Guides

How to prepare for a typing test

A typing test rewards calm, even typing. People who can type well often do badly in a test because of nerves, an unfamiliar keyboard or a rule they did not know about. Preparation removes most of these surprises.

Read the notice first

Before any practice, find the official notice or instructions for your test and write down the answers to these questions.

1. Which language, and which keyboard layout or font?
2. How long is the test?
3. What speed is required, and in which unit: words a minute or key depressions an hour?
4. How are mistakes treated? Is there a limit on errors, or a deduction?
5. Is Backspace allowed?
6. Is the passage shown on the screen or given on paper?
7. Is the test only qualifying, or do its marks count?

We do not list the rules of any examination on this site, because they differ between bodies and change from year to year. The notice of your own test is the only reliable source. If something in it is unclear, ask the body that holds the test.

Practise in the test's conditions

Once you know the rules, copy them.

• Same length. If the test is ten minutes, practise ten minute tests. Speed over one minute says little about speed over ten.
• Same layout. Practise only the layout you will be tested in.
• Same source. If the passage will be on paper, practise from a printed page placed beside the screen, since moving the eyes between paper and screen is a skill of its own.
• Same rule for Backspace. If corrections are not allowed, practise without them, and learn to keep going after a slip.

Aim above the requirement

Under test conditions most people type a little slower than at home. Build a margin. If you can hold a speed comfortably above the required figure at home, at the full length and with good accuracy, nerves on the day are unlikely to pull you below it.

Accuracy is the safer route

Where mistakes are deducted or limited, every error costs more than the time it saved. A steady pace with few mistakes nearly always beats a fast pace with many. In practice, find the highest speed at which your accuracy stays around 97 per cent or better. That is your test speed. Do not exceed it on the day.

The week before

• Take one full length test a day, at the same time of day as the real test if you can.
• After each, read your wrong words and practise them for five minutes.
• Do not learn anything new. This is a week for repeating what you know.
• Sleep properly. Tired hands are clumsy.

On the day

1. Arrive early and settle. Rushing in raises the pulse and the error rate.
2. Adjust the chair and keyboard before the test begins. Feet flat, forearms level, keyboard straight in front of you.
3. Check the keyboard. If a trial or practice period is given, use all of it. Find the bumps on F and J, test the feel of the keys, check the space bar, the Shift keys and Backspace. Confirm that the language and layout are what you expect by typing a few words.
4. Read the instructions on the screen even if you think you know them.
5. Warm the hands. Open and close the fists several times. Cold fingers are slow.

During the test

• Start at a comfortable pace, slightly slower than your practice speed. Let the rhythm settle in the first minute.
• Keep your eyes on the passage. Glance at your own typing only now and then.
• After a mistake, carry on. If correction is allowed and the error is in the current word, fix it. Otherwise leave it. Thinking about a past mistake causes the next three.
• Do not watch the clock. A glance at the half way point is enough.
• Do not race at the end. The last minute is where tired typists make most of their errors.
• Follow the passage exactly. Capitals, punctuation and paragraph breaks are usually part of what is checked. Do not correct the passage, even if you believe it contains a mistake.

If something goes wrong

If the keyboard is faulty, a key sticks or the screen misbehaves, tell the invigilator at once, before or at the start of the test, not afterwards. Lost time is rarely given back for a problem reported late.

After the test

Whatever the result, note what surprised you. The keyboard, the noise, the length, the passage. If you have to appear again, those notes are your best preparation.

Using this site to prepare

The test page here offers lengths from one to ten minutes in English, Hindi and Punjabi, shows net and gross speed and accuracy, and lists the words you got wrong. It is good for building the habit and seeing your trend. It cannot copy the exact rules or software of any particular examination, so treat its figure as a guide and keep a margin.

This is an independent practice site. It is not connected with any examination body, keyboard maker or software company. A typing speed measured here is for your own practice. It is not a certificate, and an examination may measure speed in its own way.