Time is a mark-earning resource
In objective exams, two candidates with the same knowledge can score very differently because of how they use time. The best approach is to decide your rules before the exam and practise them in mocks.
Know your time per question
Divide total time by number of questions. If an exam gives 60 minutes for 100 questions, you have about 36 seconds per question on average. Some questions take ten seconds and others three minutes, so your job is to collect the quick ones first.
Take a first pass
On the first pass, answer the questions you can solve quickly and mark the rest for review. Do not stay on a difficult question for more than the limit you set, such as 60 to 90 seconds for most sections. On the second pass, attempt the marked questions in order of how close you are to the answer.
Section order
Begin with the section where you are strongest, if the exam allows free movement. In exams with sectional time limits, split your time according to the stated limit and do not carry time over.
Rules for guessing
If wrong answers carry negative marks, guess only when you can remove at least two options.
If there is no negative marking, answer every question before time runs out.
Write your rule at the top of your rough sheet if the exam allows rough work.
Practise with a clock
Take sectional tests with a countdown every week. After the test, mark the time you spent on each question and see where minutes disappeared. Most candidates discover a handful of time sinks, such as lengthy calculations, passages read twice and puzzle sets started too late.
In a computer-based test
Learn how the palette shows answered, marked and not visited questions. Use the mark-for-review option sparingly so that you can return efficiently. Keep an eye on the timer but do not check it after every question.
In an OMR test
Mark bubbles carefully, do not shade in batches unless the instructions allow it, and leave a minute at the end to check that the numbers match. A single shifted row can cost many marks.
Stay calm when you fall behind
If you have lost time, do not rush into mistakes. Skip lengthy sets, secure the easy questions in remaining sections and keep your breathing steady. A calm last twenty minutes often earns more than a panicked first forty.
A sample time plan for a one-hour test
Suppose a one-hour paper has four sections of equal length. A reasonable plan is 12 minutes for the easiest section, 14 minutes each for the next two and 12 minutes for the hardest, leaving eight minutes for review. In the first pass, take no more than 40 seconds on a question that is not yielding to you. In the review pass, solve marked questions where you already know how to proceed. When the timer reaches the last five minutes, stop starting new long questions and use the time to fill in answers where you can eliminate options.
Train the habit
Use a visible timer in every mock for a month. Record the questions that took more than two minutes and ask why. Most of the time the answer is a missing formula, an unfamiliar format or poor reading. Fix the cause, and the minutes return.
A note on sources
This is general preparation guidance written by the ExamPragati editorial team. It is not a recruitment notification. Pattern, eligibility and dates differ between exams and years, so confirm them in the current official notice before you plan your calendar.
