Rules for Touch Typing
I once used a towel to train Microsoft Word? Yes that's right! One of the methods I used for touch typing to increase typing efficiency and speed is by adding a tea towel into the equation. I use a tea towel to cover your hands and the keyboard. This way you know that you are truly touch typing.
Rules for touch typing:
- Never look at the keyboard - a mandatory touch typing tip
Even with those awkward symbols and especially with UPPER and lower case letters. If you are typing a weird not often used character learn where in is and type it without looking at the keyboard. You'll be surprised at how quickly your brain will adapt. To force yourself to do this make use of a towel. Cover your hands with a towel and this way it's more awkward to remove the towel to look at your keys than it is to press backspace and find the correct key touch typing style. - Focus on Accuracy
Technique and Accuracy is paramount when it comes to touch typing. Problem is that when most people know how to get all of the major keys on the keyboard that's where they stop. They then try to focus on building speed while making so many mistakes along the way. The best way to build your speed is to make little or no mistakes. Think of a marathon runner who, for every 10 steps forward, had to run 2 steps backward. That's 80% accuracy but think of how faster they would be if they took no steps backward. - Find the Index Keys
The "Index Keys" are the keys that have the raised bumps on the keyboard. On the standard English keyboard they are F & J. Lighlty move your hands across your keyboard and feel the little bumps on the keyboard. - Practice, practice and practice some more
The more you practice the better you become. Learning to type is more like learning how to ride a bike or ice skating than learning geography or English. It is more physical than academic. So when you are learning put aside 15 minutes to practice your typing at a website such as:- Typing Games - List of typing games to get you up to speed.
- Typing Club - Learn how to touch type from the start, absolutely free.
- Type Rush - Type fast and accurate to race cars and speedboats.
- Sit Straight
Posture is important! Ensure that you sit straight and that your wrists aren't flat against the table. You should dangle your fingers ideally keeping your wrists hovering about a couple of inches above the table. - Look Straight
Making sure that you looking at the screen straight on. Like you were speaking to someone across the table from you. This way you'll keep you head up and you're less likely to get a pain in the back. Raising the screen is a great way to ensure that you don't get "Stretch Neck". - Take a Break
Don't be typing for hours and hours. Ensure that you take regular breaks away from the screen. Make a cup of tea or better still do some light exercise like a couple of press-ups or do the washing up or anything. (Probably best not watch TV though).
I hope that you find these touch typing tips helpful. Yes it's true that you're not going to learn how to touch type in a day. However, keep practicing, ensure that you don't revert to bad habits (two finger typing) and maintain a positive outlook so that you don't give up and you'll quickly see your progress.
How typing speed is calculated
- Timer start: The clock begins the moment “Go!” appears.
- What counts as a word: By convention, 5 characters = 1 word (spaces and punctuation included).
- Gross WPM:
(correct characters ÷ 5) ÷ elapsed minutes - Errors: Each wrong character at the cursor adds 1 to the error count.
- Net WPM (shown):
max(0, Gross WPM − (errors ÷ elapsed minutes)) - Accuracy:
((typed − errors) ÷ typed) × 100%
Gross vs Net WPM (Simple explanation)
- Gross (time) WPM = how fast you finished. We use a stopwatch. This decides your place.
- Net WPM = how tidy you typed. Start with gross, then subtract a bit for mistakes.
Why they can be different
You can finish first (fast time = high gross) but still have a lower net if you made slips. Place is about time; net is about tidiness.
Example
You finish in 24s → 100 WPM gross. Mistakes knock off 20 WPM → 80 WPM net. You still win because you finished first.
How the race works
- Your car moves with the percentage of the passage you’ve completed; finish the text to cross the line.
- Opponents run at steady WPM based on auto-balance (your last stored WPM) or a manual baseline.
- Scrolling road is visual only—it doesn’t affect timing or scoring.
How to use it
- Choose the number of Opponents (1–5).
- Leave Auto-balance on, or untick and set a baseline WPM manually.
- Optionally adjust Motion smoothing and Sounds.
- Click Start. After the 3-2-1 lights, you can type the instant “Go!” shows.
- Type the highlighted passage exactly (including spaces and case). Mistakes reduce net WPM.
- When you finish, a results card shows WPM, accuracy, time, your placing, and each rival’s WPM.
- Use Race Again to replay, or New Text for a different passage.
How race results are calculated
- Placing (1st, 2nd, …): decided only by finish time. The game also shows your Gross (time) WPM, which is just another way of expressing the same finish time.
- Opponents’ speeds: rivals run at a steady WPM and do not take an accuracy penalty. You’re racing their gross speed.
- Your Net WPM: shown as the big number on the results card. It includes an error penalty and is a measure of clean typing; it doesn’t affect placing.
Formulas used
- Gross (time) WPM — based only on passage length and the clock:
(characters ÷ 5) ÷ (elapsed seconds ÷ 60) - Net WPM (shown) — gross with an errors-per-minute deduction:
max(0, Gross WPM − (errors ÷ elapsed minutes)) - Accuracy:
((typed − errors) ÷ typed) × 100%
Rounding, ties and ticks
- Displayed WPM and time are rounded, but placing uses the exact finish time under the bonnet (milliseconds). Two drivers may both show “77 WPM”, yet the faster exact time still wins.
- The ✅ next to an opponent means your finish time was quicker than theirs; ✖️ means they’d have beaten you if you’d finished later.
Why you can win with a lower Net WPM
- Net WPM subtracts an error penalty, so it can be lower than your Gross (time) WPM.
- Because placing is based on Gross (time) / finish time, you can still come 1st even if your Net WPM is lower than a rival’s displayed WPM, provided your actual finish time was earlier.
Handy tips
- If the cursor goes missing, click the track to focus and continue typing.
- For the fairest race, keep Auto-balance on so rivals match your level.