Help with A Level Exam Essay Questions

[CianOFountain]

Dd is Year 13 and has always struggled to finish the questions in the time allowed. During Year 12 the feedback was always "you're learning how to do them so it's expected you won't finish them" Now we're in Year 13 and it's become a problem as she can't finish in time. We've discussed what's going wrong and it's partly due to her hand cramping up because she's writing for dear life to get all the info down.
She's doing lots of practice as per the advice from her tutors and always comes up against this issue.
Her knowledge is excellent so it's not that that's causing the issue.
She has broken things down and worked to strict essay plans and still this happens
I'm at a loss as what else to suggest at this late point, maybe dilute the info a bit to allow time to finish up but then lose marks on content?
If we'd have known about this earlier I could have maybe tried to organise more time using a computer( she can finish the essays in good time this way) but it's too late
Any advice or ideas greatly appreciated

WIll her school allow her to use a computer? I know some in DDs school were allowed to a couple of years back

I thought that you could if it was your usual way of working but surely now it's too late for changes

A triangular pen or Stabilo grip pen might help. A sloped writing desk and wrist band might also be more comfortable.
Laptop use is usually following an access needs assessment for adjustments, extra time etc.
Would manipulating dough help to strengthen her fingers?

What subjects?

Essays are formulaic. There are things to lay out, often according to a structure, that hits what a mark scheme is looking for indicators of.

In most cases the building blocks are the paragraphs (generally a surprisingly small number) that walk through what is required.

If you are time challenged it is probably best to have a plan that definitely gets you from A to Z. Discover it and hone it.

Yes, I was a technique kid.

History and Philosophy
She's done timed essays with proper plans etc but I'll pass on any tips or tricks

If her teachers are seeing what you are seeing (capable/has the info/can't get it down because her hand physically runs out of steam) they might be able to offer a computer option

I agree it's too late to ask for a laptop for reasonable adjustment.

It sounds like she is creating an essay plan, she needs to be ruthless at sticking to the time for each section - it's better (marks wise) to have cut a section a bit short but got all the way through to conclusion and summing up, than to run out of stem mid essay and not finish it off properly.

how did she get on at GCSE? I know the essays were not as long but some subjects would have been pretty much non stop writing. Does she have any experience from doing those that she can use?

I don't know why A Level essays can't be routinely completed on a laptop - your daughter is unlikely to ever again need to have to write under pressure in this way. (Sorry - I know that doesn't help you- but the dislike of exam essay writing was one reason my daughter opted for a course that had more course work than exams).

Gcses were a struggle writing wise as hand still cramped but less intense essay wise I think. She said that she also knows when the time is running down and then panics because she knows she'll not finish...

Do ask the question about the computer. They can only say no, but you never know. Is it her usual way or working Or can it be in the next few months.

• Is the entire exam essays? If not, could she do the exam in a different order eg the long essay first and then the sources questions or shorter answer questions. It's often easier to accumulate lots of marks on those types of questions whereas a partly finished essay may get lower marks because of level marking.
• Would rest breaks help? I don't think the approval process for rest breaks is as strict as extra time and may be at the discretion of the school - need to double check as the guidance was tightened last autumn.
• If you have evidence going back to year 12 then you have a case for asking to type exams. However, it is always at the discretion of the school and there is a cut off date which may be as soon as the end of March.
• Think you need to meet the school SEN person ASAP to see what your options are for adjustments.

If she is doing timed essays with proper plans, but not getting to the end of them she might need to do some surgery to the in-between paragraphs. That way there is a wrap that gets credit. For instance, there can be a paragraph with 'other supports to the case I am making' where, as sentence level, with commas, different things are addressed that ideally would have their own paragraphs but in her case might not.

Find an exemplar mark scheme. There might be two types: a generic one and a specific one for a specific question. The former matters a lot, if it exists (I have no idea now, but finding this when I was doing A-levels helped). See whether a general template answer structure can be developed that would lead to a complete essay for her. Not for an idealised candidate.

This is bending to avoid breaking.

My Y12 dd is exactly the same as yours. Even if she knows how to answer the question she physically cannot write quickly enough and her hand cramps up. She’s never finished a timed essay question in her life so after not finishing her actual GcSE exam essays, she was tested for handwriting speed and it was agreed that she qualified for a laptop for A levels. So you should urgently speak to the relevant learning support dept at her school. However I’ve no idea if it’s too late.

As an aside (though doesn’t sound especially relevant here), we think the physical issue is only part of the problem for our dd, as intense perfectionism and an inability to move onto the next paragraph until the current one is acceptable (even if that means only finishing 50% of the exam) also prevents her getting to the end in time and showing her ability/knowledge. Maybe it’s just misplaced perfectionism but school now agree that there may be more to it and she’s being assessed for neurodiversity. This may not be relevant for your dd but something to consider (and probably too late to help with A level exams but may be relevant if she’s doing an essay based degree). Wishing her luck, it’s a frustrating situation to be in.

We don't write much nowadays do we? I'm not sure if I have used a pen or pencil to do anything more than sign my names this week.

I took History like your daughter (with previous years at school in Spain and there was some content overlap but from a totally different perspective). Our two teachers had different approaches to what was allegedly required and in the end I went my own way, using what the exam board had provided for them, as the final essay writing is between you and the marker, not them.

Geography was its own little world. My memories are more of filed trips and a big project.

Politics was another subject. I knew too much, but often things the teachers didn't think relevant (they were generally right but my relatives are generally political and I had soaked a lot up). The transformative moment was a revision day in London (it might have been Methodist Central Hall or somewhere UCL - the memories fade). The chief examiner did the final session and basically said 'this is what we look for, and this is what A, C and E candidates tend to do). You could not get a starred grade then. At that point I realised I had to jump through a hoop, or two, not do things the way I would ideally but erroneously wanted to.

My DS is going to do his exams on a laptop. He has awful handwriting and the school told him last week after his mocks. So I don’t think it would be too late yet.

Prevent cramping by stretching hand at the end of each paragraph whilst planning what she is going to write in the next one?

Go back to some handwriting basics, build writing stamina and experiment with pens. If hand is cramping then try to find a smoother one, that doesn't need to be gripped and pressed too hard. Secondly as others have said, exam technique. What does she actually need to write to get the marks? Work out the formula, be succinct about what she is saying, cut out any waffle.

DS had very similar issues with A level History. Very neat handwriting so no issue with reading it, but slow and not finishing questions. He tried multiple pens and found Uniball Signo 207 to be the best to prevent cramping.

I’m afraid it is too late. School cannot introduce new ways of working after mocks. Any special arrangements have to have been in place long before now.

She needs to accept she can’t put down everything she knows. In part, they are being tested on how they can explain/describe/analyse is a concise way.

Also, best advice I ever had was to do the question with the most marks first : so if the paper goes short question, 4 marks; longer question, 6 marks; medium question, 12 marks; long question 25 marks- start with the 25 marks. If you don’t get to the first short question you’ve only lost 4 marks. Obviously try to stick to the time proportionately, but it takes the pressure off if it hues a bit astray.

It’s not too late for her to be assessed for exam access arrangements - more time and a laptop. Speak to the Senco asap to get the ball rolling.

No they don’t. We’ve just assessed yr 13s based on parental requests as they struggle to finish exams in the time allowed.

Not necessarily. DS has similar issues, and utterly illegible writing. I had pushed him for ages to ask about using a laptop but he was resistant until after his mocks. We managed to sort it and it made a huge difference. Worth pushing on it asap - especially if you can get support from subject teachers.

Agree with some writing basics. Is she literally writing the entire time or pausing a lot to think and self edit?

if the former then check she’s writing gently - shouldn’t be indenting the page.
check what pens she can use in the exam; a good quality smooth gel type or fountain pen is ideal, you want as little friction as possible. she needs to write all her notes at school not type. Enable her arm to move not just her fingers

playdough exercises!!

Have you tried different pens? I can write for
hours with a uni-ball but a ball pen cramps my hand.

UPDATE....

I spoke with Dds teacher and she agreed that extra time could be a possibility.
So they collected evidence and she did an assessment and we had an email to say that extra time will be given.
So relieved!

Her score was below average across the board so I'm wondering if something was missed through school and gcses or she was just good enough to not be picked up as struggling until now
Anyway good news so thank you all for your comments and advice 😊