Practice modes: Timed, Words, and Code
Practice is the measurement screen. Three tabs sit above the same typing box: Timed, Words, and Code. They do not train the same habit, and they do not stop the same way. The five-character word, a worked example, and the speed bands are in What is WPM. This page is about which tab to pick.
Timed
Timed is the clock. Pick 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, or 2 minutes. The first keystroke starts the countdown. At zero, the results panel shows WPM, accuracy, errors, and characters. Fifteen seconds is a warm-up, a poor week-to-week score, because one stumble is a large slice of a short sample. Sixty seconds is the run to repeat next week. Two minutes shows whether accuracy survives after the sprint. If it falls apart in the second minute, the extra time revealed a rush.
The level menu applies on Timed and Words. Easy is common words, Medium a wider list, Hard longer unfamiliar words. The Code choice in that menu feeds programming keywords one at a time. That is not the Code tab.
Words
Words hides the duration buttons. There is no countdown. The passage comes from the level you selected, and the test ends when you reach the end of it. The results panel uses the same WPM and accuracy math as Timed, over the minutes you actually spent. Use Words when you want to finish a text instead of racing a buzzer. It is a better check that yesterday’s lesson survived ordinary English than a 15-second sprint is.
Code
The Code tab replaces the word list with short programming lines: an assignment, a filter and map, a small class, a loop, a try block. You meet braces, dots, quotes, arrows, and keywords the Easy list never asks for. Live WPM and accuracy still move. The countdown belongs to Timed, and the end-of-passage results panel belongs to Words. Use the Code tab for symbols. When you want a finished score you can save, use Timed, or set the level menu to Code while you are already in Timed or Words.
How the numbers move
WPM is correct characters, divided by five, divided by minutes since the first key. Accuracy is correct keystrokes divided by every keystroke. A miss is marked and the cursor moves on. This test does not ask you to backspace. The miss does not raise WPM, and it does lower accuracy. Some other tests subtract errors a second time, or make you repair the character. Those are different scores. The full definition is in how this site calculates WPM.
When to slow down
Under 95 percent accuracy, slow down instead of chasing WPM. The home page names that line. Seventy WPM at 98 percent transfers to real writing better than 90 at 88 percent, because real writing charges you the time to fix a mistake. Drop a level, or return to the lesson, until the errors thin out. The week plan is in how to improve typing speed.
How the modes fit a week
A practical split: three 60-second Timed tests on a level you can hold near 95 percent, one Words passage, and a short Code session on days you write code. Beginners should not open Hard or the Code tab first. Home row, then top row, then Timed on Easy. Word Fall and Survival reward a quick whole word. Type Racer asks you to stay on a passage. Practice is where the number is recorded.
Saved tests stay in your profile on this browser when auto-save is on, or when you press Save Result. Export writes a .sumnudata file. Posting to rankings needs a sign-in. You can practice without either.