Week 7: Bottom row: the remaining keys

This week you finish the bottom row. Along with the last letters, you add punctuation: the period, the comma and the less-than key. With Shift, they give you colons, semicolons and greater-than signs. Punctuation is part of nearly every sentence you write, so a steady finger position for these keys matters.

What you will learn

Seven new keys and their fingers:

• ö: left ring
• j: left pinky
• b: right middle
• . (Shift gives :): right ring
• , (Shift gives ;): right pinky
• < (Shift gives >): left pinky
• x: right pinky

Shift is always pressed with the pinky of the opposite hand. So for : and ;, the key is pressed by your right hand and Shift is pressed with your left pinky. For >, the key is pressed by your left pinky and Shift is pressed with your right pinky.

Technique tips

• After you type a period or a comma, return your right fingers to the home row. These keys are reached quickly at the end of a sentence, so do not forget the return.
• Shift is pressed by the other hand. Before you press Shift, decide which hand types the key, then give Shift to the opposite pinky.
• The keys j and x sit farther from the home row. Move only the reaching finger and keep the others in place.
• Look at the screen to check your punctuation. Do not search the keyboard for symbols.

Lessons

1. Lesson 1 (10-15 minutes): Learn the new keys. Watch the keyboard demo, follow each finger, and practice the Shift symbols separately.
2. Lesson 2 (10-15 minutes): Practice. Type short sentences with periods and commas, and return your fingers to the home row at the end of each sentence.
3. Lesson 3 (10-15 minutes): Review and take the 2-minute test. Find the punctuation marks you typed wrong and practice them again in a separate round.

This week’s goal

Your targets are 20 WPM and 92% accuracy. Finishing the lessons earns 1 star. Reaching the accuracy target earns 2 stars, and reaching the speed target in the closing test earns 3 stars. Punctuation is easy to get wrong because it is small on the screen. Give each mark a moment of thought before you type it.