The Student Room Group

Problem - Time Management - English Language

I’m a fifteen year old student who has just sat there English Language Mini-Mock how was it you may ask TERRIBLE. I need ideas on how I can manage my time. I know exactly what I’m doing it’s just that time goes by SO QUICKLY I know the needed time for each question I just wasn’t able to apply it. I did beautifully in my 8 and 4 marker I believe, the 12 marker I wrote 2 PRETZEL paragraphs by the time I moved to the 16 marker I had about 30 minutes left I was only able to write one PRTE paragraph with information about both sources I was meant to write 2 MORE then came the 40 MARKER whilst having 10 minutes left I was able to write an intro 2 short sentences and 2 main paragraphs I believe I could so much better I just have problems with time management. This didn’t just happen in English but in AQA FOUNDATION MATHS it was literally the easiest paper I’ve done in years but I wasn’t fully aware of the timing going past. I asked my teachers one of them told me that this is a learning process whilst the other one told me to practise the thing is, I have other 12,34 markers to worry about and my revision right now is TIGHT in schedule I’m going to try obviously but I have like English Literature to worry about and other subjects but if I’m struggling to complete a test in 1 hr 45 mins how am I going to do in 2 WHOLE HOURS. Also I have a 1 hr 45 minutes to do 4 WHOLE 12 MARKERS and 5 and 4 markers if I’m struggling.

P.s how much do you think I can get in total in my English Language paper

Reply 1

Original post by vkisow
I’m a fifteen year old student who has just sat there English Language Mini-Mock how was it you may ask TERRIBLE. I need ideas on how I can manage my time. I know exactly what I’m doing it’s just that time goes by SO QUICKLY I know the needed time for each question I just wasn’t able to apply it. I did beautifully in my 8 and 4 marker I believe, the 12 marker I wrote 2 PRETZEL paragraphs by the time I moved to the 16 marker I had about 30 minutes left I was only able to write one PRTE paragraph with information about both sources I was meant to write 2 MORE then came the 40 MARKER whilst having 10 minutes left I was able to write an intro 2 short sentences and 2 main paragraphs I believe I could so much better I just have problems with time management. This didn’t just happen in English but in AQA FOUNDATION MATHS it was literally the easiest paper I’ve done in years but I wasn’t fully aware of the timing going past. I asked my teachers one of them told me that this is a learning process whilst the other one told me to practise the thing is, I have other 12,34 markers to worry about and my revision right now is TIGHT in schedule I’m going to try obviously but I have like English Literature to worry about and other subjects but if I’m struggling to complete a test in 1 hr 45 mins how am I going to do in 2 WHOLE HOURS. Also I have a 1 hr 45 minutes to do 4 WHOLE 12 MARKERS and 5 and 4 markers if I’m struggling.
P.s how much do you think I can get in total in my English Language paper

Use the number of marks to guide how much time you should spend. Idk which exam board you do but for me it helped to do the big mark questions like creative/persuasive writing (for the AQA exam) first. Practice is also very important!!!
(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 2

Original post by d159p
Use the number of marks to guide how much time you should spend. Idk which exam board you do but for me it helped to do the big mark questions like creative/persuasive writing (for the AQA exam) first. Practice is also very important!!!

Thank you for the suggestion moving forward I will be doing the 40 marker first and working backwards.

Reply 3

For me, I really struggled with this as well, and english language gcse always sent me into a panic every time I revised it. It sounds like you know what to write but just struggle to do it in the time frame. As you practice, your thinking will get faster but heres what i would suggest you do now. Read both texts and the questions, if theres anything major that you think of, write that down but move onto the 5th question. That way when you come back to the other questions, it's easier and i didn't panic because ive only just read the text and couldnt think of things straight away. You're a little more familiar with the text this way. (I got a 6 in Feb mocks to an 8 in the real thing)

For maths and just all subjects, I have similar advice - don't feel like you have to do it in order. I did higher maths and didn't start right at the back because those questions are insanely difficult but I started aeound 3 quarters of the way through and worked backwards. If I didn't feel like doing a question, I skipped it and came back to it later. (I got a 7, one mark of an 8)

Good luck!

Reply 4

Original post by digital-haunting
For me, I really struggled with this as well, and english language gcse always sent me into a panic every time I revised it. It sounds like you know what to write but just struggle to do it in the time frame. As you practice, your thinking will get faster but heres what i would suggest you do now. Read both texts and the questions, if theres anything major that you think of, write that down but move onto the 5th question. That way when you come back to the other questions, it's easier and i didn't panic because ive only just read the text and couldnt think of things straight away. You're a little more familiar with the text this way. (I got a 6 in Feb mocks to an 8 in the real thing)
For maths and just all subjects, I have similar advice - don't feel like you have to do it in order. I did higher maths and didn't start right at the back because those questions are insanely difficult but I started aeound 3 quarters of the way through and worked backwards. If I didn't feel like doing a question, I skipped it and came back to it later. (I got a 7, one mark of an 8)
Good luck!

Thank you. For your advice I will be doing that moving forward.

Reply 5

I did my February Mocks and just received my grades. I'VE IMPROVED SO MUCH. I achieved a grade 8 in language whilst achieving a 7 in literature. Achieved a 7 on History, Religious studies aswell. Achieved a 6/5 in science HOWEVER 😭 maths was not so GREAT buttt I'm sitting a shadow paper which I will definitely be revising for.

Reply 6

Original post by vkisow
I did my February Mocks and just received my grades. I'VE IMPROVED SO MUCH. I achieved a grade 8 in language whilst achieving a 7 in literature. Achieved a 7 on History, Religious studies aswell. Achieved a 6/5 in science HOWEVER 😭 maths was not so GREAT buttt I'm sitting a shadow paper which I will definitely be revising for.

Can I know what exam board you are doing for English language.I'm doing AQA this may.I'm terrible at time management.I always start from the Question 5.Then I start from Q1,Q2,Q4,Q3.I never get time to do Q3.I usually have time to write one paragraph in Q2.And One paragraph in Question 4(I include about one difference in both sources and talk about both sources in one paragraph).My teacher told me to take 15 minutes to read the whole source and annotate for all questions.I'm so bad at multi tasking so I don't do that.I read the lines assigned for each question and write the answer for each question.How do you manage your time?

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