Typing Paragraph Test: Time Yourself on a Real Paragraph

A typing paragraph test measures how fast and accurately you type a full, real paragraph, not random words. Pick a paragraph below, choose 1, 2 or 5 minutes in the typing speed test, and you get words per minute and accuracy at the end. What a good score is, the typing test guide explains. Longer tests continue with paragraphs of the same level, so the difficulty stays the same.

Pick your paragraph

Start one level below what you think you can do. A clean result on an easy paragraph says more than a messy one on a hard one.

Easy: letters and basic punctuation

Meeting confirmation

Hi Sarah, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I can confirm our meeting on Thursday at ten in your office. I will bring printed copies of the documents so we can go through them together. If anything changes on your side, just let me know. Best regards and see you on Thursday.

Practice this paragraph in the speed test

Medium: with numbers and dates

Decisions and actions

Outcome of the meeting on 24 September: 1. The relaunch moves to 15 November. 2. Marketing delivers three variants of the home page by 30 September. 3. The budget stays at 12,000 euros, of which 4,000 euros are for external copy. Next meeting: Tuesday, 1 October, 2:00 pm, room 3.12.

Practice this paragraph in the speed test

Hard: with symbols, links and codes

Change request

Change request #CR-0912 (priority: high): the Excel export (.xlsx) must encode special characters correctly (UTF-8 instead of ISO-8859-1) and output amounts with two decimals, e.g. $1,234.50. Affected modules: Reporting & Billing; estimated effort 3 to 5 person-days; approval by the steering committee on 2 Oct, 11:00 am.

Practice this paragraph in the speed test

How long should the test be?

• 1 minute: a quick check, good for daily practice.
• 2 minutes: steadier, small slips matter less.
• 5 minutes: the length of many real pre-employment tests. Stamina and accuracy count as much as speed.

What is a good result?

In a study of 136 million keystrokes from 168,000 typists, the average was 51.56 WPM. Paragraphs with numbers and symbols come out lower than plain words, so compare yourself on the same level each time. What employers ask for, by job, is in average typing speed.

More paragraphs

All 99 texts, filterable by topic and difficulty, are in the typing practice paragraphs. Just starting out? Try the typing paragraphs for beginners.

Frequently asked questions

What is a typing paragraph test?

A timed test on a real paragraph. You get words per minute and accuracy, like in pre-employment typing tests.

How do I practice for a 5-minute typing test?

Do the 5-minute test on a medium paragraph twice a week, and shorter 1-minute runs on the other days.

Do numbers and symbols lower my score?

Usually yes. Compare results on the same difficulty level to see real progress.

Sources

• Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes - Aalto University and University of Cambridge, CHI 2018: average 51.56 WPM across 168,000 typists.