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word-per-minute-test   Image Posted Dec.29th, 2022, viewed 312 times

Improve Your Word Per Minute Test Score with These Effective Tips

The average typing speed test score is around 40 words per minute (WPM) or around 190-200 characters per minute. To give you an idea of how fast that is, consider this, a typical 13-year-old has a typing speed of around 23 WPM while experienced secretaries’ average typing speed is around 74 WPM.

These numbers, though, are for typing in the English language only. For other languages, the average typing speed varies because of the differences in the number of alphabets or the agglutinative nature of other languages.

Also, these numbers only apply to the standard QWERTY keyboard, not the Dvorak or other purportedly more intuitive keyboard layouts that claim to make typing faster.

You certainly wouldn’t want to be stuck with the typing speed of a 13-year-old, especially now that computers have become important things in everyday modern life.

You don’t necessarily have to aim for the typing speed of a secretary or professional typist either. Acing an average 50-60 wpm score is a good enough goal and is not difficult to achieve. Here are some ideas that’ll help you improve your typing skills!

Tips To Improve Your Typing Speed Test Score

Master the Keyboard and Practice Your Fingers

An intensive typing training course is not a necessity. What’s important when it comes to improving your typing skills though, is to get used to the activity.

It’s all about muscle memory. Think of it as if you were playing a console or computer game. You can’t do well if you don’t master the control keys and if you don’t spend time actually playing.

The first step in improving your typing speed, thus, is to master the art of operating the keyboard before you even consider taking a typing test.

Be Sure to Use All Ten Fingers

No finger should be idle unless you are typing an article that does not have specific letters assigned to specific fingers. The ideal finger-to-letter assignment is as follows:

Pinky Finger (Left)- 1, Q, A, Z, `, Tab, Caps Lock, Left Shift

Ring Finger (Left)- 2, W, S, X

Left Middle Finger – 3, E, D, C

Index Finger (Left)- 4, R, F, V, 5, T, G. B

Left and Right Thumbs – Space Bar, Alt

Right Pinky Finger – 0, P, ;, ?, -, {, }, “, \, Backspace, Enter, Right Shift

Ring Finger (Right) – 9, O, L, >

Middle Finger (Right)- 8, I, K, <

Right Index Finger – 6, Y, H, N, 7, U, J, M

It is recommended that the fingers are anchored on the home keys so they can easily reach the rest of the keys.

The left pinky, ring, middle, and index fingers are anchored to the A, S, D, and F keys respectively.

The right set of fingers, on the other hand, is for the letters J, K, L, and, Some keyboards provide small but easily felt bumps for the letters F and J so you can quickly locate these keys by simply touching them.

Once you position your index fingers on their respective home keys, you can easily position the rest of your fingers on their respective home keys.

Master Touch Typing With a Relaxed Stance

Touch typing is basically typing without looking at the keyboard, and it’s an ingredient to the winning score for a typing test. It’s mastering the keyboard by touch, observing the use of the right fingers for the right keys.

You will likely need weeks or months to master touch typing but you don’t have to devote a lot of your time to it every day.

Practice it whenever you have the opportunity. Prevent yourself from looking at the keyboard every time you do a typing job.

To Err is Human

Don’t feel too bad about having to use the Backspace or Delete keys too often during your first few weeks or months of training yourself with touch typing.

Try to minimize your reliance on them but don’t do the shortcut of correcting your misspelled words using the mouse or arrow keys to correct the wrong letters.

Use Various Typing Speed Test Options and Training Tools

Many online and offline free typing tools can help you improve your typing speed and typing test results. Don’t hesitate to use them.

The good news? wordperminute.org websites offer free typing tests that’ll help you practice for the real thing!

Go for those that provide exercises or a mock one-minute typing test featuring a variety of texts and give out detailed statistics regarding your typing speed, including the number of keystrokes, misspelled words, and keystroke errors.

You may not realize it but the numbers you see every time you complete a typing test or exercise can be motivating. They make you want to improve your typing or notice how your typing speed is not consistent or degrading.

Participate in Typing Contests

Sometimes you need the motivation to improve your typing speed and you just can’t find this motivation on your own.

Being involved in typing clubs and contests (usually online) can be a good way to find motivation. Learning together with others who are new to raising their typing speeds is often useful.

Through these clubs or groups, you can learn from the difficulties encountered by others and find tips for addressing these difficulties.

Are you ready to improve your typing skills and typing speed test score? Consider implementing the aforementioned tips and practice a free typing test whenever the opportunity presents itself.

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