10-minute test stamina + when to backspace
What this lesson covers
Lesson 9 builds the two skills that distinguish exam-ready typists from practice-only typists: stamina across the full 10-minute test, and the backspace decision — knowing when to correct an error versus leave it.
On stamina: the hardest minute in a 10-minute test is minute 8. Your initial adrenaline has flattened, your fingers are fatigued, and the passage is still going. The fix is daily 10-minute sessions — same passage style, visible timer, no breaks.
On backspace: SSC CHSL allows backspace, but every keystroke costs Gross WPM. The winning strategy: backspace only single-character typos (one keystroke to fix, one error avoided). Word-level errors (typed wrong word entirely) — leave them. The 1-error penalty is smaller than the 5-second recovery from correction.
Drills — type along, do not skip
Why this lesson matters
The stamina gap is real. Untrained candidates average 38 WPM in minutes 1-3 and drop to 26 WPM in minutes 8-10. Same person, same day. That 12-WPM drop is the cost of insufficient stamina training. Seven days of full-length sessions flattens this to a 3-4 WPM drop.
The backspace strategy is the under-trained lever. Most aspirants treat backspace as either "always correct" or "never correct" — both are wrong. The right answer is conditional: single-char errors yes, word-level errors no. Lesson 9 builds the conditional reflex.