Fact · Typing and writing speed
1,000words per minute
Brysbaert, summarizing Rayner and colleagues' 2016 review, states that reading rates of more than 1,000 words per minute are impossible without severe loss of text understanding.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“reading rates of more than 1,000 words per minute (wpm) are impossible without severe loss of text understanding”
How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate, Marc Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language, 2019, Section on speed reading claims, first paragraph.
Open the original (DOI 10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047)- What it measures
- Brysbaert describes this as the conclusion of a detailed review of why eye movements limit reading speed.
- What it does not show
- The statement is a reasoned conclusion from the review, not a single experiment that tested readers at 1,000 words per minute.