Timed vs. Non timed essays

[This-is-not-me]

Hey guys I'm having some trouble producing good essays under timed conditions. I mean, the best timed one I've done was a language analysis in my trial exam for which I got an 8, the rest have been 6/7's.  Should I be worried? I know I am able to produce some 9/10's and even some 10/10 essay's without timed conditions but that takes me almost double the time to do -.-.

So would you recommend keep writing under timed conditions or practice some ones without and then do some timed ones after.  The thought of the exam being in 10 days makes me even more frustrated

[Alwin]

Hey guys I'm having some trouble producing good essays under timed conditions. I mean, the best timed one I've done was a language analysis in my trial exam for which I got an 8, the rest have been 6/7's.  Should I be worried? I know I am able to produce some 9/10's and even some 10/10 essay's without timed conditions but that takes me almost double the time to do -.-.

So would you recommend keep writing under timed conditions or practice some ones without and then do some timed ones after.  The thought of the exam being in 10 days makes me even more frustrated

First up, I want to ask (no offence!) why you're getting worse in LA when under timed conditions. Is it a matter of quality or quantity?

In other words, do you feel that under timed conditions you make a less sophisticated argument/analysis (quality) because you are used to having the time to sit back to deliberate as to what you're going to write? If so you should try the following:

• Practise effective planning for sections A and B, as a good plan can mean you end up writing a better piece. Try to keep planning to 4-5 minutes to mimic exam conditions
• Highly recommend doing doing pieces under time restraints because it will familiarise you with writing under pressure
• Stop at the 1 hour mark. If you're not done, get a different colour pen and keep on going/go back and edit. This will help you see what you could have done better in that hour, since as you're getting 9s and 10s you must be a good writer!
• This is hard, but try not to get frustrated! Usually your best top notch writing is when you're calm and decisive, not when you're just frantically trying to write as much as you can... at low end quality

If you feel that the problem is word length (quantity) then I would really recommend:

• Writing under timed conditions so you get faster each time and can write more in an hour
• Work in a group, other people writing beside you can really get up the adrenalin!
• Spend a bit less time thinking and more time writing, or maybe this is harder than it sounds! Again, a good plan can help you with this
• Practise writing more, and writing faster

Or, if you think it's a combination of both, try a variety of things! Keep at it, keep trying timed conditions, keep aiming for them 10s!!

I wish you the best of luck!
Alwin