• You are not logged in.

    Accuracy vs. Speed?

    • Started by Vicuna
    • 5 Replies:
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 14-Jun-2015
    • Posts: 34

    Which is more important to focus on when learning? What is a good accuracy? What is acceptable?

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 17-Nov-2014
    • Posts: 102

    Accuracy is the most important because accuracy makes speed. If you just speed through typing practices without focusing on accuracy you will more or less continue to make the same mistakes throughout. Focusing on accuracy will teach your fingers, which will become speed later. Even if you need to take a short break during typing when coming to a complicated practice, this will be better in the long run (in my opinion).

    Most people on here recommend 97% accuracy as the target. I think this is a good mark, but during the transition (which I believe you are in the middle of from other posts) 93-97% is probably good early on.

    Hope this helps. Stick with it, you'll never go back!

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 14-Jun-2015
    • Posts: 34

    I can definitely be over 97 but it would be ultra slow...eh...I'm slow regardless hah.

    is say 97 accuracy at 15 WPM better than say 92 at 20 WPM?

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 210
    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,343

    What Davkol and Jonhines said.

    Think of it as analogous to learning a piece on the piano. First, go slow so you don't actually learn errors. If you keep making some mistakes, go over them over and over until you've overlearned the right way. Then speed up to a natural speed while keeping the error rate down: For the piano, go for zero errors – for typing, 97–98% is good enough to be in flow; I've done some of my fastest typing with 98% accuracy so that seems like a sweet spot for flow but 97% is more realistically achievable. Eventually, try playing/typing at full speed to experience flow.

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 7
    • Registered: 21-Apr-2010
    • Posts: 818

    When I started out with touch typing, I used GnuTypist, and that is a hard task master.  I thought the lofty ambition of close to 100% accuracy was just too much, and I just wanted to pummel the keyboard and hope for the best.  I totally cheated my way through the Kde typing program by doing that.  You are doubly frustrated when starting out, because your typing speed takes a knock.

    Working at your accuracy pays dividends.  It can push my WPM up hugely when I'm typing without error.  Obvious I know.  Part of it is flow and rhythm, and mistakes interrupt that flow, and are quite disruptive.

    However, all that said, error recovery is a large part of my typing.  You do get faster at fixing errors, the more you fix errors.

    It seems the general advice is to focus on accuracy rather than speed when starting out.  It took me a long while to find fluidness.  If you get in a funk with some practice, try a hard piece of text, followed by something easier.  E.g. alphabetical sentences followed by a most frequent word (in your language) list.  It gives you relief and the illusion of progress!

    --
    Physicians deafen our ears with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panacaea, their sovereign Guiacum.

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 26-Oct-2013
    • Posts: 71

    TypeRacer Death Mode

    http://play.typeracer.com/?universe=accuracy

    it's 100%, but it isn't about the percent, like, say, 98% vs 99%. It's about the zero tolerance for mistakes (one mistake and the entire race is over). It causes you to focus on your typing at any speed.

    http://blog.typeracer.com/2010/03/29/accuracy-matters/

    Last edited by youBane (02-Jul-2015 17:30:32)
    Offline
    • 0