typing speed

[Makaveli2007]

How fast can you guys type? As in words per minute. Any idea?

Does it depend a lot on the type of keyboard you use?

[not2easy]

Back in the day of typewriters as an office tool and wpm mattered, I did a decent 110 wpm on electric, but I am not speed typing on a computer because I'm writing my own words, not transcribing written materials. I can't imagine a reason to time such writing so I have no idea how many wpm I write, maybe 20? 50?

If you need speed writing, maybe try spoken word transcription, there are lots of automated writing tools.

[lucy24]

Go to your favorite search engine and put in something like “test typing speed”. You will find dozens of online tests. I did one at random and came out to 60 wpm, which I would call “adequate”. Results on a computer are different from results on a typewriter, because you can correct errors on the fly, which probably takes less time than the error deduction if not corrected.

:: irritated because one sample passage included a sentence beginning “However,” (comma) while I adhere to the rule that this sense of the word has to be postpositive ::

[tangor]

The keyboard does make a difference. Mechanical switch keys are much faster and very like those of electric typewriters.

I can type up to 120wpm but my error rate is 6%

My zero error rate is 82wpm (transcribing)

My THINKING RATE while typing is about 70wpm

[Makaveli2007]

thanks for the replies.

@ lucy: I've done such tests already - I'm basically wondering how fast other people can type, that's what I'm trying to figure out - I've already tried such tests myself. Interesting to hear you typed at around 60 wpm.

@ not2easy.... typewriters sounds kind of old school - I barely remember these :D

@tangor: Interesting! Is this your personal experience? Do you know others who have come to that conclusion?

Have you always typed that fast? Or did you make progress over the years? How much faster do you type using mechanical keyboards? Just wondering.

[lucy24]

Have you ever used a manual typewriter? (I used to own an L C Smith from, probably, the 20s.* Weighed a ton, but ooh was it satisfying.) Title Case will really slow you down--as will any punctuation more obscure than ,.; (comma, period, semicolon) -- because you have to put weight on that Shift key. And that's a Shift Everything, physically moving the letters, not Caps Lock which is done in software.

Incidentally...

I am not speed typing on a computer because I'm writing my own words

Funny, I type faster when I'm writing my own words, because I don't have to look at anything else; it just spills out of the brain. But people who type their own words do not generally have to be concerned with WPM.

* Edit: That is, ahem, the NINETEEN twenties.

[tangor]

Heh! Oh the memories! I got my great grandmother's Underwood (1890s) when I was 10. QWERTY layout. Taught myself touch typing on that monster built like a tank.... though it took about 6 months to get up to about 30wpm (that dang hard to use).

About age 12 riding bikes with my younger brother, we passed a pile of rubbish set out on the curb and in that was a 1950s Royal, Pica 10, Standard platen. Balanced the beast on my bicycle seat and managed to get it home. It was in pretty good shape, excepting two bent keys that Dad managed to straighten out with pliers and elbow grease. I was the only kid in elementary school who turned in typewritten class homework assignments. That caused a problem as one teacher said my parents were doing the work. Mom and I arrived at the school one afternoon and demanded that I be given a chance to show my skills on one of their office machines. After that no more problems. :)

Collected another Royal office machine, this time in Elite 12pica with an extended platen (12" wide) which remained my main machine for 15 or so years.

In the 1970s I started with IBM electrics (Selectric 1, Selectric II and finally 3 Selectric III) with font balls numbering about 20, both normal and italic.

Did some reporting for local newspapers on a niche market (music/live shows) and timely product, readable and precise output followed. For a period of time I fancied myself a "novelist" and really began banging out the words per minute (I CAN type as fast as I think, but my fingers do not alwyas (example error) keep up.

1980s (early) I got a PC. Had an IBM keyboard with the Selectric touch that cost nearly as much as the computer itself. Lasted me about 18 years before upgrades, etc, made it impossible to connect to the new hardware (dongles were not generally found at that time). Tried a bunch of the rubber and sponge cheapo keyboards, liked none of them, and have always invested in mechanical switch keyboards ever since. Some can be found as low as US $40 with smart response and that "clickety sound" that tells you you bottomed out the keystroke!

Have you always typed that fast? Or did you make progress over the years? How much faster do you type using mechanical keyboards? Just wondering.

Everything gets better with practice. Touch typing is thinking in WORDS not letters. My speed on sponge and mechanical keyboards is about the same, but the sponge keyboards is not RESPONSIVE and a lot of letters are left out. Sigh!

HAVING SAID ALL THE ABOVE: Speed kills, everyone says so. Find the right pace, the stamina for the long haul, and above all, learn two handed touch typing. Learn to think in WORDS not letters. Practice TRANSCRIBING (keeping your eyes on text from another source and NOT looking at your output (screen or paper). Gain confidence in the keyboard and the rewards down the line will be immense, particularly if you are coding!

I've been keyboard wise for nearly 62 years. Just got a head start on most folks.

In the final analysis it is not how FAST, but how ACCURATE!