Omissions, spellings, spacing and punctuation — which ones cost a full word and which cost half.
Two candidates can type at the same speed and get very different results. The difference is usually in their mistakes — and not all mistakes cost the same. This guide explains which errors count as full mistakes, which count as half mistakes, and how both affect your net speed and error percentage.
In a typing test, the computer lines up what you typed against the passage, word by word. Each word that does not match is classified by the kind of error. The total, weighted by type, is deducted from your speed and used to calculate your error percentage.
A full mistake costs you one whole word. Most exams treat these as full mistakes:
A half mistake costs you half a word. These usually include:
| Passage | You typed | Error | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| government office | government | Omission | 1 word |
| the farmer | the the farmer | Addition | 1 word |
| received | recieved | Wrong spelling | 1 word |
| किसान | कीसान | Wrong spelling | 1 word |
| bank account | bankaccount | Spacing | ½ word |
| India | india | Capitalization | ½ word |
| है। | है | Punctuation | ½ word |
Gross speed counts everything you typed: characters typed ÷ 5 ÷ minutes. Net speed then subtracts your weighted mistakes: net WPM = gross WPM − (full mistakes + ½ × half mistakes) ÷ minutes.
Worked example: in a 10-minute test you type 1,750 characters, so your gross speed is 35 WPM. You make 6 full mistakes and 4 half mistakes — 6 + 2 = 8 words in all. Dividing 8 by 10 minutes gives 0.8, so your net speed is 34.2 WPM.
Most exams also set a maximum error percentage, often around 5%. Error % = (full mistakes + ½ × half mistakes) ÷ words typed × 100. In the example above, if you typed 340 words, your error percentage is 8 ÷ 340 × 100 = 2.4%, comfortably within a 5% limit.
Why this matters: You can reach the target speed and still fail if your error percentage is over the limit. Accuracy is not optional in a typing test — it is half of the pass mark.
The categories above are common, but each recruitment body describes its own evaluation method in the notification. Some treat certain errors differently or set a different error limit. Read that section before you practise so you know exactly what counts against you.
Every TypingAbhyas result separates your full and half mistakes, lists each wrong word next to the correct one and shows your error percentage against the exam limit.
See exactly which mistakes you make. Take a free typing test
In most exams, yes. A misspelled word usually counts as one full mistake, the same as a wrong word.
Usually not. Punctuation errors are commonly treated as half mistakes. Check your exam's evaluation rules.
Many exams allow around 5% errors, but the limit varies and some categories get relaxation. Your notification states the exact figure.
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