Several techniques of typing

The invention of the typewriter has revolutionized the process of communicating via written language. This device replaced handwriting as a primary means of text entry on a widespread basis, and it also improved the practicality of typing.

Before typewriters, people would write letters by hand, which was slow and laborious; writing became much faster with typewriters. For example, an author typically writes articles on their computer at approximately 70 words per minute (WPM). However, when written by hand, they can only write at a rate of roughly 20 to 30 WPM.

The gradual transition from handwriting to typing has made the skill of typing a popular subject for instruction and practice. Many schools offer classes where students learn how to type fast and train the proper way of typing. A typing class can be an extremely useful way of learning to type properly because most students may never practice on their own time.

However, many of us think that people do not need formal typing classes to learn to type fast and well; they simply need to practice more. However, research has demonstrated that there are actually different methods of typing, some of which are more efficient than others. For example, people who use the "hunt and peck" method, in which they look at each key and move their fingers around to find the correct keys, type much slower than those who use the "touch typing" method, in which they type without looking at their hands.

In this article, we will discuss several techniques of typing, and try to understand the differences. After the invention of the "Scrittura Tattile" (the world's first typewriter) in 1575, people slowly understood the importance of typing. Gradually humans have developed several devices to make type faster and more accurate. Besides the development of typing devices, the basic technique of typing is also upgraded day by day. After the invention of the computer, typing becomes easier and more accurate because of the backspace key. In modern days people generally use 5 techniques of typing.

Touch typing

It is the most common and most efficient method to type. All of our 10 fingers are used in this technique; that's why many of us call it 10 finger typing. It is the way to type without looking at your hands. In this method, the typist looks at the source and types continuously without looking at the keyboard or the fingers.

As the typist doesn't need to look back at the keyboard, the speed automatically increases. Almost every professional typists use this method to type. If you are using a QWERTY keyboard, first place your index fingers over the J and F keys and feel the intentionally placed bumps over these key-caps. These small bumps help us to identify these keys without looking at them.

Now place your middle fingers over K and D keys and the ring finger over L and S keys. The small fingers should be placed over the semicolon key (;) and the letter A. This finger position is called the home position, and the row where you put your fingers is called the home row. You need to get your finger back to its original position whenever you hit a key. It is the basic criteria of the touch typing method.

To understand and learn touch typing elaborately, visit our unique touch typing training program. Once you know the basic rules, you may practice using our 5 minutes or 10 minutes typing program.

Hunt & Peck Method

The Hunt & Peck method is the most common typing technique. It is also known as the two-finger method because here, only the two fingers are used to hit the keys, the middle finger and the index finger. This haptic way of typing has been used mainly by stenography professionals for many years.

Hunt & Peck is a typing technique where the person types each key one after another. In this method, the user looks at the keyboard, not the screen, so it is very difficult to find if the typist makes any error. That's why the accuracy rate drops heavily while using this method. However, many people use this way of typing and still manage to type at a good speed.

Hybrid Method

This technique is a mixture of Touch Typing and the Hunt & Peck method. In this method, the typist memorizes the keyboard layout and focuses the result on the screen. However, they don't use all of their fingers to type like they do on the touch typing method. Some hybrid typists use just 2 fingers; others use 5 to 6 fingers. As they believe using more fingers doesn't increase the typing speed. To speed up, the typist fixed their hand position on the keyboard and only moves their fingers to type.

Buffering

Buffering is a play pause way of typing. It is also a combination of Touch Typing and the Hunt & Peck method. Here the typist reads a sentence from the content, memorize it, and then types. Although many typists use this method to achieve high typing speed, we strongly recommend not using this.

Thumbing

Thumbing is the most modern typing technique, mainly used in small devices (cell phones, tab, etc.). After developing the Smartphone and tab, this new method has evolved. In this process, the person uses both their thumb to type. This typing technique is useful only on small devices.

These are the top five commonly used techniques of typing. All are useful in different conditions, although if you want to type fast on a computer, you must use the touch typing method.

Additionally, research has shown that different keyboard layouts have different typing impacts. Some believe the traditional QWERTY keyboard layout was designed to make typing slow. Although the world's fastest typist Stella Pajunas Garnand made her world record using a QWERTY keyboard. If you want to know more about different keyboard layouts, you may read this article.

Typing Facts

What is the most commonly used typing technique?

Although touch typing is the fastest typing method, mass people commonly use the Hunt & Peck method to type.

Who is the fastest typist in the world?

Stella Pajunas Garnand is the world's fastest typist by typing 216 words in a minute using an IBM typewriter. The quickest typist on a Dvorak keyboard is Barbara Blackburn. She made the world record in 2005 using a Dvorak simplified keyboard.

What is the fastest typing method?

There is no doubt that touch typing is the fastest and most accurate typing method.

What can we consider a good typing speed?

Our survey shows that the average typing speed of teenagers is nearly 35 WPM, and professional typists' average speed is close to 53 WPM. So we can consider 40 WPM as a good typing speed. Additionally, according to a survey by Microsoft, employers want their employees to be able to type at more than 50 WPM speed.

How long should we practice to adopt the touch typing technique?

If you practice regularly, 30 minutes of the daily practicing session is enough to adopt the touch typing method. Consistency and dedication is the key to learning. So you need to be dedicated to your target.

Is acquiring the touch typing method the only way to do typing fast?

I know many people who use Hunt & Peck or the Hybrid technique and can still type at 35 - 40 WPM speed. But it's almost impossible to achieve 60 WPM speed without touch typing.

What is 10 finger typing?

In the touch typing method, the typist uses all of their fingers to type. All the 10 fingers are used in this process; that's why it is called the 10 finger typing.

What is 10 key typing?

10 key typing is different than the 10 finger typing. There is a bunch of numbers and symbol keys on a full-sized keyboard. These keys are used to type numbers and symbols fast. The way of typing these keys is called the 10 key typing. You may find more detail on 10 key typing here: 10 key typing.