Fact · Typing and writing speed
In a transcription study, self-taught typists who never learned touch typing reached speeds comparable with touch typists, even when using fewer fingers.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“The most surprising finding is that self-taught typists can achieve performance levels comparable with touch typists, even when using fewer fingers.”
How We Type: Movement Strategies and Performance in Everyday Typing, Anna Maria Feit et al., Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.1145/2858036.2858233)- What it measures
- The study compared self-taught typists with people who had taken a touch typing course, using motion capture and a transcription task.
- What it does not show
- A laboratory transcription task with a small number of typists, not a large sample. It does not show that touch typing is useless for long, fast sessions.
Source
Cited on
- Typing Speed: Average WPM and How to Type FasterTopic
- What Is a Good Typing Speed? WPM Levels ExplainedGuide
- Touch Typing: What It Is and How to Learn ItGuide
- Can you type fast without touch typing?Question
- Does typing speed matter in coding?Question
- How do you learn touch typing in Hindi?Question
- Is touch typing faster than hunt and peck?Question
- Is touch typing worth learning?Question