Typing for University UK: Essays, Notes and DSA

At a UK university nearly all your assessed work is typed: essays, reports, lab write-ups and, in your final year, a dissertation that often runs to many thousands of words. Touch typing (typing with all ten fingers without looking at the keys) won't make you a better writer, but it removes the friction between thinking and getting words on screen, so more of your time goes on reading, planning and editing. The best moment to learn is before you arrive: 15 to 20 minutes a day over the summer after A levels (or Highers, or your BTEC) is enough for many students to stop looking at the keyboard. If you have dyslexia, dyspraxia or another specific learning difficulty (SpLD), it is also worth knowing how Disabled Students' Allowance works.

Why does typing matter more at university than at school?

In sixth form you probably still handwrite most exams and type some coursework, such as an NEA or an EPQ (our guide to typing your NEA coursework covers that stage). At university the balance flips. Essays and reports are submitted online, often through a plagiarism-checking system, with strict word limits and referencing. Many students take lecture and seminar notes on a laptop or tablet, and a steady stream of emails to tutors, supervisors and student services needs to be clear and polite. Group projects happen in shared documents that several people edit at once. Then, in the final year, comes a dissertation or project, usually the longest piece of writing you will have produced, with a word count set by your department handbook.

Some courses also run online or computer-based assessments, including timed exams typed on a computer. Arrangements vary between universities and even between modules, so check your course handbook and exam regulations rather than assuming either way. If a timed exam is typed, typing fluency becomes part of how much you can get down in the time.

How much time can touch typing save on essays and a dissertation?

The figures below are invented to show the arithmetic, not research results. Typing speed is only one part of writing time, since most of the work is reading, thinking and redrafting, but the keying itself adds up.

Piece of work (illustrative)	Words	At 20 wpm	At 40 wpm
One essay, including a full redraft	2,000 + 2,000	200 minutes	100 minutes
A year of essays (eight like the above)	32,000	about 27 hours	about 13 hours
A dissertation, typed twice over through drafts	10,000 + 10,000	about 17 hours	about 8 hours

The bigger gain is often less visible. When you don't have to hunt for keys, your attention stays on the argument. Accuracy matters too: every typo is a small interruption, and a document full of them takes longer to proofread.

Should you take lecture notes on a laptop or on paper?

Typing is not automatically better for notes. A widely cited study, Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014), found that students who typed lecture notes tended to transcribe more word for word and did worse on conceptual questions than those who wrote by hand. Later work, including a replication by Morehead, Dunlosky and Rawson (2019), found the differences were smaller and less consistent than first reported.

A fair reading is that the method matters more than the medium. Typing can help if you summarise in your own words, want searchable notes, or find handwriting slow or painful. Handwriting can help if a laptop tempts you to copy the slides verbatim or drift into other tabs. Either way, the learning comes from processing the material: summarising, asking yourself questions and reviewing the notes later. Touch typing makes the laptop option better, because you can keep your eyes on the speaker and the slides rather than the keys, but it doesn't decide the question for you.

What can Disabled Students' Allowance cover for students with SpLDs?

If you have a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia (DCD) or ADHD, a disability, or a long-term physical or mental health condition that affects your studies, you may be able to get Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). For students in England, the main points are these:

DSA helps with extra study costs caused by your condition, such as specialist equipment, specialist software and non-medical helpers such as a specialist note-taker or study skills tutor. If a computer is recommended, you normally contribute £200 towards it.
It does not have to be paid back and is not based on household income.
You apply through Student Finance England, provide evidence of your condition and are usually invited to a needs assessment, which recommends the support you will receive.
Don't buy equipment before you have been assessed: only items recommended in the assessment report are funded.

Students from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland apply through Student Finance Wales, SAAS and Student Finance NI, whose rules differ. SASC, the body that oversees SpLD assessment standards, explains the evidence needed for SpLDs, and your university's disability or dyslexia service can help you apply.

So where does typing fit? What you receive is decided in your needs assessment, case by case, and support often includes assistive technology, such as dictation or text-to-speech software, plus training in how to use it. We have not found GOV.UK guidance saying that DSA pays for touch typing courses as such, so don't plan on it. If you think typing is a barrier for you, raise it in your needs assessment and let the assessor decide, and start practising for free in the meantime. Our guide to touch typing for dyslexia and dyspraxia has practical tips. If you used a word processor in GCSE or A level exams, bear in mind that universities run their own exam arrangements, so contact the disability service early.

What is a good six-week plan for the summer before university?

Results day to Freshers' Week is usually long enough. Aim for 15 to 20 minutes a day, five or six days a week; short daily sessions beat one long weekend session.

Week 1, baseline and home row: take a free typing test and write down your words per minute (wpm) and accuracy. Then learn finger placement on the home row (ASDF JKL;) and stop looking down, even if you slow right down.
Week 2, the rest of the letters: add the top and bottom rows a few keys at a time, and aim for 95% accuracy or better before you push speed.
Week 3, capitals, punctuation and numbers: academic writing is full of commas, brackets, quotation marks, dates and page numbers, so practise them on purpose.
Week 4, real sentences: retype a page from a book on your reading list or an old essay. Words like "however", "therefore" and "significant" will come up constantly.
Week 5, compose rather than copy: write 300-word summaries of articles straight onto the screen. This is the skill you will actually use.
Week 6, retest and set a routine: take the same length of test again and compare, then keep a short warm-up going into term, such as five minutes before you start an essay.

Progress varies a lot from person to person, and our article on how long touch typing takes to learn sets out realistic expectations. Learn a few word processor shortcuts too (copy, paste, undo, find, bold) and set up a reference manager early: both save more time over a degree than you might expect.

Where Kluppy fits

Kluppy is one option among several. It runs in the browser, including on Chromebooks, with nothing to install and no ads. A free account covers the finger-placement level and levels 1 to 7 of the free typing course without a card, and the typing test (1, 3 or 5 minutes) and typing exercises are free without signing up. Paid plans start from level 8 and add AI-generated exercises built from your own errors; school prices are on the UK pricing page, and plans for UK families are coming soon. If you want a dated record of a result for your own files, Kluppy also offers a verifiable typing speed certificate; it simply records one test.

Frequently asked questions

Is it too late to learn touch typing at 17 or 18?

No. Adults and older teenagers learn touch typing all the time. The hardest part is the first week or two, when you are slower than your old hunt-and-peck method. Stick with it and avoid looking at the keys.

What typing speed do I need for university?

There is no required speed for university study. What matters is typing comfortably without looking, accurately enough that proofreading isn't a chore. Measure your own starting point and aim to improve on it.

Will DSA pay for a typing course?

Don't assume so. DSA support is decided in your needs assessment, and we haven't found guidance saying it covers typing courses in general. Mention any difficulty with typing at the assessment and check what your entitlement letter says.

Should I take all my lecture notes on a laptop?

Not necessarily. The research is mixed. Use whichever method helps you put ideas into your own words and review them later, and keep the laptop for when searchable, editable notes are genuinely useful.