A-level exam time management advice please

[zen1]

DS is doing 3 A-levels; two essay subjects and maths. He has extra time due to a disability and use of a laptop. He is bright (passed Oxford entrance exam and got an interview) and was predicted very good grades based on GCSE results. However, he has never finished an exam in his life.

He had his first exam last week and only completed 60% of the paper. He said he looked over the paper beforehand and was happy because he knew he could answer all the questions, but he just can’t process information fast enough to complete the exam. He has a fantastic memory and ‘knows’ the answers to questions, but just can’t get his thoughts down quickly, even with extra time. He came out very dejected and said, “what’s the point, I’ll never get higher than a C as I can’t finish any of the papers.” He was all set to give up on A levels because his university offers have all stipulated high grades as places on the course he wants to do are very competitive.

Does anyone have any advice? Is it better just to try and list points rather than write paragraphs? His normal
way of writing is very detailed and ‘academic’. I just don’t know how to
help him.

I’ve no idea but my ds is the same (except he doesn’t use a laptop). I also think he potentially knows too much sometimes and has to get it all down. He also has quite an elaborate writing style. I’m trying to encourage him to stick to the time given for each question and write bullet points if need be.

You just have to be a bit brutal with timekeeping - you don't need to write everything you know in your answer but you need to have a good stab at all of them. It's better to write bullet points if you're running out of time and get onto the next question rather than just doing part of the paper.

He sounds very similar @crazycrofter . My DS also wants to get down everything he knows, even though it probably won’t gain him any extra marks. My older son was very formulaic in his approach and finished all his A-levels with an hour to spare. He was very good at making succinct points and once he’d worked out he’d made the points to answer a question, wouldn’t elaborate further.

I can't help with the maths but did essay subjects at A-level, got 3 As and always finished my exam papers. Careful time management/disciplined exam technique was the way I tackled it, by breaking the time down into segments.

He will likely know in advance how many questions he has to answer and the points they are worth in the paper.

For example in a three hour exam if he has three essays to write, each worth the same score, then he should devote equal time to each question, instead of risking one brilliant essay, one average and one barely started.

So, first 15 minutes, read paper, select questions (if options are available and he has to make a choice....this might not be the case, all questions might be compulsory)

Quickly jot down 4-6 bullet points to cover in each essay (these might score him a point or two if he doesn't get finished as examiner will see the points he planned on expanding on)

Last 15 minutes of exam, aim to reread work.

Leaving 2hrs 30mins to write three essays (150 minutes, 50 minutes per essay).

If exam starts at 9am, this first step should be completed by 9.15am

Then tackle first essay 9.15am - 10.05am
Second essay 10.05am - 10.55am
Third essay 10.55am - 11.45am

Leaving 15 minutes at end to allow for a re read/a time cushion in case he runs over.

The key is knowing the times he has to hit, and keeping an eye on the clock throughout.

Wrt to his writing style, that's a different issue and I'm not sure how he gets around that.....somehow he has to be brutal and not waffle, make sure to answer the question and not just show off what he knows....it must be relevant to the question.

And if each question not equal in points, tweak time allowed accordingly....if he has had practice papers he should be able to work out what's needed.

@IPokeBadgers has it - it's as simple (and as complex!) as blocking out the time and sticking rigidly to that plan.

Much better to leave a good essay not quite finished and start the next than spend a further 20 mins titivating that essay and not start the other one.

Can he do this tho? That's the crucial point.

Thanks for the replies. I think the problem is, he understands about allocating time limits for each question but because he has a problem processing visual information, often he has only just started a question when it’s time to move on to the next, so if he moves on, he would accrue hardly any marks for the one he’s started and knows what he’s going to write. The extra time he has is not enough to compensate for his disability, unfortunately.

If the issue is that he hasn't been given enough extra time or other support there is probably not a lot that can be done other than bring this up if he ends up having to contact uni about results, or in Clearing.

If he needs hints and tips, though, here are some that have worked for students in the past.

1)Is he able to read an analogue clock? Asking to be provided with a digital clock might help if he has a poor concept of time.
2) Does he have a strategy such as doing the question with most marks first? (May not apply.)
3) Always make your strongest point first, fully, in case you run out of time.
4) Analyse and evaluate as you go, for each point (rather than stating all the points and evaluating them all at the end).
5) rather than trying to keep an eye on time, focus on how much you can write for each question. If you know you can write 6 pages in the time allocated to 3 essays, then as you approach the end of the second page you try to conclude.
6) does he underline key words in the question? It's a very basic thing but can help you focus.

7. Finally, it's probably more important to have a smaller number of really well written paragraphs than a list of bullet points. Bullet points will only show you know the content, but the higher band marks will be for the analysis and evaluation you can only do in full paragraphs.

Hope there us something in there that helps.

He has to keep working on it and practicing past papers. I know it's not easy and he may never finish a paper even with his extra time but he should be able to improve.

What is he wanting to do university wise? As if he is struggling with this now he may find he can't cope at uni either. I think the only reason why I coped is I did a maths based subject and didn't need to write essays. So the extra time gave me enough time to complete my exams. I don't think I ever could have done an essay based academic subject.

It could be that he can with the right support, can school/college help with this or seek help from the organisation linked to his disability.

You say he has a problem processing visual information, does he have access to a reader. This helped me a lot, it makes a huge difference if you don't have to work through reading the questions sometimes even for maths believe it or not. I even had a reader at university.

What are the essay subjects and exam boards? Just in case we can give you specific pointers that might help.

He has applied to do PPE and has got offers from some good unis. The essay subjects are economics and politics. I think they are Edexcel. With economics, he is expected to draw graphs to illustrate his points. This he finds particularly difficult as he has a tremor and dysgraphia so spends ages making it legible. He doesn’t have a reader as not assessed as dyslexic, but was offered a scribe for maths although became too frustrated trying to explain to the scribe what to write and how to write it, which lost him even more time. I will pass on the tips to him, thank you.