Court typing tests are harder than their WPM figure suggests. A candidate who types 40 WPM on a newspaper paragraph often drops to 32 on a legal passage, and the mistakes double. The reason is not the speed standard. It is the text: long Latin-derived words, party names, section numbers, dates, abbreviations like "v." and "Hon'ble", and sentences with three commas and a semicolon.
This guide breaks a legal passage into the parts that slow typists down, and gives a drill for each. It is useful for the Supreme Court JCA, Delhi High Court, district court and other High Court typing tests.
What makes a legal passage slow
| Part of the passage | Example | Why it costs words |
|---|---|---|
| Long legal words | respondent, aforesaid, adjudication, notwithstanding | One slip anywhere in the word makes the whole word wrong |
| Party and place names | M/s Sharma Traders, State of Uttar Pradesh | Capitals and slashes break rhythm |
| Citations | Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 | Numbers, capitals and commas in one phrase |
| Case titles | Ram Kumar v. State of Haryana | The "v." with its full stop is easy to get wrong |
| Dates and amounts | dated 15.03.2024, Rs. 2,50,000/- | Figures and symbols in Indian format |
| Long sentences | clauses joined by commas, semicolons and "whereas" | Easy to lose your place and skip a line |
Drill 1: the legal word bank (10 minutes a day)
Type each word 5 times, slowly and correctly, then type the whole list once at normal speed. Change the list every week.
- Parties: petitioner, respondent, appellant, plaintiff, defendant, applicant, complainant, accused
- Procedure: adjournment, affidavit, injunction, summons, cognizance, jurisdiction, adjudication, proceedings
- Connecting words: aforesaid, hereinafter, notwithstanding, whereas, thereof, therein, pursuant, vide
- Court terms: Hon'ble, learned counsel, impugned order, judgment, decree, writ petition, bail application
Note the spelling judgment (no "e" after the "g"), which is standard in Indian court documents.
Drill 2: citations and case titles
Write 20 lines like these and type them until each one is clean three times in a row:
- Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
- Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Ram Kumar v. State of Haryana
- W.P.(C) No. 1234 of 2025
Watch the details the scoring catches: the capital in "Section" and "Article", the comma before the year, the full stop in "v.", Roman numerals in capitals. Each of these is a whole word in the report.
Drill 3: dates, amounts and numbers
Court passages use Indian number formats. Type 20 of each:
- dates: 15.03.2024, 01/04/2025, 7th January, 2026
- amounts: Rs. 2,50,000/-, Rs. 15,000/-, Rs. 1,25,50,000/-
- references: FIR No. 456/2025, Case No. 789 of 2024
The number typing test is good daily practice for figures, and the top row reach is worth drilling separately.
Drill 4: long sentences without losing your place
The biggest single loss in a legal passage is a skipped line. Train your eyes, not just your fingers:
- Read one or two words ahead of the word you are typing.
- At every full stop, glance at where the next sentence starts before you type it.
- If you lose your place, stop for a second and find the last word you typed. A one-second pause costs less than a skipped line of ten words.
A 4-week routine for court aspirants
| Week | Daily routine (35 to 40 minutes) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 min word bank + 10 min citations + one 10-minute attempt at 85% of your speed |
| 2 | 10 min word bank + 10 min dates and amounts + one 10-minute attempt |
| 3 | 5 min word bank + two 10-minute attempts with the exam's exact Backspace rule |
| 4 | Two full 10-minute attempts on the exam's practice page, reviewing the report after each |
Use full passages for the attempts: our exam pages for the Supreme Court JCA, Delhi High Court, Allahabad High Court and district courts are set up from each notice. For general prose, the typing test paragraphs page has more.
Frequently asked questions
Do court typing tests use legal passages?
Court recruitments commonly use formal or legal-style English, but the notice rarely says exactly what the passage will contain. Practising legal text prepares you for the hardest version.
Why is my typing speed lower on legal passages?
Long words, capitals, citations and numbers slow everyone down, and one slip in a long word makes the whole word wrong. Drilling those parts separately closes most of the gap.
How much should I practise for a 35 WPM court typing test?
Aim to type legal passages at 40 to 45 WPM with 98% accuracy in practice, so the exam standard has a margin. 35 to 40 minutes a day is a good routine.
Is "judgment" or "judgement" correct in court typing?
Indian courts use "judgment". Type exactly what the passage shows; the test compares your text with the passage, not with a dictionary.
