Quite a lot of the time in exams, due to stress, you tend to grip the pen too hard. This tires your hand. If you consciously remember to keep a light grip, you can write for much longer. Also use light strokes if you're writing an essay, it allows you to flick your pen across the line much quicker, I.e don't push down so hard. It does cause your handwriting to slightly deteriorate. But hey, an extra page written is an extra page written.