In the case of a written exam, whether it is a routine assessment or a partial one, the question of time is always problematic.
There are different ways to manage your time during an exam. One of them being to know how to write faster.
Indeed, content written more quickly will save you valuable time that you can better invest in the thinking phases.
Your hand and fingers get tired, your handwriting becomes illegible. You glance at the clock and see that you won’t finish in time, you get more and more nervous, start to rush, forget what you meant to say and make a terrible mistake.
If this is a familiar situation, don’t worry, today we will see several tips for learning to write quickly during exams with a pen.
Writing intensively by hand without being prepared for it will inevitably tire your fingers and wrist. Also, if you are no longer able to hold your pen, your exam may be seriously compromised.
Writing faster in exams requires above all the diligent practice of writing. Not only will you have to learn to handwrite faster in partials, but also to stay readable.
Don’t make the mistake of trading quantity of writing with quality of writing. If your proofreader struggles to proofread you, he will penalize you.
Don’t forget that a proofreader must proofread dozens if not sometimes hundreds of copies. His reading must therefore be as pleasant as possible so as not to upset him.
You will therefore have to train yourself to write as quickly as possible while remaining readable. Practice over and over again until your hand has memorized your new writing speed.
In addition to this training, warm up and stand properly. To write faster in exams, you will have to keep up the pace for hours.
Then practice finger-wrist gymnastics and stand up straight when you write. Your posture and your comfort while holding the pencil must be perfect if you want to write faster in exams in a sustainable way.
Use the right pen
The fatigue of your hand can obviously come from the intensity of your writing rhythm as well as the quality of your pens.
Writing faster by hand in exams can and should go through the acquisition of adequate equipment.
First, give up the fountain pen. Opt for pens with fine leads so that they glide more quickly over the paper you are using.
Also, make sure these pens have a rubber tip to make it more comfortable to use.
If you are more comfortable writing in pencil because of a sharper lead, consider using it to write your drafts.
You won’t be able to use them on your final copy, but they can save you valuable time.
Try to keep the same brand of pen to get used to, find the one that suits you the most and keep it during your partials, partial, baccalaureate…
Synthesize to write faster in exams
Beyond technical, physical and material performance, knowing how to write faster in exams is also based on reflection.
Better planning what you are about to write, in fact, will allow you to write faster in the exam.
So, when writing your drafts, don’t write full words. Use abbreviations, be as minimalist as possible. So be content with the essential ideas and do not make whole sentences to write faster in partials.
At the time of writing on the review copy, also know how to show you synthetic. Avoid unnecessary repetitions and details.
Effective writing is not exhaustive writing but precise writing. The important thing is not to write a lot but to respond as effectively as possible to a given question or subject.
Simplify the proofreader’s task by emphasizing the most important parts, believe me the proofreader will thank you for it.
Another tip, use diagrams when possible, instead of writing paragraphs and paragraphs, use a drawing or a diagram to summarize.
Avoid perfectionism
It’s a good idea no matter what type of writing you do, but it’s really important when your time is limited.
Your job is to write as quickly and clearly as possible to answer your exam questions, not to write a masterpiece for the ages.
Get your point across and don’t correct things you’ve already written unless you clearly made a mistake.
On the other hand, when you try to write faster in the exam, do not fall into the trap of illegible writing, keep in mind to have legible but not perfect writing.
Practice before the test to write the answers to questions you have covered, it will make you a good review in addition to finding the right balance between speed and readability.
Avoid the draft as much as possible
If you need to write quickly in an exam, use the draft only when necessary.
If you have the answer to the question from the beginning, write on the sheet directly without using a draft, it will save you a lot of time.
If a rough draft is needed, don’t write the whole answer, just jot down the idea with abbreviations and write the full answer cleanly.
So you have to use the draft wisely if you don’t want to miss your exams just because of lack of time.