Typing Practice Activities

Learning to type can be a challenging, yet rewarding, task. While your fingers may not respond as quickly as you'd like in the beginning, time and practice really does make perfect. When you're in the learning stages, it's important to practice in a variety of ways to build your skills.

 

Alphabet Practice

One important method of practice involves typing sentences that contain all the letters of the alphabet to build your ability to locate every key by touch rather than sight. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," "A quick movement of the enemy will jeopardize six gunboats" and "The five boxing wizards jump quickly," are all examples of sentences you can use for this type of practice.

Speed-Building Drills

Building speed is an important aspect of learning to type. Repetitive timed typing drills enable you to do this over a period of time. Typing books are full of these exercises, which students use to build their speed. By setting a timer for five, 10 or 15 minutes and typing as much of the passage as possible, you can measure your speed upon completion. While accuracy is important, speed is the objective of these exercises.

Accuracy Drills

To build accuracy, you can also use the same passages you used for timed typing drills. In this instance, however, accuracy ranks above speed. By slowing down and working to type each word correctly, you can learn to type relatively error-free pages. Proofreading each typed page when finished will give you an idea of where you stand with regard to producing accurate work. As with all typing practice, repetition is key with these exercises also.

Online Practice

Unlike the old days when students had only a typewriter and paper, other tools are now available to build keyboarding skills. Online typing tutors and websites that offer free practice exercises are numerous. Sites such as Power Typing, Sense Lang and Typing Test, all offer resources that allow students to improve their skills and to repeat exercises as frequently as desired. Software programs to install on a home computer are available for purchase as well, at computer supply stores and over the Internet.