Exam-day technique for the GCE, BAC and concours

Why technique matters

Two students with the same knowledge can get very different marks. One reads the instructions, manages the clock and presents clear answers. The other rushes into question 1, gets stuck, and runs out of time with two questions untouched. On a concours, where candidates are ranked, those lost marks can decide whether you get in.

Exam technique is a skill. You learn it by practising it in timed mock exams, not by reading about it the night before. Use this guide while you work through past questions, so the method is automatic on the day.

The day before

• Documents. Prepare your convocation and your ID. Official texts are strict about this: the 2026 medical exam order required a valid national ID card on the day, and the ENSPY communiqué asked for the ID card or a student card.
• Materials. Two or three pens of the colour required, pencil, ruler, eraser, geometry set, and a calculator only if it is allowed. Check the batteries.
• Route. Know where your centre is and how long it takes to get there. Plan to arrive early.
• Evening. Light revision of your summary sheets only, a normal meal, and bed at a reasonable hour. A rested brain is worth more than two extra hours of panicked reading. Our guide on exam stress and sleep explains why.

The first ten minutes: read everything

When you get the paper, resist the urge to start writing. Spend the first few minutes reading the whole paper:

• Read the instructions twice. How many questions must you answer? Is there a choice between sections? Are some questions compulsory? Answering more questions than required wastes time, and answering fewer loses marks.
• Look at the marks for each question or exercise. They tell you how much time and detail each one deserves.
• Mark each question with a quick sign: easy, medium, hard.
• Note ideas in the margin or on rough paper as they come to you, especially for essays.

Budget your time

A simple rule: divide the time available by the total marks, keeping 10 to 15 minutes at the end for checking.

For example, a three-hour paper marked out of 100 gives about 165 minutes of working time after checking, so roughly 1.5 minutes per mark. An exercise worth 20 marks deserves about 30 minutes. Write the planned finishing time next to each exercise on your rough paper and glance at the clock as you go.

If an exercise takes much longer than planned, stop, leave space, and move on. You will come back to it if time allows. An unfinished last exercise is a much bigger loss than one incomplete question in the middle.

Choose your order

Unless the instructions say otherwise, you do not have to answer in the order of the paper. Start with the exercise you master best. It builds confidence, secures marks early, and warms up your brain.

• In maths and science, the first questions of an exercise are often easier. Pick them up even in exercises you cannot finish.
• If a question uses the result of a previous one you could not find, use the given result and continue. You can still earn the marks for the rest.
• Keep the hardest question for the end, when the sure marks are already on your script.

How to present your answers

Markers have many scripts to read. Make yours easy to mark.

• Number every answer clearly, exactly as in the paper (1a, 1b, Part II, and so on).
• In problem-solving subjects, write the data, the formula or law you use, the substitution, the result with its unit, and box it. Many marking schemes give marks for the method even if the final number is wrong.
• In essay subjects, spend 15 to 20 minutes on a plan before writing: an introduction that states the question and your plan, organised parts with one main idea per paragraph, and a conclusion that answers the question.
• Write legibly, leave margins and a line between answers. Cross out mistakes with a single clean line.
• Follow the answer format you are given, such as answer booklets, spaces provided or separate sheets, and write your candidate number wherever it is required.

Multiple-choice and short questions

Some papers and concours include multiple-choice or very short questions. Read all the options before choosing. Eliminate the ones you know are wrong. Check the instructions to see whether wrong answers lose marks. If they do not, never leave a question blank. If they do, guess only when you can eliminate some options.

Practicals and orals

Some exams and concours include practical tests or an oral. For practicals, read the instructions fully before touching the equipment, record your measurements neatly in a table with units, and leave time to answer the questions that follow.

For an oral, listen to the whole question, take a few seconds to organise your answer, then speak clearly in two or three points. If you do not know, say so honestly and explain how you would approach the problem. Examiners value calm reasoning more than a rushed guess.

Check before you hand in

Use the time you kept at the end:

• Have you answered every required question? Go back to the ones you skipped.
• In calculations, check signs, units and orders of magnitude.
• In essays, reread the introduction and conclusion and fix obvious spelling mistakes.
• Make sure your name or candidate number is on every sheet you hand in, if required.

If you panic or go blank

It happens to many students. Put the pen down, breathe slowly in and out for a minute (the NHS suggests counting to five on each breath), then move to another question you know. The memory often comes back once you are working again.

Between papers, do not spend the break comparing answers with others. It changes nothing and can shake your confidence. Eat something, drink water, and look over your notes for the next paper.

Practise it before the day

Do at least two or three full mock exams at the real times, with this method. Our 12-week BAC plan and GCE revision guide show where to fit them. A tutor can also set and mark timed papers for you. On Houselewa you can find a tutor for the GCE or the Baccalauréat, at home or online.