Free tool

Paper-timing planner

Mechanical stopwatch beside a divided blank worksheet and pencil.

Enter your paper's time and marks. The planner shares out the minutes by marks and leaves time to read and check.

How to read your plan

The plan gives each section a share of the writing time in proportion to its marks. It also shows the minutes per mark, so you can tell when a question is running over. Treat the minutes as a pace, not a strict limit. If you finish a section early, bank the time. If one runs long, the plan shows what you are borrowing from. The most useful habit it builds is moving on. A half-finished high-mark answer beats a polished low-mark one.

The next step

A plan on paper is easy. Keeping to it under exam pressure is harder, but it can be trained. In lessons we run timed sections. We review the pacing as well as the writing, including where the minutes went. Build your plan here, then send it to us and we will help you rehearse it.

Planner FAQs

Where do the numbers come from?
From you. Enter your paper’s total time and the marks for each section. Both are on your board’s current syllabus and your exam paper. The planner then works out the minutes for each section and for each mark. We never state a board’s paper timings or mark totals from memory. That keeps the facts in your hands and the tool correct for any board.
Why plan timing by marks rather than by question?
Because marks are what you earn, not questions. A 25-mark task deserves far more time than a 5-mark one. Many students lose avoidable marks by giving unequal questions equal time. Minutes per mark keeps your effort where the reward is. It also warns you when a question is using more time than it can repay.
Should I really reserve reading and checking time?
Yes. The strongest scripts usually come from students who read the paper properly before writing and check at the end. Reserve a little time for both. The planner then shares out only the time left for writing, which is more realistic than treating the whole paper as writing time.
Is anything saved?
No. The planner runs entirely in your browser and stores nothing. You can send your plan to us on WhatsApp if you want a teacher to check it. Nothing leaves your device until you choose to send it.

The planner gives a rough timetable for the paper. In a paid one-hour trial, a teacher tests it on your child’s own answers.

Book a Trial Class

You may also find skills guides and qualifications we teach useful. Next, visit our original practice tasks to put the result to work. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.

Want help using this in lessons?

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