Type the exercise paragraph exactly as shown and click the TEST ME! button when finished. Your Typing speed and accuracy will be measured automatically by the server, and a performance evaluation will be displayed along with your typing speed.
you (or them) may also get an optional Typing Certificate with online typing speed verification and a professional Typing Certification document suitable for framing after the typing tests.

Security features on authentic original Learn2Type.com certification documents include:
• Crisp printed border in green (copies will appear smudged);
• Micro-print background to prevent erasure or alteration;
• Circular Learn2Type.com raised seal on the lower left.

Once issued, your Typing Certification can be verified by others online (click here for an example). You will receive by postal mail a professional Certificate document suitable for framing, that contains your best typing speeds and your online verification Certificate ID. Certificate documents are delivered by US mail in 4 to 7 working days (most US locations, international delivery times vary).

The first six letters at the top left of your keyboard spell it out QWERTY. This arrangement of letters, along with the other 20 on the traditional keyboard were actually arranged that way to make the job of typing more difficult.

The first commercially successful typewriter was developed by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1873. Originally, the keys were arranged alphabetically. However, a problem soon arose. People became so adept at using the keyboard that the keys would stick or jam when struck in quick succession. In order to overcome this problem Sholes decided to make the job of typing as slow as he possibly could. His solution? He placed the most frequently used keys as far apart from each other as he could. His keyboard became known as the QWERTY keyboard.

So, that is the reason why your keyboard is formatted the way it is. Ironic, considering that every other aspect of your computer is streamlined for maximum efficiency and yet you have to labor over a 127 year old system designed specifically for inefficiency. And inefficient it certainly is. For one thing, QWERTY was not designed for touch typing, which came much later. For keys that are not in the middle or home row it is necessary to reach across diagonally. This is difficult and leads to a high error rate.

Some claim that there is a better system called the DVORAK keyboard format. It was designed by August Dvorak in the 1930s. Dvorak's keyboard put nine of the most used letters in the middle row of the keyboard. This allows the typist to write over 3,000 words without the fingers reaching. In comparison, only about 50 words can be typed on a keyboard without reaching on QWERTY's middle or home row. Another advantage of the DVORAK keyboard is that the workload is much reduced.

Does the DVORAK system really improve performance? In order to prove that it does August Dvorak retrained 14 Navy typists during World War Two. The result? After just one month their work productivity rate improved by an amazing 74 percent. Accuracy improved by 68 percent. So, you would think that people would be jumping over each other to switch over from QWERTY to DVORAK. Surprisingly, this has not proved to be the case. DVORAK keyboards are readily available for most computers and on typewriters, yet by and large they remain unaccepted.

Another supposedly better keyboard than the DVORAK version is the MALT keyboard devised by Lillian Malt. The Malt keyboard does away with staggered rows, gives greater use of the thumb and makes it easier to reach the backspace and other normally out of the way keys. Unlike the DVORAK keyboard, however, the MALT version will require special hardware I order to be installed onto your computer. Modern designs are also available on both the DVORAK and the MALT keyboards that are specially contoured to alleviate the physical problems associated with the traditional typewriter style keyboard. DVORAK have also put out one handed keyboards which give a free hand for other tasks while typing.