English Typing Test

How to take the English typing test

1. Pick a length. 1 minute matches most online tests; 2 and 5 minutes match typing exams and job assessments.
2. Click the text (or tap the box on a phone) and start typing. The clock starts on your first key.
3. Type each sentence exactly: capital letters, commas, full stops and apostrophes all count. Press space after every word.
4. Correct characters turn dark and mistakes red; a word with any error gets a red underline once you move on.
5. When the time is up, read your WPM, accuracy and errors. Press Tab or Restart for new sentences.

What the results mean

The test scores net words per minute (correct characters divided by 5 and by the minutes), raw WPM (all characters typed), accuracy and the number of errors. Because the sentences include punctuation and capitals, scores run 5-10 WPM below a plain word test; that is the realistic figure for typing emails, essays and documents.

Most job tests set a minimum accuracy, usually 95% or higher, as well as a speed. If your accuracy is below that, the speed figure will not help; slow down until the errors stop, then build speed back up.

Why sentences are harder than words

Common lowercase words use the letter keys and the space bar, the fastest keys on the board. Sentences add the shift key for capitals, the comma and full stop keys on the bottom row, and apostrophes, all of which involve the weaker fingers and a change of hand position. Sentences also carry meaning, which helps a fluent typist (you can read ahead and your fingers follow) but trips people who type letter by letter. For practice, the 40 passages here are plain English prose at an everyday reading level with no technical vocabulary, chosen to resemble the text in typing exams. The typing speed test uses common words only, and the 1 minute and 5 minute tests use these same sentences at fixed lengths.

Typing tests for English learners

If English is not your first language, a typing test doubles as reading practice: the sentences are short, concrete and grammatical, and typing them fixes spelling and punctuation habits. Expect a lower score than in your own language at first, because your fingers are used to different letter sequences; English has common pairs like "th", "ing" and "ou" that become automatic with practice. Read the whole sentence before you start typing it, type at a pace where you make no errors, and let speed come afterwards. Typing tests in other languages, including Urdu and Hindi, are planned for this site.

Common problems and fixes

The apostrophe or quote key gives a different character

Some keyboard layouts and phone keyboards insert a curly quote. The test expects the straight apostrophe found in the sentences; switch off smart punctuation in the keyboard settings.

Capital letters are marked wrong

Check Caps Lock. Each sentence starts with a capital and the rest is lower case unless it is a name.

My phone changes the words as I type

Turn off autocorrect and predictive text in the keyboard settings, or take the test on a computer for a comparable score.

The clock does not start

Click the text so the hidden input has focus, or tap the box under the words on a phone.