The Manual Typewriter Test: Speed Versus Error Penalty
A candidate's 10-minute typewriting test on a manual machine produces 382 gross words. The invigilator marks 26 errors. The notice states that net speed is gross words minus ten words for every error, divided by the test duration in minutes; the qualifying net speed is 30 wpm. In the final three minutes the candidate raised output from 35 to 44 gross wpm but committed 14 of the 26 errors in that stretch. A re-test is allowed after 30 days only if the first attempt's net speed is below 28 wpm. The candidate normally types 40 wpm with about 8 errors per 10 minutes when unhurried. The machine is a manual Remington with a stiff shift key, and the candidate lost about 40 seconds to a ribbon that needed reversing.
1. Compute the net speed under the stated rule and decide whether the candidate is eligible for a re-test.
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Calculation. Gross words = 382. Error deduction = 26 × 10 = 260 words. Net words = 382 − 260 = 122. Net speed = 122 ÷ 10 = 12.2 wpm.
The qualifying standard is 30 wpm, so the attempt fails by a wide margin. The re-test condition is a net speed below 28 wpm; 12.2 is below 28, so the candidate is eligible to sit again after 30 days. Eligibility is not the same as readiness: the result shows that the error penalty, not raw output, destroyed the score. The candidate should not book the re-test until practice tests show a stable net figure above 30 under the same ten-words-per-error rule.
2. Determine what gross speed and error count would produce a net speed of 30 wpm, and assess whether the final-three-minute acceleration was rational.
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Target arithmetic. To net 30: (G − 10E) ÷ 10 ≥ 30, so G ≥ 300 + 10E. At 10 errors she needs 400 gross words, i.e. 40 wpm. At 15 errors she needs 450, i.e. 45 wpm. At 20 errors she needs 500, i.e. 50 wpm. Her unhurried 40 wpm with 8 errors would have produced (400 − 80) ÷ 10 = 32 wpm - already qualifying.
Judgement. The final acceleration was irrational. Fourteen errors in three minutes is an error rate of about 47 per ten minutes; at 44 gross wpm the deduction exceeds the output. Each error costs ten words, equivalent to 15 seconds of typing at 40 wpm, so accuracy is far cheaper than speed. She should cap output at about 40 wpm and protect accuracy. She should also fix the ribbon before starting, because the 40-second stoppage was avoidable and cost roughly 27 words.