How to plan out Paper 3 answers

[keshavkv]

Hey guyz i have one major problem, whenever i took a practice paper 3 i find myself writing so much for the first two questions and falling short for the last one becuse of the time, can someone tell how long an ideal answer is supposed to be for a question? any other tips are welcome! thanks

[Hyperbole]

Generally, "short" is a pretty good answer. Since you've noticed yourself that the time limit is quite a restriction, I guess you see this.

For me, I often write 800-1000 words per essay. I definitely try not to write any more than that.

As for the planning stages, I identify what parts the question asks me for. Then I write a brief plan, including the most important figures and quotes so that I can just put a tick by everything when I've used it. I usually try to limit myself to two or three main points, using as many examples as I have for each one, but keeping each example as brief as possible; nobody is going to thank you for explaining things in more detail than you need to.

Finally, don't even try to write neatly. Ever. Your writing only needs to be legible, not beautiful, so try practising writing quickly. Good luck!


Edit: Oh, also. Keep an eye on the time! If you glance at the time every time you move to a new point, you'll know if you need to cut out some details in order to keep the time limit. Remember that for Paper 2 you have 45 minutes per essay, and in Paper 3 you have 50. Since all essays are graded using the same criteria, they all need about the same attention and time spent on them, so don't use an hour for the two first and only half an hour for the last one if you can avoid it.

Edited March 2, 2009 by Hyperbole

[leepsyle]

We do practice Paper 3 for every unit and we are told to write for 45 minutes on each question.