In the Exam

Before starting to write

• Check that you are sitting the correct exam! Some modules will be very similar in name, and can be taken on a number of courses. Do you recognise anyone from your lectures?
• Check that you have been given the right exam paper. Mistakes sometimes happen!
• Orientate yourself. Get comfortable. Find a positive and calm state of mind.
• Read the instructions (or "rubric") carefully, at least twice. Even if you have sat a hundred exams, or read a hundred past papers, the rules may have changed for this one. If you don't understand something, be sure to ask an invigilator for help.
• How you approach the exam will depend on what type of exam you are sitting. Please refer to our Different Types of Exam page for detailed information about writing in exams.

For essay exams....

• Read each exam question through at least twice, and mark the ones you would like to answer. Pay particular attention to how the question is phrased - to words such as "compare", "contrast" and "criticise". See their definitions in the Glossary of Exam Terms
• Work out what is expected, in general, for each of the questions you have selected. Underline key words, and start to jot down ideas on a separate sheet of paper.
• Once you have decided which questions you will answer, decide on the order. If there is a 'compulsory' question, start with that one. If not, start with your 'best' question first, as this will build your confidence. (However, it may not be a good idea to leave the hardest to the last - by this time you are likely to be tired, and possibly short on time, which will make it even harder to answer satisfactorily).

Plan the timing

• Work out exactly what time you should finish each answer, and write the times down.
  For example, for a three hour essay-style paper starting at 2 p.m, the following plan will allow you 45 minutes for writing each essay:
  

 2.00 Read paper and choose questions [10 minutes]
 2.10 Plan all three essays [30 minutes]
 2.40 Start Essay 1, finish at 3.25
 3.25 Start Essay 2, finish at 4.10
 4.10 Start Essay 3, finish at 4.55
 4.55 Check paper [5 minutes]
 5.00 Finish exam

• Be disciplined — have the courage to stop. Don't over-run an early answer by more than five minutes.
• Make sure everything in your plan is strictly relevant to the exact question asked.
• If you do run out of time, as a last resort you can complete an answer in note form, although you will lose marks for this.
• Don't waste time doodling, writing questions out, staring at the ceiling, watching other people, repeating yourself, worrying, regurgitating facts, or being irrelevant!

Plan your answers

• Do take time to jot down a plan — however brief — for each answer before you start writing. This will be time well spent.
• It is a good idea to write down all your plans at the start of the exam, especially if you are nervous. It will build on your confidence and allow you to settle into a framework for the whole exam.
• Take a breath and read your plan(s) through. Be prepared to revise it. Students tend to rush into writing as soon as possible, but you will not be able to rewrite anything if you start right away — you will be writing your final draft. It is better to make any changes, additions and refinements at the planning stage.
• Ideally, you will have time towards the end of the examination to read through your answers to ensure you are happy with them. Look for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. There may be time to add something to an earlier answer.
• Don't leave early, even if you have finished. See if you can find any relevant points to add.

Writing the answers

Even though you are pressed for time, the usual essay-writing rules apply:

• Writing a well structured essay is crucial. Your introduction and conclusion should provide a solid framework in which to place the main body of your argument.
• Although you are writing at speed, pay attention to your handwriting and layout. Leave good margins and make sure you use paragraphs to separate the main points of your argument.
• Make sure you answer the question! Please refer to the Glossary of Exam Terms for help with what the questions are asking of you. Keep referring back to the question as you write.
• It is the quality of the argument, not the quantity of information, that matters.

Dr Daron Burrows, from the Department of French Studies, offers the following advice on structuring and writing essays under exam conditions:

• You will have at most forty-five minutes to write the main part of an essay on a subject that scholars have probably been studying and discussing for decades, if not centuries.
• Reconcile yourself to the fact that you will not be able to cover everything: You will probably be able to make four or possibly five points.
• Given the lack of time, make sure that every word and every scrap of information used is relevant to the question.
• Use the introduction to delimit the terrain that you will be covering. You may see that the question is so vast that you will need to cut it down to a manageable size: you can explain this in the introduction.
• Ensure that your points flow logically from one to the next. Whether it is by continuation or contrast, the development of the argument should be comprehensible and consistent.
• Be sure to support your argument with examples from primary sources: not only is this persuasive, but it also demonstrates your knowledge of the text. You may do this through, for example, brief allusions or quotations.
• However, you should definitely avoid "story-telling", i.e. giving lengthy descriptions of a text which your examiner knows very well.
• In the same way, avoid swamping your essay with quotations: it may show your knowledge of the primary sources, but if it is at the expense of your argument, you will be penalised.
• It is good to show an awareness of secondary literature and areas of critical debate. However, do not allow this to overpower your own argument: let your own brilliance shine forth!
• Your conclusion should tie together the various strands of your argument without simply repeating the ideas and material that you have adduced. Use this final opportunity to clarify how what you have just done relates to the question.
• It is often appropriate at this juncture to demonstrate an awareness of the broader issues raised by your essay. This does not mean that you suddenly head off on an unprepared tangent; rather, you may choose to re-open the question for future avenues of investigation.
• There is nothing more disappointing than a damp squib at the end of an otherwise good essay: it is like watching the fuse of firework fizzle out instead of culminating in the desired combustion. Make sure that your final sentence provides a suitably explosive rhetorical flourish.