Exam Timings: Top Tips
Has your child come home and groaned yet that some of their exams are two hours long yet? Many of the exams for National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers have one, two or sometimes more hours allocated to them. And this is no trick!
Exams are designed to give the majority of students the best chance to complete each exam question at a sensible pace. The timing isn’t random: it’s a precise guide for how long a student should expect to take. Remember, your child has potentially studied subjects for years prior to their exams… In the scheme of things, a couple of hours is realistically such a short amount of time to prove their capabilities!
Use all of the time
Therefore, it’s imperative your child gets to grips with using all of their time effectively. Revision is key to this, and rehearsing practice papers is so important. It’s a worry when students say they’re finished half an hour early when – in fact- that time should be filled. Encourage your teen to use all of the time- and use the overall amount of time as their guideline. If they genuinely do have a fast pace, then it’s such a sensible idea to proofread and double-check answers. Some answers may even have space for some last-minute edits- which is a way of potentially gaining a few extra marks!
Break down timings
Break each exam question down into timings. Teachers will mostly have prepped your teenager for this, but it can be tough to remember how much time should be spent where. Attending our revision courses and making sure your child rehearses their timings will help. There’s a lot to juggle: success doesn’t just come from the answers, it comes from having the right exam techniques and timings, too!
If you can give your child any advice, it’s to try and give every question a go (provided their timings are on track!) Missing questions will always lead to a no-mark answer.
Timing troubles
On the flip side, some students struggle with timing and feel like they just don’t have enough time. There are ways to address this.
Firstly, continuing to practise over and over again will help narrow the timing gap, and help your child to deliver their answers at a greater speed. Secondly, ensuring your child has a wide range of quality knowledge will enable them to be able to write with much more ease and fluidity. Revision is the best way to nurture and harness your child’s knowledge. As a revision provider, we offer excellent courses for students taking SQA exams. We expertly guide your teen through their revision, across a series of intensive sessions, led by a specialist teacher- and we are a highly recommended provider!
So, when it comes to exams, aim to treat timings as a significant part of revision. Timings matter and timings count. It will make a difference to your child’s marks and ultimately their success. Timings also apply to every examination, so it’s an important thing to consider and to crack! Our next intensive set of revision courses are across the Easter holidays, and we advise booking your child’s place as soon as possible.
