struggling with essay writing speed (1 Viewer)

[johony]

pretty much, i'm being fucked over in most of my subjects (eco, eng, art, modern); because i can't write quick enough in 40-60 minutes, in which i can only churn out 2 or 3 pages whilst other people seem to write 4-6 well written pages with relative ease. i always do a draft essay and plan before tasks.

has anyone had the same problem, and have they perhaps seen a occupational therapist or similar?

 

[Fortify]

Quality not Quantity?

 

[johony]

Quality not Quantity?

you'd think it would be the case, however i know for english and eco, the markers have remarked 2-3 pages of good quality is still not good enough for high band 5/band 6.

i did manage to get 90% in my last modern essay however, in which i wrote 3 pages.

 

[Tully B.]

I've got the same problem. English is my only subject which requires extensive, fast writing though. I haven't finished any of my last 2-3 English exams.

 

[oly1991]

i can write fast but when i read it after ive finished it looks like scribble lol
i think it's just a matter of practicing

 

[Drone23]

push through the pain, don't make ur writing completely neat and tidy, just make it eligible.

I tend to write 6-7pages and get 95+ in most essay based examinations

know what ur writing and write it fast
memorizing it is the key to success

 

[0hNivlek]

Practice writing more in exam condition.

 

[Zedez]

Is it just your writing speed? Because I no I can write quickly but the faster I write the further the quality goes down. If you are planning that shouldn't be as much a problem, but in a lot of exams you won't be able to because you don't know enough about the question. Also, do you have neat or messy hand writing?

 

[q3thefish]

i feel the same way. i just write too damn neatly under exam conditions and as a result i can only squeeze 3 pgs in 35 mins.

 

[narrowpin]

Quality not Quantity?

Quantity for sure. Use good vocabulary. Make your writing big to fill out lots of exam booklets in the hsc. Memorise essays. you will get 90+ probably, 85+ deffs.

 

[Aerath]

pretty much, i'm being fucked over in most of my subjects (eco, eng, art, modern); because i can't write quick enough in 40-60 minutes, in which i can only churn out 2 or 3 pages whilst other people seem to write 4-6 well written pages with relative ease. i always do a draft essay and plan before tasks.

has anyone had the same problem, and have they perhaps seen a occupational therapist or similar?

Well, I noticed that in all of those subjects, except Art, you're up against Bryant - who is like a freak of nature in terms of writing speed and quality (as I'm sure anyone at our school can attest to, first in all 4U of English, Art and 2U Maths, and 4th in History - there's a reason he got an estimate of 99.95+). So yeah, if you're like comparing yourself against Bryant, that's fine, cause Bryant vs anyone, anyone dies in terms of quantity and quality of essay.

For English, whenever Wright hands back his feedback sheet thing, he always notes about the quantity average thing. But that's usually BS. He told his class that he expected 2000 words in a 40min essay, which is total BS. It should be about 1050-1200 words max. Bryant can probably do 1400, but that's like the absolute limit. So if you're managing to write that much in 40 mins, or like 1200-1350 in this upcoming 50 min Speeches/Essays/Caesar assessment, you'll be fine.

During non exam times, some people I've noticed write with like a battery attached to the side of the pen, a craze started by yours truly back in like Yr 10. It didn't really work for me, but maybe it will for you.

 

[mcflystargirl]

yeah get a heavy pen, write with that, then usea light pen in exams then you will be able to write faster.

 

[chewy123]

Have you seen the exam booklet? The lines are huge, maybe other people are using different paper and have different font size.

And yeh...like someone said, just push through it, the markers are paid to read your ugly writing, be fast not neat.

 

[Uncle]

I had my English teacher's email.
During the study vacation period I requested lots of sample and random extended response questions.
(Note the words "extended response" so I actually answer the question, not all the extended responses allow you to write an essay, and don't memorise essays like 70% of the idiots in English Standard)
Then I type them up unedited and sent them back to my English teacher.
The time I usually took was around 45 - 50 minutes, eventually I got more practice so I could do them in 30 to 40 minutes.
During the HSC exam I was able to write fresh responses taking into account what I learnt in class and actually answer the question and I scored pretty well.
Obviously if you memorise the essay you could write it in 30 minutes if it barely matches the question, but I could write fresh ones in roughly the same time.

pretty much, i'm being fucked over in most of my subjects (eco, eng, art, modern); because i can't write quick enough in 40-60 minutes, in which i can only churn out 2 or 3 pages whilst other people seem to write 4-6 well written pages with relative ease. i always do a draft essay and plan before tasks.

has anyone had the same problem, and have they perhaps seen a occupational therapist or similar?

Do NOT memorise essays.
Obviously see that I requested random questions to get better practice.
You need not see anybody else but your English teacher if she/he is reliable.
If you can only memorise essays, what a pity.

Practice writing more in exam condition.

.

 

[electrolysis]

Yeah, I had the same problem up until the end of year 11
the best cure that worked for me and should for everyone else is to do what 0hNivlek said about practicing writing essays in exam conditions, it will really help you to write heaps within that 35 or so minutes and will automatically readjust your writing capabilities for HSC-styles.. but anyways, the actual HSC exam booklets have MASSIVE lines, easy to finish a booklet in time imo

 

[johony]

During non exam times, some people I've noticed write with like a battery attached to the side of the pen, a craze started by yours truly back in like Yr 10. It didn't really work for me, but maybe it will for you.

hah, i did that, didn't notice much difference; but i'll take your other advice on board.

Practice writing more in exam condition.

i'll try doing more of that for sure.

imo memorising essays straight at this point of time is essentially a big big gamble, unless you are extremely good at adapting; which still might not work depending on the question. i've never done it and i won't ever.

i'll take on Uncle's advice of doing shitloads of random questions in order to give me that sharpness and knowledge needed for an english exam.

3 weeks to improve my rank of 158/201 guys.

 

[x.Exhaust.x]

Johnny, how much can you write in 40 minutes?

I've never practiced/ridiculously attached a battery to my pen at all, and can manage to squeeze in 1200-1400, depending on my mood. But like the other poster said, quality > quantity.

 

[annabackwards]

Quality > Quantity

But, just practise writing fast under exam conditions to increase your speed. Remember, it doesn't have to be neat - just legible.

 

[MaNiElla]

 

[lychnobity]

I also had an issue with writing speed. Learning to hold the pen in different ways helped me, which meant I got to rest the tired muscles. (I've practiced about 5)