RBSE SS English Typewriting cheat sheet

Gross speed (words per minute) = (total characters typed ÷ 5) ÷ minutes elapsed; the standard word is 5 keystrokes, not a dictionary word.

Net speed = gross WPM minus (errors × penalty) per minute; in most typewriting exams each error deducts one word from the gross total.

Sustained output is measured over the full test duration, so a fast start followed by a collapse yields a lower average than a steady mid-pace.

A 10-minute test at 40 WPM requires 2,000 standard words = 10,000 characters, including spaces.

Keystroke budget per minute at target speed = target WPM × 5; at 35 WPM that is 175 keystrokes per minute, or roughly 3 per second.

Speed gains come from reduced hesitation between keystrokes; a 0.2-second pause per word alone costs about 12 WPM.

Common speed killers: looking at the keys, pausing at line ends, and re-reading the copy instead of typing in a steady eye-lead rhythm.

Rhythm markers: aim for even inter-keystroke intervals; bursts followed by stalls increase error rates at line ends and before punctuation.

Accuracy percentage = (correct characters ÷ total characters typed) × 100; a 500-character passage with 5 errors gives 99.0%.

One uncorrected error per 50 words equals 2% word error rate and typically erases 2 WPM from net speed.

An error is any departure from the copy: wrong letter, wrong case, wrong punctuation mark, extra space, missing space, or wrong numeral.

A corrected error still consumes time; corrections cost roughly 3-5 keystrokes (backspace plus retype) and break rhythm.

Accuracy above 95% is the usual qualifying threshold; below that, net speed falls faster than gross speed rises.

High-accuracy typing depends on consistent finger-to-key mapping, not on slowing down; slow-and-accurate practice transfers to speed.

Transposition errors (e.g., 'teh' for 'the') are the most frequent accuracy fault; they signal finger-order, not finger-reach, problems.

Doubled or dropped letters at word boundaries cluster where the same finger types consecutive keys; watch words like 'bookkeeper' and 'minimum'.

Marking convention: circle or underline the faulty word or character; a caret (^) inserts a missing character, and a deletion is shown by striking through.

A missing space is marked between the joined words; an extra space is marked with a small caret-and-cross in the gap.

Case errors are marked on the letter itself: 'e' for a letter that should be capital, or a struck capital for one that should be lower case.

Punctuation errors are marked at the mark, not at the word: a missing full stop gets a caret with '.' above the line.

Each error is counted once; a word containing two faults (wrong letter plus wrong case) is normally counted as two errors.

Paragraphing faults (missing indent, wrong indent depth) are marked at the paragraph opening, not counted as character errors unless the rubric says so.

When marking your own practice, mark immediately after the run and before re-reading the copy, so the error count reflects the typed output only.

Total error count feeds the deduction formula: net words = gross words − errors; report both figures separately.

Home row: left hand on A S D F, right hand on J K L ; - the F and J keys carry raised tactile bars for location without sight.

Finger assignment: each finger owns a vertical column; the index fingers also reach the inner columns (G, H, and on the right, the keys left of J).

Thumbs operate the space bar; one thumb only, consistently, to avoid double spaces.

Return/Enter is struck with the right little finger; Shift is pressed with the little finger of the hand opposite the letter being capitalized.

Caps Lock is not used for single capitals; Shift is the correct key for one capital letter.

Tab, Backspace, and Enter are reachable from home position without moving the whole hand; the wrist stays anchored, fingers do the travel.

Keyboard rows: top (Q W E R T Y U I O P), home (A S D F G H J K L ;), bottom (Z X C V B N M , . /).

Sustained 40+ WPM with 95%+ accuracy is generally achievable only with all ten fingers and no visual key search.

Type exactly what is printed: no rewording, no added or omitted words, no silent correction of the source's spelling.

Capitalization follows the copy: sentence openings, proper nouns, the pronoun 'I', and any capitals the source shows.

Punctuation is transcribed as printed: full stop, comma, semicolon, colon, question mark, exclamation mark, hyphen, dash, apostrophe, quotation marks.

Quotation marks and brackets are typed in pairs; check the closing mark before leaving the sentence.

Hyphenated compounds stay hyphenated; an end-of-line hyphen in the source is a line-break artifact and is not typed unless the word is genuinely hyphenated.

Numbers printed as words stay words; numbers printed as figures stay figures - do not convert.

Abbreviations keep their printed form and full stops (e.g., 'e.g.', 'Mr.', 'U.S.'), including the internal periods.

Read ahead one phrase, not one word; the eye should lead the fingers by roughly 3-5 characters for smooth transcription.

One space after a comma, semicolon, colon, and after a full stop ending a sentence; no space before any of these marks.

No space inside quotation marks or brackets; no space before a hyphen in a compound, and no space around a dash where the copy shows none.

Paragraph indent is typically five spaces (or one Tab); every new paragraph in the copy gets one indent and one Enter.

Left margin is set by the paper guide or margin release; the right margin is controlled by the bell or warning, usually 5-10 characters before the edge.

Line-end rule: never begin a line with a comma, full stop, or closing bracket, and never end a line with an opening bracket or quotation mark.

Do not split a word at the line end unless hyphenation is permitted by the rubric; carry the whole word to the next line instead.

Vertical spacing: single spacing between lines within a paragraph, double spacing between paragraphs if the rubric requires it.

Word-wrap judgement: count remaining characters before the bell and decide to carry the word early rather than crowd the right margin.

Top-row figures are typed with the finger that owns the key below: 1 with the left little finger (or A-column finger per layout), 4 and 5 with the left index, 6 and 7 with the right index.

Shifted symbols pair with figures: ! with 1, @ with 2, # with 3, $ with 4, % with 5, ^ with 6, & with 7, * with 8, ( with 9, ) with 0.

Shift is held with the little finger of the hand not striking the key; release Shift before the next unshifted character.

Use the letter 'l' never for the figure 1, and the letter 'O' never for zero; the figure 0 is on the top row.

Ampersand (&) and percent (%) are Shift+7 and Shift+5 on a standard QWERTY layout.

Decimal points, currency symbols, and slashes (/ on the right of the bottom row) are typed as printed; do not substitute a hyphen for a slash.

Numeral groups such as dates (12/03/2024) and amounts (Rs. 1,500.00) keep their printed separators exactly.

If a required symbol is missing from the machine, the rubric governs; do not improvise a substitute without instruction.

Arrive early enough to locate the seat, check the machine, and test the ribbon and paper feed before the start signal.

Pre-test machine check: carriage moves freely, margin stops set, bell sounds at the intended column, ribbon advances and is not dry or reversed.

Insert paper squarely against the paper guide; a skewed sheet drifts at the right margin over a long passage.

Time allocation: divide total minutes by the number of passages or sections; a 30-minute paper with three sections gives 10 minutes each.

Keep a visible clock or watch; check elapsed time at the midpoint rather than only at the end.

Do not stop to perfect a single error at the cost of finishing; an unfinished passage usually loses more marks than a few errors.

At the end signal, stop typing immediately; remove the sheet only when instructed, and hand in all pages in the required order.

Ribbon, paper, and correction materials must be requested before the clock starts where the rules allow; mid-test requests cost typing time.