How to use the exam time budget calculator
- Enter the exam length in whole minutes, then the reading time at the start and the review time you want to keep at the end.
- List the questions one per line as name, marks. Time is shared in proportion to the marks.
- Optionally enter the start time of the exam to see the clock time at which each question should be finished.
- Read the minutes per mark, then the table: exact minutes, whole minutes and the finish-by time for each question counted from the start.
Formula
time for questions = exam length - reading time - review time
minutes for a question = time for questions x its marks / total marks
finish by = reading time + minutes of all questions up to and including this one
Exact minutes are rounded to whole minutes by giving leftover minutes to the questions with the largest fractional parts, so the whole minutes add up exactly to the time available.
A 180 minute paper worth 100 marks
With 10 minutes of reading and 15 minutes for review, 155 minutes remain for questions worth 20, 30, 25 and 25 marks, which is 1.55 minutes per mark. The exact times are 31, 46.5, 38.75 and 38.75 minutes. Rounding gives 31, 46, 39 and 39 minutes, which add up to 155.
The finish-by times are 41, 87, 126 and 165 minutes from the start, and the 15 minutes of review bring it to 180. If the exam starts at 09:00, the last question should be done by 11:45 and the paper ends at 12:00.
How to use the plan
Marks are a guide to effort, not a promise about how long a question takes. Move time toward questions that you know need thought and away from ones you can finish quickly, but keep the finish-by times in view so you notice early if you are behind. If you are stuck, moving on and returning is usually better than letting one question use up the review time.
A plan like this is most helpful when you practice with it. Time yourself on a past paper with the budget and see whether the minutes per mark are realistic for you.
Related planning tools
To plan the weeks before the exam, the Exam Study Planner spreads study hours across days. To see what score you need on the final to reach a grade, use the Grade Calculator, and to plan an essay's length against time, the Essay Word Count Planner.
More planning tools
For groups, schedules and invoices, try the Student Group Generator, Carpool Rotation Schedule Generator and Time Log to Invoice Lines.
Assumptions and limits
- The exam length, reading time and review time are whole minutes.
- Every question is worth its marks, and time is split in proportion to the marks.
- At least one minute must be available for each question after reading and review time.
- Clock times wrap past midnight if the exam runs that long.
- The example paper is an illustration. Replace it with your own.
Frequently asked questions
What if a section has optional questions?
Enter only the questions you plan to answer, with their marks. Questions you will skip should not be in the list, or they will take time from the ones you will answer.
Is it good to keep review time?
Many students find a short review catches careless errors, but the right amount depends on the paper and on you. Set it to 0 if you prefer to use all the time on questions.
Why are the whole minutes different from the exact ones?
You cannot plan in fractions of a minute on a clock, so the fractions are shared out as whole minutes. Questions with the largest leftover fractions get the extra minutes.
Can marks be decimals?
Yes, such as 2.5. The time share is calculated from the marks as typed.