Do you read the exam paper before starting?

Poll

Do you read the paper before starting?

I was shocked to find out that some of my friends just get into the exam, read the first essay question and start. I ALWAYS read the questions before starting. In English there are only two so it's easy but I do it in History as well and even in French I look at what the topics are before beginning. I can't relax otherwise - there's just a huge fear that I might turn the page and see something awful! I don't properly read everything - just a quick glance to set my mind at rest!

This obviously applies less for people who do exam papers with loads of questions (eg sciences and maths) but I was wondering if most people do the same?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Flumm

All my exam are just two essays now. If I'm feeling really nervous I might have a look, but normally I just get on with the first one. If the second essay was awful I would be worrying about it the whole time I was doing the first one!

Reply 2

rachd_22

obviously on subjects where you pick one of two essays or such like i read the questions.

on business studies and things like that though i just start writing. reading the paper through is a waste of valuable one mark = one minute time!

Reply 3

Car Expert

No, apart from on 3 occasions:

•

Music Listening - we were told to spend 10 minutes to read through the paper before the 1st extract is played

•

Geography OCR Avery Hill - has a choice of 3 questions to do out of 6 (1 from each of the 3 sections)

•

English - like rachd_22 said, you need to read through the questions to determine which essays you plan to write

Reply 4

Dionysus

I generally try not to look, because I know there will be an impossibly difficult question at the end, and it will make me mess up the easy ones as well. Better to at least get half of it right.

Reply 5

Kate.

Nope, don't see the point.

Reply 6

Gooner

I think it wastes time. Exams (especially at A-Level) don't give you enough time as it is, never mind having a nosey at all of the other questions which you'll find later on in the exam.

Reply 7

ßlαcksωαn

we always have 15minutes reading time...

Reply 8

Teao the Cat

I start right in, but halfway through my first essay I always have to go and find out what the next essay is. I'm just too nosey.

Reply 9

AisAis

I read them all through in chosing subjects like geography, sociology, RE, English (like to be able to think about the second question whilst writing the first). I had a look at the end of the maths paper after I'd done the first few questions because I know they're usually the ones I can't do. Oh and in science where they give you FAR to much time I read the end few when I get bored half way through.

I wouldn't sit there and read the questions from cover to cover for no reason, no.

Reply 10

prettyblueeyes

I never have done before, but for History, English Lit and Media I briefly glanced at the optional questions. Usually I don't because it wastes time, but I felt in these exams that I wanted to know what the questions I'd answer second would be like - if they were ones I knew I'd write a lot for, I knew to be much tighter with my timing on the first question so I had sufficient time for the optional question. Whereas if I looked at them and thought they were quite bad, I'd be able to spend time planning my first questions more carefully to not miss out silly marks if I could, to make up for those I might miss on the later questions. I don't get people who read the entire exam paper when we only have to answer questions from say one unit out of the six that are printed - what on earth is the point, unless of course you've loads of time to spare at the end?

Reply 11

kellywood_5

I always read all the essay questions if there was a choice, which there usually was. In French, I read the questions before I played the tape or read the extract so I knew what I was looking for and could underline things I'd need- same with sources for history and items of data for sociology. At GCSE, when I did subjects like maths and science where all the questions were compulsory, I didn't bother.

Reply 12

brown

Sometimes. In RS exams you have to answer 2 out of 3 questions. I find it helps by reading through the question paper before attempting the questions because I can answer the easiest one first and gain marks in the bag (at the same time I can think about what I am going to include in my answer to the second question, which is more difficult).

Reply 13

*River

When I do science exams, I go through the paper and do all of the questions that I can do without thinking, and then keep on going through the paper until I've finished, but with anything I have a choice of (German writing or History), I'll think about what I want to do first.

Reply 14

quintsy

I generally do in essay subjects (English, German, French) and also in Geography with the case studies. I find it helps you to plan your time, such as if you see the next question and it looks more complicated than the first, then you know you'll probably need more time on it.

Reply 15

digital-observations

History and Politics I obviously do because there's a choice of essays and it helps to know what you're choosing from. Maths I tend not to, just open it up and start, because once I've seen a tough looking question near the end it'll distract me during the earlier ones and stupid mistakes are more likely...

Reply 16

mtbab

if there is a choice of questions then yeh but if is its just do all questions and go, i just start lol

except fro english synoptic where your meant to not write anything for the first hour lol

Reply 17

JjrShah

It's normally worse if I look at questions to see if there are hard ones because then that's all I'll be able to think about.

Reply 18

Daragh

Anything where there is a choice of questions, yes. Fortunately, all my exams are like that, but I do know of people who have started a 50m question, got half way through it then realised they've screwed up, and have very little time to recover.

Reply 19

Chess Piece Face

Yes - in essay questions, I always briefly analyse the question to try to understand the nuances of the question and just get into my head what the examiners are probably looking for.

However, for English literature or history, in which there are options on the paper that we don't do, I don't read the questions for those. I don't, for example, read a question about "Tess of the D'urbervilles" if I'm studying "Death of a Salesman"! That's just a waste of time. :p: