What to Do When You're Stuck or Running Out of Time

Every student, no matter how well-prepared, will face moments in an exam where they are stuck on a question or realise they are running out of time. What separates successful students from the rest is not whether these moments happen — it is how they respond.

This lesson covers the practical strategies that protect your marks when things go wrong.

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Strategy 1: Skip and Return

This is the most important exam strategy most students fail to use:

If you are stuck on a question, skip it and come back later.

This sounds obvious, but in the pressure of an exam, students often freeze on difficult questions. They stare at the question, re-read it five times, write a few words, cross them out, and sit there getting increasingly anxious — all while the clock ticks away.

How to do it properly