There’s nothing worse than having to type an essay or a report or a long email if you are a slow typer, so what is a good typing speed to aim for?
Typing a 2000 word report or essay at 60 words per minute (WPM), is going to take you just over half an hour BUT if you typing at 10 words per minute (WPM), it’s going to take you nearly THREE AND A HALF hours to finish.
So having a good accurate typing speed is an essential skill to have in this day and age for adults and children using laptops and computers.
If you are hunting and pecking with two fingers, looking down at the keyboard, and scanning for the right keys, there is a limit as to how fast you can type. And because you are looking at your fingers rather than the screen, you are also likely to be making quite a few mistakes.
This may mean going over your work and correcting errors, which takes even longer! Your concentration goes, and suddenly you have forgotten that really important sentence that was in your head just seconds before. Arghh! It’s so frustrating!
Learning to touch type and have a good typing speed is going to save precious hours of your life
As a school or university student, typing faster means getting through homework quicker, getting assignments done on time, and saving time so that more time can be spent on enjoyable hobbies.
For children with learning differences, learning to touch type with a good typing speed means that they can use their laptops in exams, helping them to stay on a level playing field with their peers.
As an adult, it’s a given that most companies expect their employees to have good typing skills, so having a good typing speed is going to help enhance your digital skills and stay ahead of the competition.
Will my typing speed ever increase if I carry on typing with two fingers?
Sadly, no. If you are not a touch typist (using all fingers and typing automatically without thinking or looking), then you are never going to type any faster than about 30wpm. Some students we have met have adopted with a hybrid style of typing, so they touch type some of the keys on the keyboard but have to look for others. Which again isn’t ideal.
It means their speeds may be slightly higher than 30wpm, but the highest we have ever seen at Type IT! is about 45wpm. While you may feel this is a sufficient speed for your needs, what this style of typing doesn’t take into account is the constant looking down at the keyboard, the number of errors made, and the break in focus that happens when you are constantly looking up and down from the keyboard.
Whilst the average typing speed using hunting or pecking or a hybrid method may be around 30-40wpm, the average accuracy is about 92%, which is too low for everyday typing. You should aim to have an accuracy of at least 95% to avoid wasting time and effort on correcting errors. Learning to touch type will definitely help with that.
What’s the optimum typing speed to have?
You want to be aiming for a typing speed that allows you to get your work done in the most efficient time possible, without making errors and also with ease so that you can think and type at the same time. Did you know that the fastest typist verified by the Guinness Book of Records, was Stella Pajunas (USA), who typed 216 words in a minute on an IBM machine in Chicago, in 1946?
Whilst you do not need to type that fast, you should be aiming to type at least 60wpm, to ensure that you can keep up a standard level of efficiency at work and during exams.
Do employers expect you to have a certain typing speed?
It depends on the job you do. Most employers don’t actually specify a typing speed, but you want to be able to type at an accurate and fast speed so that it doesn’t hamper your productivity. If you do take a course and become a proficient touch typist, this is certainly a skill you should note on your C.V. and show to your employer.
Typing speed for schoolwork and exams
There’s no doubt that learning to touch type and having a good typing speed, is a huge bonus for a child to have, especially as most young people are producing their work on laptops these days. A lot of schools are now giving their pupils laptops, but what they are failing to do is to give them instructions on how to use them properly. One of the basic skills they should be learning is touch typing.
For school work at home and in class, it’s important to have a good typing speed of at least 40wpm. Touch typing at this speed, with an accuracy of over 95%, means that they are able to get their thoughts down quickly. If a child is using a laptop for exams, the higher the speed and accuracy, the better, so speeds above 60wpm mean that they can type at the speed of thought whilst editing on the fly.
How can I improve my typing speed?
First of all, check your typing speed and accuracy. Visit this site to do a typing test so you can see how fast you are typing and what your accuracy is https://play.typeracer.com/.
If you are not a touch typer, remember that your speed is unlikely to increase, so the best thing to do is to book yourself onto one of our touch typing courses. You’ll learn to touch type using all ten fingers without looking and automatically, using your muscle memory (not your eyes), to learn where the keys are. Before long you will be typing without thinking.
It’s really important to learn touch typing in the RIGHT way. If you don’t learn the correct positions using all ten fingers, or you try and shortcut it somehow, you’ll be wasting your time. Just think of it as learning a new hobby such as swimming or piano.
You have to learn the basics first before it becomes fluent. It’s the same with touch typing. And once you’ve learned it – that’s it – you will have it for life. And as you use it more and more, the faster and more fluent you will be.
Whether you are a parent looking for your child to have a good typing speed, or an adult looking to type more productively for work, learning to touch type will help you develop the right typing skills for the future.
Check out our range of touch typing courses to see which would suit your needs and enable you to learn how to type faster and enroll online. Alternatively, give us a call on 020 3962 2059 to have a friendly chat about how we can help you!
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