English Teachers Association

Students

Examinations do not test what you know about and can do in English. They test how well you do exams. Given this, you need to understand:

Examinations are a numbers game
Success depends on how well you allocate your energies. Allocate your energies in proportion to the number of points allocated to a question. If a question is worth 6 marks, make sure that you make at least 6 points or statements in the answer. Each point or statement in English must be supported by a reference from the text and written in grammatically complete sentences to gain a mark.
Timing is all
Before an exam, calculate how much time you need per question based on its number of marks. For example in Paper 2, 3 questions are equally weighted over 2 hours and therefore must be given equal time - 40 minutes. If you find that you are lucky with a question and it easier for you than the others, do it first and take some of the time away from it to give another more difficult question.

NEVER NEVER NEVER run over time. End before you finish your response if you have to and come back later. There is good scientific reason for this: it is much easier to pick up the first 50% of your marks than the last 50%. This means that you gain much more by starting a response than by finishing one.
Planning your response
Yes, your teacher has told you time and again - but do you do it? Spend at least 5 - 7 minutes planning to ensure that you have

This investment of time will pay off in the logic of your answer and the marks you will get.