What Is A WPM Typing Test?

A typing test involves checking how fast you can type. It is the most common way to assess the speed and accuracy of someone’s keyboarding skills.

WPM typing tests are usually taken at work when the employer wants to know the speed of their typist, or when someone applies for a job that requires typing at high speeds. To take a test, you have to type words from a given list as quickly as possible.

 

Most online tests will give you a score based on the number of words per minute that you type, which is usually calculated by dividing the total number of words typed by the time it took for the test.

A typing speed test can be given on both manual typewriters (not in use nowadays) and computer keyboards. 

A normal person can reach speeds of 50-60 wpm, professionals who work in transcription may reach over 100 wpm (words per minute).

Why You Should Take A Typing Speed Test? 

The typing test can be a great way to assess a person’s ability to type. The test is usually given to ensure that the candidate has the ability and skills needed to do the job. 

There is a consensus that typing speed is the most important keyboarding skill to measure. A good typist can type much faster and with fewer errors than a slow typist.

If you have taken a typing speed test, you must know your current words per minute (WPM) so you can measure your progress. 

The test takes about 10 minutes (You can also select your custom duration for the test), so it’s worth completing if you are looking for a new position or just want to see what kind of speed you can achieve at home on your keyboard!

The test is used to measure your average word per minute (wpm) and typing accuracy, measured as a percentage. 

It also reveals where you need to improve or maintain your skills by letting you know how close you are to meeting or exceeding the minimum requirements for some positions.

The faster you can type, the better time you will have completing tasks. In this day and age, few professions do not require typing speed. 

If you want to get ahead in any career field, from law enforcement to marketing, from customer service rep to personal assistant �" being able to type well will allow you more time for other aspects of your work life or personal life.

What is an Average Typing Speed?

For those who are just beginning to type, they are often interested in the answer to the question, “what is an average typing speed?” The average typing speed is 36 words per minute.

Typing speed is usually measured in words per minute, but as most people have noticed, words have different lengths. Depending on your profession, you may need to type longer words than in other professions.

For example, if you’re a legal typist, you’re probably typing longer words than most people do. For this reason, the best way to measure typing speed is in characters per minute. The average typing speed, in this case, is about 187 characters per minute.

What’s A Good Typing Speed?

A good typing speed for most people is 40 words per minute or over. This would give you a word count of 2400 words per hour if you could sustain the pace for sixty minutes. Some people can type a whole very faster than 40 words per minute. 

If you’re a professional typist, you can probably type 75 words per minute, and maybe even more. What’s the world record? Believe it or not, it’s 150 words per minute, and that was measured over a sustained period. 

When given a shorter time frame, our world-record typist could reach a speed of 212 words per minute. In other words, she can type much faster than most people can talk.

How To Improve Your Typing Speed?

Have A Good Quality Keyboard:

Improving your typing speed takes practice and good equipment. If you have to hammer certain keys a few times before they are registered, it’s going to take you longer to type than if you have equipment that performs well.

If you spend a good portion of your day on the computer, it’s worth investing in a good keyboard.

Learn How To Touch Type: 

Touch typing means that you don’t have to look at your keyboard when you’re typing words. You just monitor your screen as you type. Touch typing also means using both hands and all of your fingers.

If you are someone who has one or two-finger types, you’ll never be in a position to be a quick typist.

Luckily, you don’t have to sign up for expensive lessons: there are plenty of free touch typing games and apps available. Simply search “free online touch typing” and you should have plenty of resources from which to choose.

Posture Is Important:

You may find that you need to alter the height of your chair to get into a correct typing posture. Experts say that you should be able to sit up straight and that your elbows should be bent at a 90-degree angle. 

Your wrists can rest lightly on the table, but don’t put weight on them. When your fingers hover over the ‘home row’ �" the middle row of letters, they should be slightly bent.

Use Your Keyboard Shortcuts: 

Copying, pasting, undoing, or finding a word in your text can easily be done with a few simple keyboard shortcuts. There’s no need to use your mouse. Since your fingers are already busy on your keyboard, learning your shortcuts will help to save you time.

Practice, Practice, Practice:

Practice, as they say, makes perfect. So the more you practice your touch typing, the faster you’ll get. Spend half an hour to an hour on practice every day, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your typing speed can improve!

Take Your Time: 

It’s worth taking your time to learn accuracy rather than rushing to complete as many words per minute as possible before returning to correct them. Corrections take up time, so getting things right the first time around will help you to improve your overall speed. 

You’ll still have to check your work, but if you follow the rules of touch typing and keep your eyes on the screen, there shouldn’t be much to correct.

Improving your typing speed will make you more productive and will help you to capture your thoughts before the inspiration disappears.

Conclusion

When you take a typing speed test, you can see whether or not you are meeting or exceeding your skill level. 

If you are not, there are several other ways to improve your typing speed. Take a typing test to see if your skills are up to snuff.

If you are unable to get along with other assistants or managers, this will prevent you from being able to accomplish your job duties to the best of your ability.

Author's Note

The Word Per Minute Test is used to measure your average word per minute typing accuracy with rank. Use this tool to know your typing speed.