This guide shows how to divide your time, protect the end of the paper and practise your pace.
How should you manage time across a whole IGCSE English paper?
Divide your time in line with the marks, keep a few minutes at the end for checking, and never let one question take time from the rest. Think of time as a budget. The skill is spending each minute where it earns the most.
A student who writes a beautiful answer to a low-mark question, then runs out of time for a big one, has used their time badly. Good timing is often worth more than any single technique.
The number of questions, their marks and the paper length differ by board and syllabus year. See the papers overview and our qualification pages for the exact figures. The principle works for every paper.
Why read the whole paper first?
Reading the paper before writing is not wasted time. You see where the big marks are, so a large question near the end does not surprise you.
You also spot which questions you can answer confidently. Tackling a high-mark question you feel sure about early banks those marks while your mind is fresh.
How do you divide time by marks?
Give each question time that roughly matches its share of the marks. A question worth twice as much gets about twice the time. A low-mark question gets a quick, correct answer.
Students often spend too long on questions they enjoy. Our guide to prioritising marks explains this habit in detail.
Make a rough plan before you start. Note in the margin roughly when each main question should be finished. If you fall behind at a checkpoint, you will know straight away and can speed up.
If this is where marks are going missing, a trial hour with an experienced teacher can work on it one-to-one.
Why protect a checking window?
Keep a short time at the end to read your work, not to add more. Errors made under pressure, such as missing words or half-answered questions, are easy to spot on a calm read.
Many students give up this time when they run short. That is a mistake, because a quick check often recovers more marks than one rushed extra sentence. Our guide to checking for accuracy in the closing minutes shows what to look for.
How do you stop one question taking over?
The most common timing problem is one question that runs over, a minute at a time. Set a limit for each question before you start and stick to it.
When you reach the limit, mark the question, move on and come back later. Our guide on knowing when to move on explains how.
Attempt every question, even briefly. A blank earns nothing, but a few quick lines can earn some marks.
How do you practise pace before the exam?
Timing must be practised; it cannot be learned on the day. Sit full papers under timed conditions. Afterwards, check where your time went, not just your marks.
Did one question take too long? Did you keep a checking window?
After a few papers, good pacing becomes natural. Our practice tasks help you build this.
How our teachers help students with timing
Many capable students lose marks simply because their time goes to the wrong questions. In our Year 11 exam prep, an experienced teacher watches where a student’s time goes on a timed paper. They then coach the student to spend time where the marks are.
If your child often runs out of time in English exams, book a paid one-hour trial. The teacher will look at how they pace a paper and show them a clear plan to follow.