Exam Timing Strategies: Finishing Papers Without the Panic

Success on exam day isn’t only about what you’ve revised – it’s also about how you manage the clock once the paper begins. With the right timing strategy, you can stay calm, pace yourself, and maximise every mark.

This article is correct as at 14 October 2025.

While much is written about time management for exam revision, that’s not always the case when it comes to how best to use the period spent actually sitting a paper. Yet the reality is that using the allocated hours effectively while the clock is ticking can play a significant part in your success. After all, examinations are essentially a test of your ability to make the most of the available time to demonstrate your knowledge in an organised way.

Here, we offer some tips to help:

Know what you’re up against

Avoid a panicky nightmare by understanding exactly what’s required before you dive in. If you complete enough practice papers, you’ll quickly get a feel for how you should spend the allotted time, and where most marks are allocated.

Read the questions carefully

We know you will have been told this countless times already, but it bears repeating. Before jumping in, take a breath and read each question with care – don’t skim-read anything and risk a misreading which could cost you precious marks. Where you have options, don’t dismiss doing any of the questions out of hand immediately. The wording may seem slightly bewildering initially but read the question again, and it may become clearer.

Divide up the allocated time

If you’ve worked on past papers, you’ll already have a good feel for what you need to do to secure a decent pass. Go in with a clear idea (having checked, checked and checked again) of how many questions you’ll need to answer, and what type these tend to be. Have a plan for how long to spend on each one – and stick to it, carefully apportioning the precious minutes so they don’t run out before you’ve completed all the questions.

It’s also worth assigning some minutes at the start to plan answers and maybe 10 or 15 minutes at the end to check them and finish everything off, so that you’re not still writing frantically with seconds to go.

For longer questions, it’s still worth spending a few minutes upfront planning your answer. This helps ensure you cover the key points without drifting off-track.

It can be easy to get lost in a particular question and expand on it as you warm to your theme, so be disciplined. Keep an eye on the clock and pace yourself. Make your responses complete yet concise.

Finally, focus on one subject or question at a time – don’t attempt to multi-task.

Begin with something you can do

Clearly you don’t have to answer the questions in the order they appear on the paper. And while some candidates prefer to launch themselves straight into the hardest bits of an exam to get them out of the way, you may find it easier to kick off with a question you know you can nail quickly. That way you’ll have something ‘in the bag’, which may boost your confidence. For those questions you feel you might struggle with, allow slightly more time.

If you complete past papers as practice for the exam (as you should!), you can experiment and find a system that suits you.

A final point …

Finally, take advantage of every minute of the exam and resist the temptation to stop early. Use any remaining minutes to check and double check your answers, and to cross out and rewrite any words which have been hastily scribbled. Exam length has been determined based on likely need, so use every second you have profitably. If time permits, go back to any questions you were struggling with earlier and decided to come back and retry.

In summary, by thinking in advance about how you might best allocate time in an exam, you’ll be able to face exams more confidently with a clear strategy for success.