TypingBuilding speed with rhythm
By now you know where every key is. Speed is no longer about knowledge. It is about rhythm, about reading a little ahead, and about not stopping.
Rhythm first
Listen to a fast typist and you hear a steady patter, not bursts and pauses. Uneven typing, fast on easy words and stuck on hard ones, feels quick but measures slow, and it produces mistakes at every join.
Type the first drill line to a slow count, one key per beat, including the space bar. Then raise the pace of the count a little. The aim is that every key, easy or hard, takes the same time.
Read ahead
Your eyes should be one or two words ahead of your fingers. While the fingers type morning, the eyes are already taking in train. If you read only the letter you are typing, you stop after every word to find the next one. Reading ahead feels strange for a day or two. Practise it on purpose with the longer drill lines.
Do not stop for mistakes while building speed
In the accuracy lesson you correct every mistake. In speed practice, do the opposite for a few minutes: let small slips pass and keep the beat. The typing test on this site counts a wrong word against you, so this is not how to take a test. It is an exercise that trains the hands to keep moving.
Short bursts
Take one sentence and type it five times in a row, a little faster each time. On the fifth attempt you will be well above your usual speed, and the fingers remember the feeling. Then do the same with the next sentence.
Drill
it is the end of the day and we are all at home
the morning train to the city was late again today
she said that they would send the letter by friday
most of the work was done before the rain began
if you can read this line you can type this line
when the bell rang the children ran out to play
a little practice each day is better than a lot once
keep your eyes on the screen and your hands at home
The drill lines have no capitals and no punctuation on purpose. They let you feel plain speed. Real text has both, so finish each practice with a normal typing test.
What is a good speed
There is no single answer. Someone who types with two fingers while looking at the keys usually manages a modest speed and cannot go much faster. A touch typist passes that within a few weeks and keeps improving for months. Compare yourself only with your own result from last week. The test page keeps your recent results on your device, so you can see the trend.
If an examination or a job asks for a particular speed, read its own notice for the figure and for how it is measured. Bodies differ on the length of the test, on whether mistakes are deducted, and on whether they count words or key depressions. The guide on how typing speed is measured explains those terms.
A weekly routine
- Five minutes of common words as a warm-up.
- Five minutes of bursts on two or three sentences.
- One typing test of two or three minutes, typed for accuracy.
- Note the net speed. Stop there. Tired fingers learn mistakes.
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.