How to Type

Mastering the keyboard isn't difficult if you go about it methodically and practice a little every day. There are different techniques to becoming a good typist, but they all require practice. By following these tips you should be able to increase your words-per-minute total quite a bit. Here are the basic strokes to get you started.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Word-processing Software
• Audiotapes For Learning To Type
• Stopwatches
• Typewriters
• Learn To Type Softwares
• Typing Classes
• Computers
• Book Stands
• Books On Learning To Type

1. Put your fingers on "home row": left pinkie on "a," left ring finger on "s," left middle finger on "d," and left index finger on "f." For the right hand, put the pinkie on the semicolon, the ring finger on "l," the middle finger on "k," and the index finger on "j."
2. Type the following - looking anywhere but the keyboard - saying the names of the letters out loud and using either thumb for the space bar: "f f space j j space d d space k k space s s space l l space a a space semicolon semicolon space."
3. Repeat this as many times as you need to in order to feel that you're getting an intuitive sense of these letters.
4. Bring in "g" and "h" by reaching with the appropriate index finger.
5. Use this same saying-it-out-loud technique to learn the rows above and below home row: the left pinkie for "q" and "z," the right pinkie for "p" and the slash. Again the index fingers do double duty: "r," "t," "v" and "b" for the lefty index finger; "u," "y," "m" and "n" for the right index finger.
6. Use your pinkies for the "shift" key: the left pinkie if the right hand is typing the letter and vice versa.
7. Learn the numbers: left pinkie for "1," left index finger for "4" and "5," right pinkie for "0," and right index finger for "6" and "7."
8. Move to actual texts as soon as you can, since they'll make your learning real.
9. Master other keys as you see fit - such as the Control key and the arrow keys - but be aware that these differ from keyboard to keyboard and may not be worth learning.
10. Practice for at least 15-30 minutes every day.

Tips & Warnings

• Take a typing class if you need external structure to help you practice regularly.
• Some find the number keys to be too far away to type accurately. If you experience this, watch the keys as you type, since errors with numbers can be costly.
• If you use word-processing software, check the program's reference manual or Help menu to learn formatting techniques, such as changing the type style and setting new margins.
• Avoid looking at the keyboard, however tempted. It's the only way to really learn to type.
• Keys on computer keyboards vary slightly by model.

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