Talk:Words per minute

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[edit] Alphanumeric entry

Is it just me, or does this sentence not make any sense?

“ In one study of average computer users, the average rate for transcription was 33 words per minute, and only 19 words per minute for transcription. ”

I would edit it, but I have no clue what it's trying to say ^^;;

-->|< Shablog 04:52, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I was going to comment on the same thing. Can we just delete that sentence? --Antelan talk 02:37, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
I read through the source cited and it looks like it's supposed to be "composition" so I've changed that. ...Not sure what the protocol for updating Wikipedia is though, I'm a newbie. 166.90.15.174 19:22, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Handwriting speed

I am trying to find out what speed of WPM is as fast or faster than handwriting. It's important for my application of word processing in my classroom. Does anyone know?

I think it depends on how fast the particular person's handwriting is. For example, someone doing a penmanship exercise painstakingly will be much slower than, say, a reporter interviewing a fast-talking person. 202.156.6.54 10:01, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
You can find some information if you search for average handwriting speed in any search engine. In particular, this paper seems very interesting. — LazyEditor (talk) 05:05, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
I believe the top speed for cursive writing is about 35 wpm. --Ross UK 21:19, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
I disagree; I timed myself just now and I write 37 wpm, quite legibly although far from neat. 218.186.9.3 10:16, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I am trying to find out what speed of WPM is as fast or faster than handwriting. It's important for my application of word processing in my classroom. Does anyone know?

Interesting question. I'd like to see a nice chart of the speed records (and perhaps "typical" writing speed) for
I've seem someone on the Internet claim "Cursive (longhand) is only about 10% faster than block-printing. Shorthand is a writing system that can be written from 2 times to 10 times faster than cursive." [1]
Rather than repeat this chart in all these articles, where the best article to put the complete chart? --DavidCary 05:22, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

Some answers to the question "What are typical human interaction speeds for reading, listening, speaking, keying, and handwriting?" is discussed at http://www.keller.com/articles/readingspeed.html . --65.70.89.241 14:56, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Are there any standards for "acceptable" typing speeds?

Is there any standard that indicates what an acceptable typing speed is for different fields of work?

Most jobs that involve typing require 40-50 wpm, or just under one word per second. For a secretarial job this is higher. Most professional typist will go at 100 wpm or more. Zerbey 23:38, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
What's the average for primary students who regularly require typing to complete projects or homework? 202.156.6.54 10:05, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I am going to make some changes to the article based on material from studies. Your average user is only around 30wpm. An average workplace typist is 50wpm. The fact that I work in transcription and am told I am a quick typist at a max rate of 60 wpm made the numbers seem off to me (though my husband types at 70wpm as a computer programmer). --Waterspyder 20:42, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The only studies I've found (like http://www.yorku.ca/mack/bit95.html) put the average typing speed in 30 wpm, but the article cites even 85 wpm! (record apart :) Can be this so high speed justified (with a reference) or maybe the article is wrong about typing speed and that part should be re-written? 84.88.61.48 18:05, 20 December 2006 (UTC) Fermín

I did wonder whether a table might be useful for this argument. Something with groupings would be nice. (herein is a very much made up list...some form of accepted/documented grouping would be nice):
  • 0-10 WPM: One finger, non-keyboard/typewriter user
  • 10-20 WPM: Ocassional user, unfamilar of the standard keyboard layout
  • 20-30 WPM: Average keyboard user
  • 30-40 WPM: Fast 2-finger typist, familiar with keyboard layout
  • 40-50 WPM: Average touch-typing speed
  • 50-70 WPM: Typing intensive user
  • 70-100 WPM: Fast touch-typing user
  • 100+ WPM: Speed-typist, exceptionally fast user

i don't mean to say the groups above are accurate, just more about the layout/grouping together to specific professions/things required for the role. I type anywhere between 85 and 100 WPM and I have no idea what group that would put me in, and to be honest I came to the article hoping to compare my speed against some form of standard (selfish I know!). ny156uk 23:40, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] world records

The article Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard#Resistance_to_change mentions "publication of the Barbara Blackburn's achievement of 212 wpm using a Dvorak keyboard in the Guinness Book of Records in 1985." The words per minute article mentions "As of 2005, Barbara Blackburn is the fastest typist in the world".

Has Barbara Blackburn continuously held the world record from 1985 to the present? Typewriter#Typing_speed_records_and_speed_contests seems to indicate there are periodical contests -- do Dvorak users generally win these contests, Sholes/QWERTY users, or something else (perhaps stenotype users )? --65.70.89.241 20:45, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] definition

The definition of a 'word' is still not clear to me. Do spaces and punctuation count as keystrokes? How many 'words' are in the sentence "One two three four five."? --Auximines 19:16, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Around 4.8. Divide the number of keystrokes by 5. That includes all punctuation, and excludes holding down the shift key.

[edit] definition of comprehension

From the article:

Comprehension speeds have been assessed at 400 wpm for full comprehension, and research has shown that speed reading at 600 wpm can achieve about 70% comprehension, and 50% comprehension at 1000 wpm.

I think it is silly to write this in an encyclopedia since comprehension is not clearly defined. Some people spend years of graduate study at some philosophy department just to comprehend a few sentences. Either delete the section entirely or replace it with a precise statement.

[edit] Sales pitch

From the article:

The average American adult reads prose text at 250 to 300 words per minute, and with use of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP), the speeds can quickly exceed 400wpm and reach 800wpm after an hour of practice. [3]

Sound like sales pitch if you ask me. It's not sientific and worthy of mentioning in an encyclopedia just because you have a reference.

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