✍️ Part 12: Time Management and Planning Techniques in Exams
(Descriptive, Narrative, and Persuasive Writing for IGCSE, AS Level, and IB Exams)
Many students lose marks not because they lack ideas—but because they run out of time or fail to plan properly. Strong writing starts before the first word is written. In exam settings, mastering time and planning is just as important as mastering style and structure.
⏰ Why Time Management Matters
- It ensures you complete the task within the word/time limit
- It gives you time to plan, draft, revise, and edit
- It reduces panic, especially in unseen tasks
- It helps maintain clarity and direction in writing
📎 General Time Breakdown (for 45–60 min writing tasks)
| Stage | Time Allocation | Purpose |
| Planning | 7–10 mins | Generate ideas, outline structure |
| Writing | 30–35 mins | Compose full response |
| Editing | 5–7 mins | Improve grammar, spelling, clarity |
✅ If it’s a shorter 30-minute task, scale this down proportionately (e.g., 5-20-5).
🧭 Step-by-Step Planning Strategy (All Styles)
- Read the Prompt Carefully
- Highlight keywords: tone, audience, form, purpose
- Identify what the task is really asking (e.g., describe, narrate, argue)
- Highlight keywords: tone, audience, form, purpose
- Jot Down Quick Notes or a Mind Map
- For descriptive: senses, setting, dominant mood
- For narrative: plot points, character, setting, theme
- For persuasive: key arguments, rhetorical devices, tone
- For descriptive: senses, setting, dominant mood
- Sequence Your Ideas Clearly
- Have a clear beginning, middle, and end (even in description!)
- Avoid writing ideas as they come—group and order them logically
- Have a clear beginning, middle, and end (even in description!)
- Set Checkpoints During Writing
- Know where you should be by 15, 30, and 40 minutes
- Example: If you haven’t started your second main point by 25 mins, move on!
- Know where you should be by 15, 30, and 40 minutes
- Leave Time for a Final Read-Through
- Fix spelling, punctuation, sentence variety
- Add transitional words or stronger phrasing if possible
- Fix spelling, punctuation, sentence variety
📝 Quick Planning Templates (By Style)
Descriptive
- Setting: Time of day, location, atmosphere
- Senses: Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste
- Mood: Calm? Chaotic? Tense? Dreamy?
- Structure: Zoom-in (detailed focus) or time-lapse (e.g., from dawn to dusk)
Narrative
- Who? Main character + viewpoint
- What? Conflict or event
- When/Where? Time/place context
- Why? Purpose of telling the story
- How? Opening-hook → rising action → climax → ending with impact
Persuasive
- Issue: Define the topic and stance
- Audience: Who are you convincing?
- Tone: Friendly, assertive, urgent?
- Arguments: 3 solid points + evidence
- Devices: Rhetorical questions, statistics, anecdotes
🧩 In-Exam Memory Aids
- PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link) for persuasive and narrative analysis
- S.T.E.A.L. (Speech, Thoughts, Effects, Actions, Looks) for characterisation
- 5 Senses + Mood for descriptive detail
- AFOREST (for persuasive techniques): Alliteration, Facts, Opinions, Rhetorical questions, Emotive language, Statistics, Triples
❗ Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
| Problem | Solution |
| Spending too long on planning | Use a timer; keep outlines bullet-pointed |
| Getting stuck on intros | Move on and return later |
| Rushing with no plan | Always spend at least 5 minutes sketching ideas |
| No time left to edit | Set an alarm at 5–7 mins before the end |
🎯 Examiner Tip
- IGCSE/AS/IB all assess organisation, clarity, and control
- Even brilliant ideas suffer without structure
- Planning shows maturity and control—rewarded across all levels
⚡ Practice Activity
Pick one of these prompts. Spend 7 minutes planning, then review:
- Describe the inside of an abandoned theatre.
- Write a story that begins, “I had never seen such a sky.”
- Write a persuasive article for a school magazine arguing against uniforms.