Running out of time is avoidable. A student who writes a mediocre answer to every question will almost always outscore a student who writes a brilliant answer to three questions and skips the fourth. Time management is one of the highest-leverage exam skills.
Setting up your timing plan
- Before the exam, note the total marks and total time. Divide time by marks to get minutes-per-mark (typically ~1–1.5 minutes per mark at A-level)
- In the exam, check the marks available for each question and multiply by your minutes-per-mark to set a target time
- Note your target end-time for each question at the top before you start writing
- When your target time is up, move on — even if you're mid-thought. You can return if time allows
- In the last 5 minutes, check you've attempted every question rather than polishing any one answer
Example timing for a 90-minute paper (80 marks)
QuestionMarksTarget time
Short-answer questions (Section A)2022 minutes
Data-response (Section B)3034 minutes
Extended response (Section C)3034 minutes
Spending an extra 10 minutes perfecting a 10-mark answer might gain you 1 mark. Spending those 10 minutes on an unattempted 10-mark question is almost guaranteed to gain you more.
Signs you're running out of time (and what to do)
- You're behind your target time on Section A — speed up, reduce planning time
- You're on the last question with less than half the time left — bullet-point your answer if necessary
- You've spent more than 2× the target time on one question — stop, leave a gap, and move on
- You have 5 minutes left and an unattempted question — write your best skeleton answer: AO1 + one developed point + a conclusion