per minute is about 1,000 dictated words; at 80 words per minute it is about 800.
The notice begins with the line that only candidates who have skills in stenography are eligible to apply. Shorthand is a skill that takes months to build, so it belongs on your syllabus from the first week. See preparation strategy.
Notes for candidates with visual disability
The notice states that for VH candidates with 40% or more visual disability, there will be no component of maps, graphs, diagrams or statistical data in the General Intelligence and Reasoning and General Awareness papers.
How to use this syllabus
- Weight your hours like the paper. English is 100 marks, reasoning 50, General Awareness 50. A plan that gives all three equal time under-serves English.
- Do not import another exam's syllabus wholesale. If you are also preparing for CGL or CHSL, your Quantitative Aptitude work helps only at the edges here. Reasoning, General Awareness and English overlap well.
- Start shorthand alongside, not after. The CBE shortlists; the skill test qualifies. Both are needed.
- Test each topic as you finish it. Pareeksha's topic-wise practice is organised by topic (Pro). A 10-question mini-mock is free to try the format, and so is the Daily Dangal quiz. Full mocks, previous-year papers and topic practice are Pro.
- Check the notice for changes. The notice of each cycle governs that cycle. Re-read this page's "as on" date and the official notice before a new one.
What this page does not have
- A topic-wise or chapter-wise weightage. SSC does not publish one for this exam, and we do not estimate it from memory-based papers.
- An official list of English question types. The notice does not print one; the checklist above is borrowed from SSC's CHSL notice and is labelled as our inference.
- SSC's "standard instructions regarding modality of evaluation of Skill Test". The notice says they are in the "For Candidates" section of ssc.gov.in. We have not reproduced them here because we did not open that document.
- The syllabus of the separate departmental examination for Grade C stenographers (the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination). That is a different exam for serving employees.
Related: Exam pattern and marking · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy