Managing your time in the exam

In advance of the exam, find out as much as you can about the structure of each paper, ie. how many questions you have to answer and how many marks they are worth, so that you can plan how much time to allocate to each one. Your course tutors should tell you this beforehand and may also give you sample papers so that you know what to expect.

Whatever the format, each question will have a maximum number of marks available, so if you spend twice as long as you should on your first question, you are unlikely to gain sufficient extra marks to compensate for having to write your last answer in a hurry. This is a common cause of disappointing grades, so you need to be very disciplined about the way you use your time.

The timetable below is based on a standard 3 hour paper where you have to choose three essay-type questions to answer. Adapt it as necessary, and at the beginning of the exam, write down the times when you will need to move on to each question. Make sure that you keep to this plan.

• 1st 15 minutes: 
  • Read the paper carefully, and in full, to decide which questions you will answer.
  • Think with a pen in your hand, jotting down draft essay plans, to help you choose the ones you can answer most successfully.
  • Check whether there are restrictions on your choice - e.g. you may have to answer at least one question from each section
• 50 minutes per question (including at least 5 minutes for a more detailed essay plan):
  • Analyse the question. What kind of answer are you being prompted to give (eg comparison, evaluation)?
  • When you start to write, make sure that the introductory paragraph shows you understand the main point of the question and indicates how you will answer it.
  • Keep your paragraphs short and crisp to help the examiner to follow your argument.
• After 50 minutes, MOVE ON to the next question. Leave a space if necessary so you can add a closing paragraph if there is time at the end.