TRY THE CHALLENGES! (no wpm)

Try the Exercises (wpm)

Advanced Typing Challenges

How good is your typing?
Are you trying to beat the 100-wpm barrier?
Do you need practice on those keys most people can't even name except as "that squiggly looking thing"?

What's the challenge?

On this page, you'll find really advanced versions of the beginner's:
  asa fdf das afs sds faf ada dsf adf afa dsd dsas
for touch typists who want to be challenged.

Check the WPM Gauge below. These exercises are designed for people in the 60+ range. They'll seem nearly impossible at the low end of that range, although I don't mind if you type 2-wpm and try my exercises.

WPM Gauge

• 20 - Time to stop looking at the keyboard.
• 30 - You pass typing class.
• 40 - You can finish your term paper in time to go to the movies with your friends.
• 50 - You can enter Internet chat groups and text based games with ease.
• 60 - You can earn extra money typing papers for friends.
• 70 - Your friends and co-workers make comments from "Wow!" to "I hate you.".
• 80 - The same friends and co-workers just stand in awe.
• 90 - You stand in awe.
• 100 - When I get there, I'll let you know. I'm hovering obnoxiously at 98 on good days on easy text.
• Woo! Check out this message I got from Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

How do these exercises work?

I designed these exercises like music instructors design their studies. To play a musical instrument, first you learn the notes and a few songs. Then there are the endless scales, major, minor, and chromatic. You reach the full range of your instrument from the lowest rumble to the highest screech. To really master your instrument, you need to master the arpeggios too, with equal speed and clarity, across the full range.

These exercises run the arpeggios of the computer keyboard. At first glance, they look like gibberish. When you start typing, you'll find vertical runs, horizontal runs, hopping about, and rhythm, all across the full range of they keyboard. You'll discover patterns that speed you up, and hunt and seek splatters that bring you to an aching crawl. They start with a basic warm-up stretching out your hands. By the end, you'll feel as if you've been through hand aerobics and weight lifting.

Not scared off yet?

While you can print these exercises and retype them in whatever word processor or typing game you like, I made these for Mavis Beacon. I like Mavis' games, and I'm a firm believer that games should be used for education. Aim for accuracy, then speed. Don't get upset if the first few times make you feel like you just started learning to type again. That's normal. Use the CAPS LOCK key where it's appropriate; this is not cheating.

0. Try These Exercises Online
TRY THE CHALLENGES! (no wpm)
Try the Exercises (wpm)

OR

1. View the text for copying and/or printing. (Slowest)

Hopscotch Rocks
Monkey Bar Swinging
Jazz Solo

OR

2. Download the group of .txt files to import into whatever game you play. (Normal)

Follow your game's instructions for importing new lessons or use
Instructions for Mavis Beacon version 9:

1. Save these files to disk, as hopscotch.txt, monkey.txt, and jazz.txt respectively. Ask someone if you don't know how to do this AND find them later.
2. Load Mavis Beacon, and go to the media center.
3. Select the custom lesson designer.
4. Select "create".
5. Change the title to "Hopscotch Rocks" (or appropriate).
6. Select "other text".
7. Select "hopscotch.txt" (or appropriate) from the correct directory. Once again, if you don't know how, ask someone.
8. Select "next", leaving the Standard/Dictation/Transcription set on Standard.
9. Select "lesson area", and then "next".
10. Set the number of errors to 60 (hopscotch), 80 (monkey), 120 (jazz), and select "next". Increase these values if you can not finish the lesson before reaching the error limit.
11. Leaving the values the same for Override, select "finish".
12. To play Hopscotch Rocks, select "begin".
13. Repeat for the other two files.

OR

3. Download the Mavis Beacon version 9 .mcq files to import into Mavis Beacon. (Fastest)

Instructions:
Save hopscotch.mcq, monkey.mcq, and jazz.mcq into your equivalent directory:
C:\Program Files\Mindscape\Mavis Beacon 9\MavUser\Custom

or import them using the media center.

Copyright by Theresa Ford, February 2000. May not be used commercially without permission.