Typing Drills for Beginners: 12 Copy-and-Type Drills, From Home Row to Full Sentences

Most beginners practice typing by... typing. They open a document, write whatever comes to mind and hope it gets faster. It does, slowly. A better approach is to use typing drills: short, repetitive lines that train one skill at a time, such as a single row of keys or one tricky finger reach. Drills let you focus on the weak spot instead of getting stuck on it every few words.

This page is a practical drill sheet. Each drill below is something you can copy into a plain text box (or simply read from the screen) and type. They are ordered from easiest to hardest, so work through them in order and move on when the current one feels comfortable.

If you have not set up your hands yet, start with our guide to the touch typing home row. For the bigger picture of learning to type without looking, see how to learn touch typing.

How to use these drills

A few rules make drills work:

• Do not look at your hands. Glance at a keyboard diagram if you must, but keep your eyes on the screen.
• Accuracy before speed. Type slowly enough that you rarely make mistakes. Speed comes later on its own.
• Use the correct finger every time, even when another finger would be easier. Drills build habits, so build the right ones.
• Keep a steady rhythm. An even, slow beat is better than bursts of fast typing followed by pauses.
• Repeat each line three times before moving to the next one.

Stage 1: Home row drills

Your fingers rest on A S D F (left hand) and J K L ; (right hand), with thumbs on the space bar.

Drill 1: Single keys

• fff jjj ddd kkk sss lll aaa ;;;
• fj fj dk dk sl sl a; a;
• asdf jkl; asdf jkl; fdsa ;lkj

Drill 2: Home row words

• a sad lad; a fall ask; all dads add
• flask salad; ask a lass; fads fall
• a lad has a flask; dad asks sal

The G and H keys sit between your index fingers. Reach with the left index for G and the right index for H, then return home.

Drill 3: Adding G and H

• fgf jhj fgf jhj gag hah
• glad hash; half a flag; she had gas
• a glass jug; had a dash; flash sash

Stage 2: Top row drills

The top row adds Q W E R T (left) and Y U I O P (right). Reach up from the home row and come straight back.

Drill 4: Top row reaches

• frf juj ded kik sws lol aqa ;p;
• ftf jyj ftf jyj rut try yet
• were tire your quit pure poet

Drill 5: Home and top row words

• the quiet road; a tired worker
• please sit here; write your report
• fruit tea; a fresh pear; light rope

Stage 3: Bottom row drills

The bottom row is the hardest for most beginners: Z X C V B (left) and N M , . / (right). Reach down and curl your fingers slightly.

Drill 6: Bottom row reaches

• fvf jmj dcd k,k sxs l.l aza
• fbf jnj fbf jnj ban nab
• cave move zinc box mix calm

Drill 7: All three rows

• the brown fox jumped over a cozy box
• move six boxes back to the van
• zebras can be calm in a quiet zone

Stage 4: Common letter pairs

English uses some letter combinations over and over. Typing them smoothly makes everyday text feel much easier. These are called bigrams, and a few common ones are drilled below.

Drill 8: Frequent pairs

• th th th the then that this thin
• er er er her were over after
• in in in into thin find mind
• ou ou ou you our out about

Drill 9: Same-finger and awkward pairs

Some pairs use the same finger twice in a row, which feels clumsy at first. Go slowly.

• ed ed de de cede bed deed
• ce ce ec ec once ice decent
• my my ny ny many funny lunch
• un un nu nu under unit nut

Stage 5: Capitals and punctuation

Use the opposite hand's Shift key: for a capital typed with the left hand, hold the right Shift with your right little finger, and the other way around.

Drill 10: Capitals

• Sam Kim Lee Ana Max Rosa Joe Tara
• Paris Lima Quito Boston Denver Austin
• I think Tom and Jen are in Ohio.

Drill 11: Punctuation

• yes, no, maybe, later, now.
• Is it ready? Yes. Are you sure? Yes!
• She said, "Let's go." Then we left.
• Wait; read this: it's short.

Stage 6: Full sentences

Drill 12: Real text

Type each sentence without stopping. If you make an error, keep going rather than backspacing, then repeat the whole sentence.

• A good typist keeps a calm, even rhythm.
• Practice a little every day and your hands will learn the keys.
• The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
• Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.

The last two sentences are pangrams, which means they use every letter of the alphabet at least once. They are a quick check of the whole keyboard.

A 15-minute daily routine

Short daily sessions tend to work better than one long session a week. Here is a simple structure:

Use our typing test for the last step and write down your words per minute and accuracy. Over a couple of weeks, the notes show you which stage still needs work.

How to know when to move on

Move to the next stage when you can type the current drill:

• without looking at the keyboard,
• with few or no errors on most lines, and
• at a steady pace without long pauses to find keys.

Do not wait for it to feel fast. Comfort and accuracy are the signal, not speed. If a later stage feels much harder than the one before, that is normal. Spend a few extra days there and keep reviewing earlier drills.

Common beginner mistakes

• Rushing. Typing faster than you can type accurately trains errors into your fingers. Our guide on how to improve typing accuracy explains why slowing down pays off.
• Peeking at the keys. It feels faster in the moment, but it keeps you dependent on looking. See how to stop looking at the keyboard for tactics.
• Skipping the bottom row. Many beginners avoid Z, X, C, V and B because they are awkward. Drill them on purpose.
• Using the wrong finger for a key you already know. If your index finger keeps grabbing keys that belong to your middle finger, slow down and correct it now.
• Practicing only real text. Real text is useful, but it hides weak keys. Drills put them in the spotlight.
• Long, tiring sessions. Stop while you are still focused. A sore or tense hand learns poorly. If you feel strain, review your ergonomic typing posture.

After the drills: building speed

Once all six stages feel comfortable, shift your practice toward real text and timed tests. Short 1-minute typing tests are good for measuring speed, and longer tests show whether you can keep it up. Our guide on how to type faster covers the next steps.

Frequently asked questions

What are typing drills?

Typing drills are short, repeated lines of letters, words or sentences that focus on one skill, such as a single row of keys, a finger reach or a common letter pair. They help beginners build accurate habits faster than random typing.

How long should a beginner practice typing each day?

Many learners do well with short daily sessions of around 15 to 20 minutes. Regular, focused practice usually helps more than occasional long sessions.

Should beginners focus on speed or accuracy?

Accuracy. Type slowly enough to make few mistakes and use the correct finger every time. Speed tends to improve once the right movements become automatic.

What is the best first typing drill?

Start with home row keys: A S D F and J K L ;. Type simple patterns like "asdf jkl;" and short words such as "sad" and "flask" before adding the other rows.

Do I need special software for typing drills?

No. You can type the drills on this page into any text box or document. A typing test is useful for measuring progress, but the drills themselves need nothing special.

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