We always prepare seriously for any exam - even spending many sleepless nights. But how far do we plan in advance the management of time in exam hours? We seldom do it - most often, everything is decided during the exam hour. But if you do not know how to utilize your exam duration effectively, no amount of preparation can help you succeed. Here let me tell you how to do it - how to schedule your time during exams.
CBSE Class-10 exam for the year 2015 has just started from today. Some of you may be appearing in this exam, some in Class-12, while many others may be appearing in that very important exam which is going to define an important phase of your life. But have you learnt as yet how to manage the time in the exam duration?
If you have not, let me tell you how to do it from my perspective. The tips give below is based on a CBSE Class-10 Science Exam paper, which was held in 2014. Learn the tricks from the concept and then use the same, to plan for the specific exam you would appear.
Mind the basic:
You would be judged solely based on what you write in the exam – nothing more, nothing less.
An unknown examiner would check your answer sheet and the only thing he/she knows about you is your answer sheet!
Time Management Tips-1:
Write only what is required – no examiner would like to go through anything extra. After all, everyone’s time is valuable you see! Also, suppose for a 1 mark question (which at most asks for a 1-word or a 1-sentence answer), if you write a 100 words or a 5 sentence answer, examiner would not be able to give you more than 1 mark, even if he/she appreciates your brilliance!
How do you find what is the best way to write an answer? Take tips from the toppers – for example, CBSE in its website provides you the “Model Answer by Candidate” for each subject. Take a peek and learn why CBSE has told you that these are the model answers – the answer script of real students like you!
Time Management Tips-2:
Divide your time according to the marks. Suppose there are total 3 hours (10,800 seconds) for total 90 marks, per mark you should take 120 seconds (2 minutes). This is the most logical way while starting to plan-out the exam time.
Time Management Tips-3:
Attempt the smaller questions (I mean those with smaller marks) first. It is easy to complete them with a fresh mind and you would be having less number of questions remaining – a big psychological factor. Many a time you might have had that panic experience – OMG! I have completed only 10 questions in 2 hours and now I have to complete 20 more in 1 hour!
Time Management Tips-4:
Keep about 1/5th of the total duration of exam for two purposes:
a) For revision – to check whether you have attempted the questions correctly, spellings, grammar etc.
b) For time cushioning – so that you have those extra moment to complete the whole paper and not leave any question un-answered.
With above tips, let us do practical planning for the CBSE Class-10 Science Exam Paper of 2014.
This is a 90 marks paper, which has to be answered in 3 hours.
You can click here to download this CBSE Exam Paper to have a first hand feeling of the paper.
First understand the pattern of the exam – the number of questions and the mark distribution.
In this Paper, there are two sections –Section-A & Section-B.
There are total 42 questions, of which 24 are in Section-A and rest 18 in Section-B.
All 18 questions in Section-B are of 1 mark while there are four group of questions in Section-A.
You can find the Pattern of exam in tabular form as given below.
In the table you would find no. of questions in the group, mark per question, total marks for the group and at last the expected “Length of Answer” as suggested by CBSE.
You are supposed to sit in the exam hall at 10:00 AM. Question paper would be given in 10:15 AM and till 10:30 AM you can read the paper without answering it. From 10:30 AM you can start writing.
Now with the tips given above, my exam answering time plan is shown in the table below:
In the table you would find seconds per question (Sec/Q) that I am planning, total time (Seconds) for that group and considering that I would start writing at 10:30 AM, the clock-timing within which I should complete that group. For example, at 11:06 AM, I should complete the twenty one (three from Section-A and eighteen from Section-B) 1 mark question. Like-wise I should check at 11:21, 12:22 and 1:05 PM.
What have you learnt from above?
1.0 I am planning to answer short-answer type questions first – just after first three questions in Section-A, I am jumping over to Section-B (i.e. Question 25 to 42).
2.0 I am planning other questions like-wise, according to marks. Lengthier questions towards later.
3.0 I am left out with 25 more minutes to check/ complete any un-attempted questions.
Do not you think it is so much easier to answer the questions now?
Hope this helps in making your own exam-plan better. Mind you, this example could be best explained as CBSE exams are very structured, even going to the extent of how many words per answer of each question is sought from you. There are exams which are not very structured and for those exams, you have to make on the spot decisions – but however I am sure the basic concepts of exam-time management would still hold good for those exams.
Best wishes!
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