TypingAccuracy: fixing your weak keys
Accuracy is the part of typing that pays. A typist at a moderate speed with almost no mistakes finishes sooner than a fast typist who must go back and correct every line. In tests that deduct for mistakes, accuracy decides the result.
Find your weak keys
After a typing test on this site, look at the list of words you typed wrongly. Read the wrong letters, not only the words. Most people find that the same two or three keys cause most of their mistakes. Typical ones are:
B,VandN, the long reaches of the index fingers.X,Z,QandP, typed by the weak ring and little fingers.IandO, orEandR, neighbours that get swapped.MandN, which sit together under one finger.
Once you know your weak keys, practise them directly. Ten slow correct taps teach the finger more than a hundred fast doubtful ones.
Slow down to speed up
Take the text you got wrong and type it at half your normal speed, so slowly that a mistake is nearly impossible. Do it three times. Then go a little faster. This feels like going backwards. It is the quickest known way forwards, because the finger learns the correct movement and not the mistake.
Kinds of mistake and their cures
| Mistake | Example | Cure |
|---|---|---|
| Neighbouring key | tge for the | The finger is not coming back to its home key. Check your hand position. |
| Letters in the wrong order | teh for the | One hand is ahead of the other. Slow down and keep the beat. |
| Missing letter | lettr | The tap was too light, or you are reading too far ahead. |
| Double letter typed once | leter | Tap the same key twice with a clear rhythm: tap, tap. |
| Wrong capital | THe | Shift released too late. Practise down, tap, up. |
| Missed space | ofthe | The thumb is lazy. Type common word pairs slowly. |
Drill
bib verb vibe brave above number nimble
zax quiz pixel quartz zipper expose plaza
mine nine moon noon name mean many main
there their three these those through though
form from, unite untie, trial trail, dairy diary
letter better little middle follow accept success
committee address necessary occasion tomorrow
The exam began at nine; Zoya quickly fixed every blank.
Look-alike words
The fifth drill line has pairs such as form and from, trial and trail. They are all real words, so a spelling checker will not catch one typed for the other. Only careful typing does. Read such words fully before your fingers start.
Should you use Backspace?
In daily work, yes: correct a mistake as soon as you see it. In practice, it depends on what you are training. For accuracy practice, correct every mistake, and correct it with the right little finger on Backspace, without looking. For rhythm practice, leave the mistake and go on. In a test, follow the rules of that test. In the test on this site you can correct a word until you press Space. After that the word is counted as typed.
A target to keep
Aim for 97 per cent accuracy or better before you try to go faster. That is about three wrong characters in a hundred. When your accuracy holds there for a week, raise your speed a little and hold it again. Speed and accuracy climb together, one step at a time.
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.