Picture a Grade 10 student working through a physics paper. She spends twenty-five minutes on a structured question worth six marks, rereads it twice, then rushes the last section with eleven minutes left and leaves the longest question half-written. Her knowledge was fine. The clock was the problem, and that pattern is one of the most common reasons capable students lose marks. The good news is that pacing is a skill you can teach, and it improves quickly with the right habits.
Finishing on time usually comes down to two things: knowing roughly how many minutes each question deserves, and practising under the same clock until that pace feels natural. A simple minute budget, combined with regular timed practice and a plan for questions that stall, fixes most timing problems within a few weeks.
Why the clock runs out before the knowledge does
Most students who run short on time are not slow thinkers. They tend to fall into one of a few traps:
- They start with the first question and stay there, hoping to crack it completely.
- They write more than the command term asks for, so a two-mark answer takes the space of a six-mark one.
- They reread the whole paper at the start and lose ten minutes without a plan.
- They check every answer in full at the end, when a quick scan would catch most slips.
Each habit feels responsible in the moment. Together they quietly use up the minutes that the later, higher-mark questions needed.
Set a minute budget before the exam starts
Start with the paper's total time and its total marks. Take off a few minutes for reading the paper and a small buffer of about five to ten minutes for checking. Divide what remains by the total marks, and you have a working rate per mark.
For example, a 90-minute paper with 60 marks, after five minutes of reading and a five-minute buffer, leaves 80 minutes. That is roughly 1.3 minutes per mark. A six-mark question should take about eight minutes, and a two-mark question about two and a half. These numbers are not rigid, but they give your child a benchmark to glance at during the exam.
Tell the student to check the clock at section breaks
Ask your child to note the time when they finish each section and compare it with their budget. If they are five minutes behind, the fix is to shorten the next answers slightly, not to rush the final question. Small adjustments made early are far easier than panic in the last ten minutes.
Build timed practice into ordinary revision
Past papers are most useful when they are done under exam conditions. Set the timer, sit at a desk with no phone, and stop when the time is up, even if the answers are unfinished. Then mark the paper against the mark scheme, not just by feel. This shows exactly where the minutes went.
Students usually learn more from one timed practice paper than from three untimed ones. The second half of the process matters just as much: a student should be able to say, after each attempt, which question took too long and why.
This is where small-group teaching helps. At our Cambridge IGCSE tuition, our teachers work with batches of four to eight students, so pacing problems are noticed in class and talked through individually. Weekly worksheets and monthly mock papers are set up so that timing is practised repeatedly, not only in the week before exams.
Handle the stuck question without losing the paper
Every student meets a question they cannot solve. The skill is to limit the damage. A useful rule is to give a question its budgeted time, then move on, leaving a clear marker and a note of what has been tried. Partial working often earns method marks, so even a half-finished answer is worth more than an empty space.
Coming back at the end is worthwhile only if there is time left. Students who keep a short list of skipped questions often find that a fresh look, after finishing the rest, unlocks answers that were blocked earlier.
Use mock results to find the real bottleneck
A single bad mock is information, not a verdict. Look at which section ran over, whether the problem was reading, calculation or writing, and whether it happened in one subject or several. A student who runs short only in essay-style answers needs a different fix from one who gets stuck on data questions.
For IB students, our RevisionPrep question bank offers IB-style questions with progress analytics, which can show where a student's time and marks are being lost across topics. For CBSE and ICSE students, our tutors track each mock against the relevant board pattern and share the findings with parents at regular intervals, so the plan at home matches the plan in class.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many minutes should a student spend on each question?
Divide the paper's working time, minus reading and checking time, by the total marks. This gives a rough minutes-per-mark rate. A six-mark question should take roughly six times that rate. Treat the figure as a guide, adjust it after timed practice, and make sure the student notes the time at each section break during the exam.
My child knows the content but still runs out of time. What should we do?
This usually points to pacing rather than knowledge. The most effective step is timed practice with a mark-scheme review afterwards, so the student sees which questions overran. At INACADEMICS, small batches of four to eight students make it easier for teachers to spot these patterns and build timed work into weekly worksheets and monthly mocks.
Should my child skip hard questions in the exam?
Yes, but only for a set time. Give each question its budgeted minutes, write down what has been attempted, and move on. Returning to skipped questions at the end is helpful when time allows. Partial working can still earn method marks, so leaving a question blank is rarely the best option.
How do I know if my child needs extra help with timing?
Look for repeated patterns across several mocks rather than one result. If the same section keeps running over, or the student regularly leaves the last question unfinished, a short diagnostic can pinpoint the cause. You can book free counselling with INACADEMICS by calling or messaging +91 9014010410, and we will suggest a plan for your child's board.
Making timing a habit, not a crisis
Exam time management is learnt the same way as any other skill: through clear rules, short practice and honest review. Give your child a minute budget, practise under the clock, and treat each mock as feedback. Most students see a real difference within a few weeks of consistent practice.
If your child is preparing for an exam and running short on time, we would be glad to help. Call or WhatsApp +91 9014010410 for free counselling, or visit us at 117, 1st Floor, Raichandani Business Bay, Kokapet, above Karachi Bakery.