Words per minute

Words per minute, commonly abbreviated wpm, is a measure of input or output speed.

For the purposes of WPM measurement a word is standardized to five characters or keystrokes.^[1] For instance, "I run" counts as one word, but "rhinoceros" counts as two. "Let's talk" would also be considered two words because the space key counts as a keystroke.

One benefit of a standardized measurement of input speed is that it enables comparison across language and hardware boundaries.

Alphanumeric entry

In one study of average computer users, the average rate for transcription was 33 words per minute, and only 19 words per minute for composition.^[2] In the same study, when the group was divided into "fast", "moderate" and "slow" groups, the average speeds were 40 wpm, 35 wpm, and 23 wpm respectively.

An average professional typist types usually in speeds of 50 to 80 wpm, while some positions can require 80 to 95 (usually the minimum required for dispatch positions and other time-sensitive typing jobs), and some advanced typists work at speeds above 120^[3][4]. Two-finger typists, sometimes also referred to as "hunt and peck" typists, commonly reach sustained speeds of about 37 wpm for memorized text and 27 wpm when copying text, but in bursts may be able to reach speeds of 60 to 70 wpm.^[5]

A less common measure of the speed of a typist, CPM is used to identify the number of characters typed per minute. This is a common measurement for typing programs, or typing tutors, as it can give a more accurate measure of a person's typing speed without having to type for a prolonged period of time. The common conversion factor between WPM and CPM is 5. It is also used occasionally for associating the speed of a reader with the amount they have read. CPM has also been applied to 20th century printers, but modern faster printers more commonly use PPM (pages per minute).

The fastest typing speed ever, 216 words per minute, was achieved by Stella Pajunas-Garnand from Chicago in 1946 in one minute on an IBM electric.^[6][7][8][9]

Numeric entry

The Numeric Entry or 10 key speed is a measure of one's ability to manipulate the numeric keypad found on most keyboards. It is used to measure speed for jobs such as data entry of number information on items such as remittance advice, bills, or checks.^[10] It is measured in "Keystrokes per hour", or KPH. Many jobs will require a certain KPH, often 8,000 or 10,000.^[11]

Handwriting

The average human being hand-writes at 31 words per minute for memorized text and 22 words per minute while copying.^[5]

Using stenography (shorthand) methods, this rate increases greatly. Handwriting speeds of up to 282 wpm have been achieved in shorthand competitions.^[12]

Reading and comprehension

Words per minute is a common metric for assessing reading speed and is often used in the context of remedial skills evaluation, as well as in the context of speed reading, where it is a controversial measure of reading performance.

A word in this context is the same as in the context of speech.

The average American adult reads prose text at 250 to 300 words per minute. While proofreading materials, people are able to read at 200 wpm on paper, and 180 wpm on a monitor.^[13]

Speech and listening

Audiobooks are recommended to be 150–160 words per minute, which is the range that people comfortably hear and vocalize words.^[14] Research has demonstrated that adults can listen with full comprehension at 300 wpm.^{[citation needed]}

Slide presentations tend to be closer to 100 wpm,^{[citation needed]} auctioneers can speak at about 250 wpm,^{[citation needed]} and the fastest speaking policy debaters speak from 350^[15] to over 500 words per minute.^[16][17] Internet speech calculators show that various things influence words per minute including nervousness.^[18]

John Moschitta, Jr. was listed in Guinness World Records, for a time, as the world's fastest speaker, being able to talk at 586 wpm.^[19] He has since been surpassed by Steve Woodmore, who has achieved a rate of 637 wpm.^[20]

Morse Code -- CW (continuous wave)

It is common to hear twenty wpm among experienced ham radio operators sending Morse Code using a one-hand "key". There are several CW organizations that routinely send at sixty wpm. The newest keys are designed for speed and minimum damage to the operator's hand. The fastest CW operator was Ted McElroy copying at 75.6 wpm at the 1939 world championship. Here is a realistic high-speed CW exchange.

See also

• Touch typing

• Colemak
• Dvorak Simplified Keyboard
• QWERTY

• Speed reading

References

1. ^ Ahmed Sabbir Arif, Wolfgang Stuerzlinger Analysis of Text Entry Performance Metrics Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering York University
2. ^ Karat, C.M., Halverson, C., Horn, D. and Karat, J. (1999), Patterns of entry and correction in large vocabulary continuous speech recognition systems, CHI 99 Conference Proceedings, 568–575.
3. ^ Ayres, Robert U; Martinás, Katalin (2005), "120 wpm for very skilled typist", On the Reappraisal of Microeconomics: Economic Growth and Change in a Material World, Cheltenham, UK & Northampton, Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 41, ISBN 1-84542-272-4, http://books.google.com/books?id=ksxK7J95IF8C&pg=PA41&dq=typists+%22120+words+per+minute%22#v=onepage&q=typists%20%22120%20words%20per%20minute%22&f=false, retrieved 22 November 2010 
4. ^ Typing Speed: How Fast is Average, 1997, http://onlinestudentreadiness.org/documents/TypingSpeed.pdf 
5. ^ ^{a b} Brown, C. M. (1988). Human-computer interface design guidelines. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
6. ^ http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/history-of-typewriters
7. ^ http://www.owled.com/typing.html
8. ^ http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/modelb/modelb_4509PH04.html
9. ^ http://www.deskstore.com/INFORMATION-1/en/Plan-Your-Office/Believe-it-or-not
10. ^ for data entry of checks, please see the entry on Lockbox
11. ^ For KPH required for data entry jobs, please see various job websites such as Monster.com
12. ^ "About Gregg Shorthand". http://gregg.angelfishy.net/anaboutg.shtml. 
13. ^ Ziefle, M. (1998), Effects of display resolution on visual performance, Human Factors, 40(4), 555–568.
14. ^ Williams, J. R. (1998). Guidelines for the use of multimedia in instruction, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting, 1447–1451
15. ^ Chafets, Zev (2006-03-19). "Ministers of Debate". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/magazine/319debate.html?pagewanted=all. 
16. ^ http://bupipedream.com/current/index.php/articles/view/3357
17. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=z9Jld9a4olgC&pg=PA158&dq=540+words+per+minute
18. ^ http://www.speech-length-calculator.com/
19. ^ http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1988/may_24_1988_161209.html
20. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4-CRv0ih28