The Student Room Group

How to stop your hand hurting in an exam?

So I have the dreaded 2 hour 15 minute aqa english lang gcse exam tomorrow, and I can never get round to finishing all the questions because my hand begins to hurt a lot and I end up spending 50% of the time giving my hands a break.

Can anyone offer me any advice on how to write a lot without your hand hurting?
English and History A level students should be good at/used to this!

It's a stupid question, but I need to know how :frown:
(edited 8 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

shake the f*** out of it after every half hour.....improves circulation
It's just something that works for me but I find that if you wash your hands well with soap first, there is less friction and so your hands feel less tired.
Ignore the pain! Just pause every now and again to shake it out. Honestly, everybody gets some degree of hand pain writing furiously for that length of time, you've just got to continue anyway. Spending 50% of your exam feeling sorry for your hand is fairly questionable.

Temporary cramp in your hand < the grade you want in your GCSEs. It helps if you've been writing a lot all year because it's less sudden to your hand, but it's too late at this point for you on that one.

I've always had pain in my hand in exams, always ignored it and always finished my papers.

Of course if somebody has a way to genuinely stop your hand hurting at all, that would be the best thing! But I don't think there is a magic solution like that.
Reply 4
Original post by Mathsqueen
So I have the dreaded 2 hour 15 minute aqa english lang gcse exam tomorrow, and I can never get round to finishing all the questions because my hand begins to hurt a lot and I end up spending 50% of the time giving my hands a break.

Can anyone offer me any advice on how to write a lot without your hand hurting?
English and History A level students should be good at/used to this!

It's a stupid question, but I need to know how :frown:


I tend to have two positions holding my pen, so half way through the exam I switch position and that tends to help. Also try not writing until the exam. You may want to do some last minute practice and notes tomorrow morning. Don't.
Reply 5
Not to sure of this method myself but a friend of mine uses this vapour rub, burning/flamey sort of cream/jelly thingy - god knows what it exactly is - but it alleviates the pain from your joints and muscles if you can handle the burn (exaggerating it, it doesn't really burn unless you put it in your eyes; putting it in your eyes burns - ALOT).
Use hand sanitizer before the exam & after every question give it a good rub lol
Reply 7
Push your wrist back and forwards using the other hand, pull on it gently, and move round in circles a few times. Try doing this once every 15 minutes or so to stop your wrist from tensing up.
Omg same i already have a fairly large writers bump as well on my middle fingr and on my pinkie finger. I don't stop because im scared hat i won't finish the exam so in keep on going. But when it gets too much, i sit back 4 2 minutes and clench n unclench my hands while taking the time to read over my work. :flower2:
take a cold water bottle in with you, it used to help me a little. I have co ordination problems so used to get in pain in the half hour mark when i had exams, its a case of mind over matter really, dont let the pain get to you
Reply 10
I can definitely relate, I'm an A2 student and do english so there is a lot of writing. Best thing for me is to sacrifice the handwriting haha, I find that If I loosen my grip, and don't put too much effort into neat writing ( as long as it is eligible) it is a lot more comfortable. Also, relax your shoulders and entire arm, the more tension you are putting into it, the quicker it will ache
Reply 11
Voltarol 😂😇
Reply 12
A way of preventing/making it less is if you hold your pen a little less tightly. :redface: Learnt from 3 hour written computing exam. :sigh:
Reply 13
my hand gets strained.. I wear a muscle support u know the hand support.. like the one in sports. I helps.
All these things are great... It's my tenth exam tomorrow and my hands feel as if they want to hang themselves... I usually sit back for a few minutes and read over my answers, but then the invigilators start looking at you funny...

I've tried:
- clicking (really bad when the hall is silent)
- Shaking
- Rubbing
- Hand gel

etc, etc, etc...

Does anyone have anything that is guaranteed to work?? Or something that works for them??
uni-ball eye fine pens
Reply 16
Original post by glimmers
uni-ball eye fine pens


The grey ones or the ones with the needle-like tip?
Reply 17
Thanks everyone!
Original post by glimmers
uni-ball eye fine pens


This
Ryman's had them for a poumd each yesterday lol.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Like ma gurl Taylor Swift said
"Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off"

Lol kidding but it helps...

Quick Reply

Latest