Aesop Typing Tutorial 11

Touch Typing Tutorial

© Awhina Technologies Ltd. www.awhinatech.co.nz

- Contents -

1 Introduction

1.1 Why_learn touch typing ?

2 Exploring the Keyboard

2.1 Keyboard_Description 2.1.1 The_First_Row 2.1.2 The_Second_Row 2.1.3 The_Third_Row 2.1.4 The_Fourth_Row 2.1.5 The_Fifth_Row 2.1.6 The_Sixth_Row 2.1.7 The_Cursor_Keys 2.1.8 The_Nuimeric_Key_Pad

3 Typing_Tutorial

3.1 Introduction 3.2 Hand_and_Wrist Exercises 3.3 Beginning_to_Type 3.4 Practice_Exercises

3.4.1 Exercise_1 - A S D F3.4.2 Exercise_2 - J K L ;3.4.3 Exercise_3 - G3.4.4 Exercise_4 - H3.4.5 Exercise_5 - A S D F G finger co-ordination3.4.6 Exercise_6 - H J K L ; finger co-ordination3.4.7 Exercise_7 - Home key sequence3.4.8 Exercise_8 - Words using home keys3.4.9 Exercise_9 - Q W E R T3.4.10 Exercise_10 - Y U I O P3.4.11 Exercise_11 - Top alpha row sequence3.4.12 Exercise_12 - Q W E R T finger co-ordination3.4.13 Exercise_13 - Y U I O P finger co-ordination3.4.14 Exercise_14 - Top alpha row sequence (both hands)3.4.15 Exercise_15 - Two row words (left hand)3.4.16 Exercise_16 - Two row words (right hand)3.4.17 Exercise_17 - Z X C V B3.4.18 Exercise_18 - N M , .3.4.19 Exercise_19 - Bottom alpha row sequence3.4.20 Exercise_20 - Z X C V B finger co-ordination3.4.21 Exercise_21 - N M , . finger co-ordination3.4.22 Exercise_22 - Words with both hands and all letters3.4.23 Exercise_23 - The Number Keys3.4.24 Exercise_24 - The Numeric Keypad3.4.25 Exercise_25 - The Cursor Keys

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Why learn touch typing?

During the past century, there has been a gradual transition from writing with a pen and ink totyping on a keyboard. No matter where you are, be it in the home, at work or at school, keyboardsare very much in evidence. Every work place and learning institution now expects that anemployee or student has good keyboard skills and is able to type quickly and accurately. Theonly efficient way to type quickly and accurately is by "touch typing." Mastering touch typing is,therefore, an important skill to acquire.

This tutorial has been designed to help you master the keyboard in an easy, step-by-step process.It describes hand and finger exercises that will make your fingers subtle and explains how toadopt good posture for typing. Finally, a series of lessons describes finger patterns to use with thevarious letters on the keyboard.

Note: a Toggle key is one that switches on and off, every time you press it.

Note: each key can have two functions which are controlled by pressing the "Shift" key which isthe second to bottom key on the left hand side of the keyboard. When the "Shift" key is pressedin conjuction with another key, the function of the key is said to be in "upper case mode." When akey is pressed without the "Shift" key, the function of the pressed key is said to be in "lower casemode."

2.0 Exploring the Keyboard

A computer keyboard is divided into four distinct sections along with a number of special keys.

The four sections are:

1. The alpha/numeric section is the largest section and contains the standard characters as found on a regular typewriter.

2. The Function (F) keys are used by programs for entering commands and are located in a row above the alpha/numeric section.

3. The Cursor keys move the cursor (pointer) on the screen and are located to the right of themain keyboard.

4. The Numeric key pad is a block of number keys configured like most calculators and canbe used in two ways. When the NumLock light is on, the keys function like a calculator keypad. When the NumLock light is off, they operate like cursor keys. To toggle between thesetwo functions, press the NumLock key once.

2.1 Keyboard Description

There are literally thousands of different keyboard layouts. However, despite these manyvariations, the layout is essentially the same. If you find that the following description doesn'texactly match the layout of your keyboard, the key names and functions will still remain thesame.

2.1.1 The First Row

Starting at the top left corner of the first row, there is a single key that stands out from the others.this is the Escape (Esc) key. The Escape key is used in different ways, depending on the programbeing used. Generally, it is used to escape to the previous screen of a program or to cancel acommand which has just been entered.

To the right of the Escape key is a gap followed by three groups of keys. Each group has fourkeys representing the Function keys, 1 to 12. To the right of the function keys are a further groupof three keys which are Print Screen, Scroll Lock and Pause.

2.1.2 The Second Row

In "lower case" mode, the first key on the second row is the Grav Accent key. This key is used toplace an opening quotation mark at the beginning of a word. The next ten keys to the right of theGrav Accent key are the number keys 1 to 0 followed by the Dash (sometimes called Minus) andEquals key. The right most key is the Backspace key which is like the old fashioned backspacekey on a typewriter.

In "upper case" mode, the first left most key is the Tilde, followed by the keys 1 to 0 andremaining keys which represent:

1 → Exclamation Mark2 → At sign3 → Hash sign4 → Dollar sign5 → Percent sign6 → up arrow sign (Caret)7 → and sign (Ampersand)8 → star sign (Asterisk)9 → Left Parenthesis0 → Right ParenthesisDash → UnderlineEquals → Plus sign

2.1.3 The Third Row

The first key on the third row is the Tab key. This key enables the cursor to move a specifiednumber of spaces to the right. To move the same specified number of spaces to the left, holddown the Shift and Tab keys together. To the right of the Tab key are the letter (alpha) keys: q, w,e, r, t, y, u, i, o, p. In upper case mode, the letter keys become capitalised.

To the right of the letter 'p' are three more keys, the Left Bracket, Right Bracket and Back Slashkeys. In upper case mode, they are the Left Brace, Right Brace and Bar keys.

2.1.4 The Fourth Row

The first key on the fourth row is the CapsLock, (a toggle key.) When this key is pressed, everyletter that is typed is capitalised. A small light on the keyboard will indicate that this key isactive. Press the CapsLock key again to turn this function off.

To the right of the CapsLock key are the letters, a, s, d, f, g, h, j, k, l. These keys are oftenreferred to as the "home" or "guide" keys. The two keys to the right of the letter 'l' are the

Semicolon and Quote keys. In upper case mode, these two keys become the Colon and DoubleQuote.

The key on the far right of this line is the Enter key. The Enter key is used to move the cursordown to the beginning of a new line.

2.1.5 The Fifth Row

The first key on the fifth row is the Shift key. To the right of the Shift key are the letters, z, x, c,v, b, n, m. To the right of the letter 'n' are the Comma, Period (Full Stop) and Forward Slash keys.In upper case mode, these three keys become the Less Than, Greater Than and Question Markrespectively. The last key on this row is the right Shift key which has exactly the same functionas the left Shift key at the beginning of this row.

2.1.6 The Sixth Row

The first key on the sixth row is the Control key (Ctrl) . This key is used in combination withother keys in specific programs to enter commands. The key to the right of the Control key, onmost modern keyboards, is a "Windows" key which gives access to features of the computeroperating system. The next key to the right of the Windows key is the Alt (Alternative) key. Thiskey is used in combination with other keys to enter computer commands or, by itself, to giveaccess to "Pop Up" menus.

The long key to the right of the Alt key is the Space Bar. Each time the Space Bar is pressed, thecursor moves one space to the right. The four keys to the right of the Space Bar are the Alt,Windows, Menu, and Control keys. The Alt, Windows and Control keys have similar functions tothe left hand duplicates of these keys and the Menu key gives access to "Pop Up" menus and isused in combination with other keys to enter computer commands.

2.1.7 The Cursor Keys

To the right of the keys that have just been described, there is a small gap then two blocks ofkeys. The bottom block consists of four keys known as "Cursor" keys. Cursor keys, sometimescalled Arrow keys, indicate the direction of the cursor's movement. The left Cursor key movesthe Cursor one character to the left, the right Cursor key moves the Cursor one character to theright, the middle Cursor key moves the Cursor down one line and the Cursor key immediatelyabove the middle Cursor key moves the Cursor up one line.

Above these four Cursor keys is a block of six keys which are arranged in two rows of three.

The top left key is the Insert key which is a toggle key. The keyboard is normally in Insert mode,i.e., you are able to insert words in the middle of a sentence or letters in the middle of a word. If

you toggle (press) the Insert key, it will change to "Overwrite" (also known as Typeover) mode.Whatever you type will overwrite or type over existing text.

The middle key is the Home key which moves the Cursor to the beginning of a line.

The right most key is the Page Up (PGUP) key which displays the previous page of a document.

The bottom left most key is Delete (Del) key. The Delete key is used to delete a character to theright of the Cursor.

The middle key is the End key which moves the Cursor to the end of a line.

The bottom right most key is the Page Down (PGDN) key which displays the next page of adocument.

2.1.8 The Numeric Key Pad

The block of keys on the right hand side of the keyboard is the "Numeric key pad." The Numerickey pad is laid out like a calculator. It consists of five rows of keys with a large horizontal oblongkey on the bottom left and two large vertical oblong keys on the right. A raised dot on the number5 key assists in placing the middle finger of the right hand on the key.

The bottom left key is 0 and to its right is the Period or Decimal Point key. Above these two keysare four further rows of keys. From left to right the keys are:

second to bottom row: 1, 2, 3middle row: 4, 5, 6second to top row: 7, 8, 9top row: NumLock, Divided By (Forward Slash), Times (Star), Minus (Dash)

The vertical oblong key below the Minus key is the Plus key and below the Plus key is the Enterkey.

Some of these keys also have alternate functions which are enabled by toggling the Num Lockmode. Num Lock mode can be turned on or off (toggled) by pressing the Num Lock key. Pressthe key once to turn the mode off and again to turn the mode back on.

With Num Lock mode turned off the number keys control cursor movement as listed below.

0 → InsertPeriod → Delete1 → End2 → Cursor down3 → Page Down4 → Cursor Left5 → No function6 → Cursor Right7 → Home8 → Cursor Up9 → Page Up

These keys, numbers, mathematic functions, Enter and cursor movement, perform the sameoperations as equivalent keys elsewhere on the keyboard and are duplicated in this positionsimply for ease of use.

3.0 Typing Tutorial

3.1 Introduction

Before you begin learning how to "touch type," the following suggestions will ensure that youadopt good typing habits. These suggestions will encourage you to adopt good posture, developefficient keyboard skills and minimise stress.

1. Ensure that your chair and work table are adjusted to a comfortable height.

2. Rest your feet on the floor or on a foot stool with one foot slightly in front of the other.

3. Adopt a good upright posture by sitting erect and with your back well supported againstthe back rest of the chair.

4. Sit directly in front of your keyboard at a distance of 25 centimeters, (10 inches.)

5. Place the keyboard parallel with, and 3 centimeters, (1.5 inches) from the front edge of thedesk.

6. Curl your fingers slightly and let the fingertips rest evenly and lightly on the centre of eachkey. Make sure your wrists don't rest on the keyboard. The wrists should be 3 centimeters,(1.5 inches) above and parallel with the desk.

7. Let your thumbs rest naturally on the Space Bar.

8. Do not type by using your fingernails. Use the pad of the fingertips and strike, not press,the keys squarely and quickly.

9. Always use the correct finger for each keystroke and hold your elbows close to your body.

10. When practicing exercises, listen carefully to what is being spoken.

3.2 Hand and Wrist Exercises

You may experience a degree of stiffness and some discomfort in finger and wrist joints whenyou first begin to learn touch typing. It is important to spend a minute or two performing thefollowing exercises which will help stretch your finger joints and increase their range ofmovement. Don't worry if you find the flexibility of one hand is greater than the flexibility of theother.

1. With your hands out straight, quickly bend your fingers up then bend your fingers into the palms of your hands then slowly straighten them out.

2. Hold the palms of your hands facing each other at 20 centimeters, (8 inches) apart. Quickly flick your wrists back and forth in a chopping movement.

3. Turn your palms facing the floor. Flick your wrists up and down.

4. Touch the tip of each finger with your thumb. Concentrate on coordinating finger and thumb movement on both hands.

Warning : Incorrect typing style or excessive typing can result in serious long term damage to the forearms and hands. If you notice abnormal pain during or after typing, cease immediately and consult appropriately trained professionals.!

3.3 Beginning to Type

The second row of keys above the Space Bar are known as the "home" or "guide" keys. To helpyou locate the keys easily, a small dot is placed on the letter 'f' and the letter 'j'. When typing theindex finger of your left had should rest on the 'f' key and the index finger of your right handshould rest on the 'j' key. The exercises which follow will teach you the correct finger movementsstarting from this "home" position.

3.4 Practice Exercises

The following touch typing exercises have been designed to develop finger coordination anddexterity. By repeatedly practising these exercises, you will acquire good motor reflex patternsthat are essential for good touch typing skills.

Don't become discouraged if you do not quickly master these exercises. Just remember that youare learning a new motor skill and touch typing is no different to developing finger skills whenlearning a musical instrument.

To help you remember the layout of the keyboard, say each letter to yourself as you type it.

3.4.1 Exercise 1 - A S D F

This exercise is designed to train each finger of the left hand. Place the little finger of your lefthand on the letter 'a' which is the key to the right of the Caps Lock key. Next, place your ringfinger on the letter 's', middle finger on the letter 'd' and your index finger on the letter 'f'.

While the four fingers of your left hand are resting gently on the "home" keys, lift the little fingerand strike the letter 'a'. Make sure the remaining three fingers rest on the letters 's', 'd' and 'f'.

Strike the letter 'a' ten times, each time saying to yourself, "letter a", "letter a" etc.

Repeat this exercise by lifting the ring finger to strike the letter 's' ten times, then lift the middlefinger to strike the letter 'd' ten times and finally, lift the index finger and strike the letter 'f' tentimes.

Practice this exercise until your finger movements become rhythmical and comfortable.Remember also to keep your wrists three centimeters above the desk and slightly curved.

3.4.2 Exercise 2 - J K L ;

The same exercise can be performed with the fingers of the right hand. Gently rest the fingers ofyour right hand on the "home" keys, with the index finger on the letter 'j', the middle finger on theletter 'k', the ring finger on the letter 'l' and the little finger on the Semicolon. Lift your index

finger and strike the letter 'j'. Keep the remaining three fingers still. Strike the letter 'j' ten times,each time saying to yourself, "letter j."

Repeat this exercise by lifting the middle finger to strike the letter 'k' ten times, then lift the ringfinger to strike the letter 'l' ten times and finally, lift the little finger and strike the Semicolon tentimes.

Practice this exercise until your finger movements become rhythmical and comfortable.Remember also to keep your wrists 3 centimeters above the desk and slightly curved.

3.4.3 Exercise 3 - G

So far, you have learnt to type the letters, a, s, d, f with the fingers of your left hand and j, k, l,and the Semicolon with the fingers of your right hand. The letter 'g' and the letter 'h' are the lasttwo letters on this row that you need to learn.

To type the letter 'g', stretch the index finger of your left hand to the right and strike the key. Nowlift the finger off the key and return it to the letter 'f'.

Repeat this exercise ten times.

To type the letter 'h', stretch the index finger of your right hand to the left and strike the key. Liftthe finger off the letter 'h' and return it to the letter 'j'.


3.4.4 Exercise 4 - H

This exercise helps to develop finger co-ordination. Begin this exercise by striking the letter 'a'with the little finger of your left hand, then the letter 's' with the ring finger, the letter 'd' with themiddle finger, the letter 'f' with the index finger and finally, stretch the index finger to the right tostrike the letter 'g'.


Repeat the same exercise in reverse by stretching the index finger of your left hand to the right tostrike the letter 'g' and return it to strike the letter 'f'. Strike the letters 'd', 's', and 'a' using thecorrect fingers.


The same exercise can be performed using the fingers of your right hand. Strike the Semicolonwith the little finger, then the letter 'l' with the ring finger, the letter 'k' with the middle finger, theletter 'j' with the index finger and finally, stretch the index finger to the left to strike the letter 'h'.


Repeat the same exercise in reverse by stretching your index finger to the left to strike the letter'h' and return it to strike the letter 'j'. Continue to strike the letters 'k', 'l' and Semicolon using thecorrect fingers.


3.4.5 Exercise 5 - A S D F G finger co-ordination

This exercise will test how much the finger co-ordination of your left hand has improved.

Complete the following finger exercises ten times.

a a a s a d a f a gs a s s s d s f s gd a d s d d d f d gf a f s f d f f f gg a g s g d g f g g

3.4.6 Exercise 6 - H J K L ; finger co-ordination

The following exercise will test how much the finger co-ordination of your right hand hasimproved.


; ; ; l ; k ; j ; hl ; l l l k l j l hk ; k l k k k j k hj ; j l j k j j j hh ; h l h k h j h h

3.4.7 Exercise 7 - Home key sequence

The final exercise will help develop a nice finger rhythm on the "home" keys.


a s d f g h j k l ;

; l k j h g f d s a

3.4.8 Exercise 8 - Words using home keys

Now that you have developed keyboard skills using your fingers on the "home" keys, it is time touse the thumb to strike the Space Bar.

Practice typing the following words ten times and strike the Space Bar after each word.

as ash ask ass add alasall sad salad dad dag dashfad fall gas gash had hallhash lads lash slash

If you found that your fingers tied themselves into knots while doing these exercises, just typemore slowly. Never rush exercises as it is most important to develop good keyboard skills rightfrom the very start.

3.4.9 Exercise 9 - Q W E R T

Now that you have mastered letters of the "home" keys, it is time to learn the letters on the rowabove. These letters are q, w, e, r, t, y, u, i, o, p.

Rest the fingers of your left hand on the "home" keys, a, s, d, f. To strike the letter 'q', lift yourlittle finger off the letter 'a' and move it slightly up and to the left. Make sure the remaining threefingers rest on the letters 's', 'd' and 'f'. Strike the letter 'q' and return the little finger to the letter'a'.

Practice this movement ten times.

Continue this action by lifting your ring finger to strike the letter 'w', your middle finger to theletter 'e' and your index finger to the letter 'r'.

Repeat the exercise ten times.

The letter 't' is to the right of the letter 'r'. To strike the letter 't', lift your index finger off the letter'f' and move it up and slightly to the right.

Repeat this action ten times.

Practice this exercise until your finger movements become rhythmical and comfortable.Remember also to keep your wrists three centimeters above the desk and slightly curved.

3.4.10 Exercise 10 - Y U I O P

The letters y, u, i, o, p are pressed with the fingers of the right hand. Gently rest the fingers ofyour right hand on the "home" keys, j, k, l and Semicolon.

The index finger of your right hand is used to strike the letters 'y' and 'u'. The letter 'y' is to theleft of the letter 'u'. To strike the letter 'y', lift the index finger off the letter 'j' and move it up andover to the left. To strike the letter 'u' raise the index finger off the letter 'j' and move it up andonly slightly to the left.

Continue this exercise by lifting your middle finger to strike the letter 'i', your ring finger to strikethe letter 'o' and your little finger to strike the letter 'p'.

Repeat this exercise until your finger movements become rhythmical and comfortable.Remember also to keep your wrists three centimeters above the desk and slightly curved.

3.4.11 Exercise 11 - Top alpha row sequence

This exercise helps to improve finger co-ordination. Begin this exercise by striking the letter 'q'with the little finger of your left hand, then the letter 'w' with the ring finger, the letter 'e' with themiddle finger, the letter 'r' with the index finger and finally, stretch the index finger up and to theright to strike the letter 't'.


Repeat the same exercise in the reverse order by stretching the index finger of your left hand upand to the right to strike the letter 't' and then strike the letter 'r'. Strike the letters 'e', 'w' and 'q'using the correct fingers.


The same exercise can be performed using the fingers of your right hand. Strike the letter 'p' withthe little finger, then the letter 'o' with the ring finger, the letter 'i' with the middle finger, the letter'u' with the index finger and finally, stretch the index finger up and to the left to strike the letter'y'.


Repeat the same exercise in the reverse order by stretching the index finger up and to the left tostrike the letter 'y' and the letter 'u'. Continue to strike the letters 'i', 'o' and 'p' using the correctfingers.

Repeat the exercise ten times.

3.4.12 Exercise 12 - Q W E R T finger co-ordination

This exercise will develop the finger co-ordination of your left hand. Complete the followingfinger exercises ten times.

q q q w q e q r q tw q w w w e w r w te q e w e e e r e tr q r w r e r r r tt q t w t e t r t t

3.4.13 Exercise 13 - Y U I O P finger co-ordination

The following exercise will test how much the finger co-ordination of your right hand hasimproved.

Repeat the following exercise ten times.

p p p o p i p u p yo p o o o i o u o yi p i o i i i u i yu p u o u i u u u yy p y o y i y u y y

3.4.14 Exercise 14 - Top alpha row (both hands)

The final exercise in this block will help develop a nice finger rhythm on the second row of keys.

Repeat the following exercise ten times.

q w e r t y u i o p

p o i u y t r e w q

3.4.15 Exercise 15 - Tow row words (left hand)

Now that you have mastered typing the letters q, w, e, r, t on the top row of alpha keys, thefollowing exercise will help develop finger techniques for the left hand.

Practice typing the following words each ten times.

ear far dart dear fear rearsay year fade see deaf safeease feed seed team wet ratesat feet date eat gate tear getwe weed dew sew wear fewwade were was saw

3.4.16 Exercise 16 - Tow row words (right hand)

Now that you have mastered typing the letters y, u, i, o, p with the fingers of the right hand, thefollowing exercise will help develop finger techniques for this hand.

Practice typing the following words each ten times.

up pup pop pip hop youpuppy pulp lip pool loop

3.4.17 Exercise 17 - Z X C V B

The third row of letters to learn is the row below the "home" keys. These can be a little moredifficult to master so be patient and take your time practising the exercises.

The letters on this row are z, x, c, v, b, n, m, Comma and Full Stop. The Comma and Full Stop,(also called the Period,) although not strictly letters, are included because they are so much anintegral part of writing.

Rest the fingers of your left hand on the "home" keys 'a, s, d, f'. To strike the letter 'z', lift thelittle finger off the letter 'a' and move it down and to the right. Make sure the remaining threefingers rest on the letters 's', 'd' and 'f'. Strike the letter 'z' and return the little finger to the letter'a'.

Practice this movement ten times.

Continue this exercise by moving the ring finger down to strike the letter 'x', the middle fingerdown to the letter 'c' and the index finger down to strike the letter 'v'.

The letter 'b' is to the right of the letter 'v'. To strike the letter 'b', lift the index finger off the letter'f' and move it down and over to the right to strike the letter 'b'.

Repeat this action ten times.

Practice the above exercises until your finger movements become rhythmical and comfortable.Remember also to keep your wrists three centimeters above the desk and slightly curved.

3.4.18 Exercise 18 - N M , .

The letters 'n', 'm', Comma, and the Full Stop are pressed with the fingers of the right hand.

Gently rest your fingers on the "home" keys 'j', 'k', 'l' and Semicolon.

The index finger of your right hand is used to strike the letters 'n' and 'm'. Remember, the letter 'n'is to the left of the letter 'm'. To strike the letter 'n', lift the index finger off the letter 'j' and moveit down and slightly to the left. To strike the letter 'm', lift the index finger off the letter 'j' andmove it down and slightly to the right.

Continue this exercise by lifting the middle finger to strike the Comma, and the ring finger tostrike the Full Stop.

Repeat this exercise until your finger movements become rhythmical and comfortable.Remember also to keep your wrists three centimeters above the desk and slightly curved.

3.4.19 Exercise 19 - Bottom alpha row sequence

This exercise helps to improve finger co-ordination. Begin this exercise by striking the letter 'z'with the little finger of the left hand, then the letter 'x' with the ring finger, the letter 'c' with themiddle finger, the letter 'v' with the index finger and finally, stretch the index finger down and tothe right to strike the letter 'b'.


Repeat the same exercise in the reverse order by stretching the index finger of the left hand downto the right to strike the letter 'b' and then strike the letter 'v'. Then strike the letters 'c', 'x' and 'z'using the correct fingers.


The same exercise can be performed using the fingers of your right hand. Strike the letter 'n' withthe index finger, then move this finger to the right to strike the letter 'm'. Strike the Comma withthe middle finger and the Full Stop with the ring finger.


Repeat the same exercise ten times in the reverse order while using the correct fingers.

3.4.20 Exercise 20 - Z X C V B finger co-ordination

This exercise will develop the finger co-ordination of your left hand. Complete the followingfinger exercises ten times.

z z z x z c z v z bx z x x x c x v x bc z c x c c c v c bv z v x v c v v v bb z b x b c b v b b

3.4.21 Exercise 21 - N M , . finger co-ordination

To develop finger co-ordination of the right hand, complete the following exercises ten times.

n n n m n , n .m n m m m , m ., n , m , , , .. n . m . , . .

3.4.22 Exercise 22 - Words with both hands and all letters

Congratulations! You have now completed learning all the letter keys on a keyboard. Thefollowing words will test your finger skills as they contain letters on the three rows of keys. Thewords have been selected because they contain letter combinations that are commonly found inEnglish.

Practice typing the following rows of words ten times.

vanishing operation mighty timber junglecrowded extreme volcano beautiful dazzlingnutmeg guarantee yacht wonderful positionquickly hazard pumpkin introduce romancetypewriter future keyboard surface

3.4.23 Exercise 23 - The Number Keys

Unless you need to type a great many numbers, the easiest way to enter numbers is by using thekeys on the top line.

Keeping your fingers on the "home" keys, lift the little finger of your left hand to strike the '1',the ring finger to the '2', the middle finger to the '3', and the index finger to the '4' and '5'. Lift theindex finger of your right hand to strike the '6' and '7', the middle finger to the '8', the ring fingerto the '9' and the little finger to the '0'. Remember, the '5' and '6' are like the letters 't' and 'y', 'g'and 'h', 'b' and 'n' in that the index fingers need to move diagonally to strike them.

3.4.24 Exercise 24 - The Numeric Key Pad

In cases where you need to enter a great deal of numeric data, the numeric key pad is ideallysuited. Place the index finger of your right hand on the '4' key on the key pad, the middle fingeron the '5' and the ring finger on the '6'. To help you easily locate the '5', a small dot is placed onthe key.

The index finger strikes the 0, 1, 4, 7 and Num Lock.The middle finger strikes the 2, 5, 8 and Divided By (Forward Slash).The ring finger strikes the Delete, 3, 6, 9 and Times (Star).The little finger strikes the Minus (Dash), Plus and Enter keys.

Note: ensure the Num Lock mode is turned on before entering numbers.

3.4.25 Exercise 25 - The Cursor Keys

The cursor keys are the group of four keys to the left of the numeric key pad. These keys movethe cursor around the screen.

Place the index, middle and ring fingers of your right hand on the three lower keys with themiddle finger on the middle key. The index finger moves the cursor one character to the left, themiddle finger moves the cursor down or up a line and the ring finger moves the cursor onecharacter to the right.

The six keys above the cursor keys are used in the same way. The index finger is placed on theDelete key, the middle finger on the Home key and the ring finger is placed on the Page Downkey. Move each finger up to strike the corresponding key above it, e.g. the index finger for theInsert key, the middle finger for the End key and the ring finger for the Page Up key.

Aesop Typing Tutorial 11

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