Sometimes, exams can be hard because of how fast you have to write! You may know all of the answers in your head because you have revised so well. However, actually writing your answers down in a fixed time frame can be challenging! Exams are normally so time pressured and writing in enough detail quickly can be extremely difficult. There are definitely a few tips which can help you write faster for exams.
The best way to write faster is to use joined up hand writing. This is because less time is spent removing your pen from the paper. This saves more time overall. There are plenty of factors which can affect your writing speed. For example, the type of pen you use. A small pen with clear ink is always best. Finally, you must always try to maintain a comfortable posture. This should increase your speed.
Writing slow can make you feel even more stressed in exams. This is why it is imperative that you write as quickly as you can. Hopefully, this article will outline how to make this easier for you. Then you will find it easier to smash your exams!
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How do you write quicker in exams?
You may be thinking that you will never be able to write quicker than you already do. However, you will be surprised by what a few adjustments can do to your handwriting speed! For example, using a ball-point pen compared to a gel based pen can increase your writing speed. This is also true when comparing to pencils. Using a pencil means that you have to press down on the paper harder and therefore, you will write slower.
Another way to increase your writing speed is to choose the appropriate place for gripping your pen in your hand. This is important because holding your pen too tightly can lead to your hand becoming painful. You know what happens! The hand cramps and fatigue, which makes you feel as if you can’t carry on any longer. Gripping the pen a bit looser can prevent this from happening.
As stated earlier, joining up handwriting can definitely speed up your writing. If you don’t write like this already, the best thing to do is practice until you can!
This last tip may seem pointless, however it is really effective. You need to maintain a good posture. You need to make sure that your feet are flat on the floor, with your lower back and hips firmly on the chair. The chair will then support your back and hips, leading to a more comfortable position. Your forearms should rest on the table and this will lead to the optimum writing position.
If you want to discover more tips, check out this book from Amazon, which gives great advice on how to write quicker.
How fast should you write in exams?
How fast you need to write in exams depends on each individual question and each individual person. If you are good at writing detailed, yet concise answers, you will not need to write as fast. This is as long as you cover everything that you need to. However, if you know that you need to write a lot to cover everything you want to, then naturally you will need to write faster.
You should have a rough idea of how much you need to write for each question. It could be three sides of paper or maybe even six. If you are not sure about this, definitely ask your teachers! Your teachers should also tell you how long you should spend on each question. Using this information, you can work out how much time you should spend writing. For example, if you have a three page long essay, with fifty minutes to write it, you can work out that each side should take about sixteen minutes.
Keep your eye on the clock to stick to your timings! If you haven’t finished by the end of your time for that question, don’t panic! Just move onto the next question. This is because missing out a whole other question is likely to result in more marks lost than missing out a section of another.
Sometimes, it can actually be hard to write fast because you are under pressure. Being anxious can definitely lead to a brain block. Check out this article on Think Student to discover what to do on the morning of an exam to reduce this exam anxiety.
How do you write neatly and quickly?
Being able to write neatly and quickly is a difficult skill. Most people need to write slower to be neat. However, it is possible to write fast and have beautiful hand writing. Everybody’s handwriting is unique. Most people have written in the same style and techniques their whole lives. This means it can be difficult to change it.
However, to achieve neat handwriting whilst writing quickly, you may need to do this. You could practice different techniques until you find the best one. For this skill, practice is key.
One of the most important things to help you write neatly is to make sure that you have the right pen. You need to have a pen which has a smooth ink flow, which doesn’t scratch the page. This will allow your writing to be clear and of high quality. You need to also make sure that the pen is the right size for your hand. If you have small hands, make sure that the pen is not too big! Otherwise, your writing will seem clumsy and will not be as neat.
Is writing fast in exams important?
Sadly, if you don’t write enough in exams, you will not get a very good mark. It is essential that your answers are detailed and comprehensive. They need to fully answer the question. This is especially true in essay subjects, such as English, History and Psychology.
Examiners will assess how much you have written. If this isn’t enough, your grade will only be placed in the lower band. This is because a certain amount of writing needs to be completed in order to achieve the right amount of detail.
If you are worried about only being able to write neatly when you write slower, forget about this! As long as your handwriting is readable, the examiner will not mind if the writing is quite messy. As long as your answer gets the right information across, then it should be fine.
Exams always have a time limit. Therefore, it is essential that you keep track of the time. If you don’t do this, then you could accidentally spend too long on one answer and won’t have enough time for the next ones!
If you find it much harder to write quickly than everybody else, you may have to take a series of tests to see if you need extra time for exams. You could have dyslexia, which means that you write slower. People with dyslexia are slower at writing and processing information. This means that they can’t physically write faster. If this sounds like you, then you could be entitled to extra time. To learn more about extra time in exams read this Think Student article.
Is it always good to write faster in exams?
Writing lots can certainly look impressive. If you see that someone has written pages and pages to answer an essay question, you may be in complete awe of them. However, you need to be aware of waffling. Sometimes, pupils can get a bit carried away and write many paragraphs which actually don’t contribute anything useful to their essays. If you write too quickly, then you could be sacrificing quality for quantity.
Also, if you write too quickly, you are more likely to make more grammatical errors and mistakes. Therefore, if you have time at the end of an exam, check your answers!
Writing too quickly can also make your handwriting unreadable. It’s okay if your writing is a tiny bit scruffy. However, you need to make sure that the examiner can read it. Otherwise, you will get no marks at all! If you know that writing too fast will make your hand writing too messy, it may be better to write slower. If you are looking for ways to improve your handwriting, check out this article on Think Student.
As you can see, writing fast can definitely help you get good marks in exams. In most cases, writing faster means that your answers will have more detail. Make sure that you follow the tips outlined in this article and you will be writing fast in no time!
However, sometimes writing fast may not be the most beneficial thing to do. If you know that writing too fast could reduce the quality of your work, then write slower. As long as you do the best you can and cover all of the points you want to, then you will do great.
Happy writing!