Typing descriptive answers in RBI Grade B Phase 2

In Phase 2 you type your answers. That sounds like a small detail until you try it: a candidate who can write 600 words by hand in half an hour often manages far fewer on a keyboard, because typing and thinking compete for the same attention. Every backspace, every glance down at the keys, every half-remembered spelling costs a few seconds, and over four answers those seconds add up to a missing conclusion or an unfinished last question.

The fix is not heroic. It is a few weeks of deliberate practice, started well before Phase 1, so that on exam day the keyboard disappears and only your answer is left.

What the typed papers ask of you

Two reported rules matter here. First, if you answer more than four questions, only the first four are evaluated, so a fifth answer is wasted time. Second, the word limits are ceilings. If you filled every limit in ESI you would type 600 + 600 + 400 + 400 = 2,000 words in 90 minutes, which is 22 words a minute with no pause to think. Nobody does that, and nobody needs to.

How fast is fast enough?

You have two speeds, and only one of them is usually measured.

• Copy speed is how fast you type text that is in front of you. Online typing tests measure this.
• Composing speed is how fast you type while deciding what to say. This is your exam speed, and for most people it is well below copy speed.

Worked example: words that fit in the time

The Phase 2 strategy budgets 27 minutes for a 15-mark answer and 18 minutes for a 10-mark answer (1.8 minutes per mark). Take out time to plan and to check:

1. 15-mark answer: 27 − 4 (planning) − 2 (checking) = 21 minutes of typing.
2. 10-mark answer: 18 − 3 (planning) − 1 (checking) = 14 minutes of typing.

Now multiply by composing speed:

So the practical target is a composing speed of about 20–25 words a minute, which usually needs a copy speed of around 30–35. Below a composing speed of about 15, you will feel rushed on every answer.

Measure yourself this week

1. Copy a paragraph from an RBI press release for five minutes. Divide the words typed by 5: that is your copy speed.
2. Set a 10-minute timer and type an answer to "What is financial inclusion and why does it matter?" Divide the words by 10: that is your composing speed.
3. Count your errors in both. Accuracy matters as much as speed, because there is no red underline to rescue you.

Laying out an answer in a plain text box

Assume the answer box is plain text: no bold, no bullets, no headings and no spell-check. Some interfaces show a word count, but do not depend on one; learn what 400 words of your own typing looks like on a screen.

Structure has to come from the text itself:

• Leave a blank line between paragraphs. One idea per paragraph, three to five lines each.
• Number your points by typing "1.", "2.", "3." at the start of a line. Examiners scan for them.
• Type a short label on its own line before each part, ending with a colon: "Causes:", "Impact:", "Way forward:".
• Avoid decorative symbols such as arrows, asterisks or strings of dashes. Words read more cleanly.

Here is how a 10-mark answer on financial inclusion might sit on the screen:

The ESI answer-writing guide and the F&M answer-writing guide have full model answers built on this layout.

Drills that actually build speed

1. Touch typing first. If you still look at the keys, spend two or three weeks on home-row drills, 15 minutes a day. Your speed will dip before it rises; keep going.
2. Copy-type economic text. Monetary policy statements, RBI press releases and Budget speech paragraphs. This puts the exam's vocabulary into your fingers.
3. Drill the words you misspell. Keep a running list and type each word ten times once a week.
4. Compose against a timer. One 10-mark answer every other day, then a 15-mark answer twice a week.
5. Full sections. In the last month, a full 90-minute descriptive section at least once a week.

Words that trip up many candidates when there is no spell-check:

Set up your practice so it feels like the exam: a desktop or laptop keyboard (not a phone), a plain-text editor, and spell-check and autocorrect switched off.

Proofreading in two minutes

Keep the last minute or two of each answer to scan for:

• sentences that stop halfway, usually where you changed your mind;
• numbers typed wrongly, such as 6.5 for 5.6 or a missing zero;
• your personal list of misspellings;
• a missing conclusion. If time is short, one closing sentence is better than none.

Do not reread for style. There is no time, and a slightly plain sentence costs nothing.

Common mistakes

• Starting typing practice after Phase 1. The gap to Phase 2 is short. Typing is a motor skill and needs weeks.
• Practising on a phone or with autocorrect on. You train habits the exam will not support.
• Treating the word limit as a target. A clear 350-word answer that finishes beats a 600-word answer that leaves the fourth question blank.
• Constant backspacing. Fix small slips at the end, not mid-sentence. Momentum matters more.
• Answering a fifth question "just in case". Only the first four are reported to be evaluated.

A four-week typing plan

After week 4, keep one timed answer on most days until Phase 2. The Phase 2 strategy shows where typing fits in the wider plan.

Quick check

1. Why is a 30-words-a-minute copy speed not the same as being exam-ready?
   • Because composing speed, typing while thinking, is lower. That is the speed the exam uses.
2. At a composing speed of 20 words a minute, about how many words fit in 21 minutes?
   • 420 words.
3. You finish four answers with eight minutes left. Should you attempt a fifth?
   • No. Only the first four are reported to be marked. Use the time to proofread.
4. How do you show structure without bullets or bold?
   • Blank lines between paragraphs, numbered points typed as "1.", and short labels such as "Way forward:" on their own line.