Do You Hand In The Exam Paper Earlier Or At The Last Minute

When you are a student, do you hand in the exam paper earlier or at the last minute? When I had the exam, most of the time I would hand in the exam paper at the last minute. I know it is cool to hand in the exam paper earlier. But I wanted to be much more careful to the answers. I would check it again and again to make sure I would not make a mistake. If I couldn't know how to solve the problem, then I would spend the rest time on it and hopefully I would get an idea how to solve it. This is why I won't hand in the exam paper early.

[question posted by youless]

responses and comments:



it really depends.. if i've finished and quite confident with my answers - i will hand it in early - that way i can get out of the exam hall earlier, and get on to do other task, or prepare for the next exam... or.. if i know i wont change my answers anymore - because i totally do not know, or not confident of the correct answer.. might as well just hand in the paper - get out.. and start doing whatever i can for the next paper, or other stuff.. [4mymak]
I think you are a good student who always get good markshappy [youless]


Hi youless, I prefer to hand up the exam paper at the last minute. It's doesn't matter whether I had finished it or not. It's always safer that the test papers were still sitting on my desk Yeah, I still could make any amendment if I wish. You know sometimes we might think of some good ideas to answer certain questions later on. I would feel regretted if I didn't have any opportunity to give the best answer. Anyways most of our teachers always encouraged us to check the answer sheets repeatedly and to hand up only when time out wink Happy posting happy [lkbooi]
You are right. Sometimes I may have an inspiration at lasthappy [youless]



I remember always handing my exam paper early... after reviewing my answers... and i find nothing wrong or there is nothing more i can answer... i just give my paper to the teacher... and go out the classromm... where i can go to the canteen or review for the next exam... i find it useless to just wait inside with my exam paper in hand... [aseretdd]
It is coolhappy [youless]


hi,youless.you are a cautious person.i always handed in my papers earlier once i have finished it.i am always the first one.not every question i can answer,so i just try my best. [peace001]
Perhaps actually I didn't want to hand in the exam paperlol [youless]



Hi youless, The same with me too. Right since my High School I could never hand over the exam paper to the invigilator before the stipulated time. I was ever short of time and would finish writing just at the eleventh hour. Not that I was slow in writing. I am reasonably fast and I wrote 71 pages within 3 hours in my graduation exam. But I never got time to revise. [krajibg]
Ya, but this is our system. Usually there is 100 marks question and you have to complete within 3 hrs. [krajibg]


It used to depend. If I was finished long ago, I used to hand it over soon. else I kept till the last moment for revisions. [subha12]
Thanks for your response. [youless]


Usually I would hand in the exam paper at the last minute just as you do. I also check the answers over and over again in case I may have made some stupid mistakes which should not be made. Sometimes I may encounter some difficult questions. In that case, I would spend all the rest time and all my spirit on that and try to work it out. [my1341]
Being careful is good in the examhappy [youless]


In my school days,we were not allowed to hand the paper before the time was up.One had to go through his paper again and again and handing the paper prior to the bell will be taken as a sin even.So,even if we didn't have much to write or check,we had to wait until the bell rang.But in college days,it was different.We had the freedom to quit the hall any time.Cheers! [srganesh]
Here seldom people will hand in the paper very early. As the exams are usually very difficult. [youless]


Well,for me,when I attend an exam,especially an important one,I really want to finish it as fast as I can,If i can finish in one time,i will try finish it ASAP,as I am easy to get nervous if time pass to the last minute.Especially,for listenning test,I do trust my first choice,i won't change it once I choose one,then I will hand in the whole paper as soon as I finish others. [jackie_chen]
You have a famous namewink [youless]


Hi Youless... Good post! I normally hand over my exam paper ahead of time, for two reasons: 1. Because I am very confident of my answers and I do re-check them carefully once or twice. 2. Because the questions are too difficult to answer and I don't want to hurt or pressure my self. Honestly, I leave some numbers blank (specially those questions involved with numbers) than to waste it on writing anything which I think is wrong. [sachii315]
Its the same here. Why stress yourself when you don't know the answer. Although I do spend a lot of time rechecking my answers, if at all I finish the paper well before time. [rksbigblue]


If I know most of the answers and I am confident that I answered them correctly, I pass the exam paper ahead of time. If I'm a little unsure, I'll take a few minutes more racking my brain for the right answers [misisbau]
Thanks for your response. [youless]


whoah!!! when i was still a student i am the type if i dont have the answer then pass it. lol!lol why would i still have my papers if in fact i dont have the answers for it. oh such pain when that ended and have my papers back! i just cannot explain what i would do to it. but what can i do... but well, i always do learn from such mistakes and still a good student as it is. but i usually pass my examinations always in the end. where i can still review for it and check if my answers are good enough to pass my exams... jhelailol [jheLaichie]
If I really don't know the answers, at least I will fill out all the blanks at lasthappy [youless]


Exams have always meant to be the testing times,I keep me and my exam answer papers for the last bell to ring.I haven't given my papers before the last second.There will be mistakes for sure but at least if we get some thing or the other corrected or even get some tips from our neighbors close by then it would give a whole lot of satisfaction. what do you say.ninja [tintukm]
Fearing the marks one is actually forced by himself to do such things.rolleyes [tintukm]


Till date..I never handed the exam paper earlier than the allotted time.There are few reasons for that..like my writing speed is bit normal and I usually prefer writing neatly and precisely than just scribbling.I will always try to write all the possible information to a given question.Even when I don't know the answers I will try to guess and analyze the question and write the appropriate answer.Finally at the last minutes when the invigilator starts collecting the answer sheets from all students,I try to adorn my scripts like underlining and all...Presentation is important as writing the content.. [dsharat]
I agree with you. [youless]


Yes, most times I hand in my paper on times. Like you, I will check. Remember the word COPS. After checking the first time to ensure that the question has been adequately answered, I will apply the COPS method of checking.C stands for Capitalization; O stands for Overall look of your answers-such as paragraphs, indents etc.P stands for punctuation. Do check that commas,question marks and full stops are in the right places. Finally, S stands for Spelling. Once these are in orcer, I will hand in the paper. I seldom hand my paper in early. If I do, it means I am fully confident that I am happy with it. [gracefuldove]
You should get good remarkshappy [youless]


I occasionally hand my exam first In this case earlier. I can't imagine myself being last because all my classmate will stare at me thinking what took me so long. I don;t want to get the feeling that everyone's will be talking about you that you really did a great job, and when the results are out even if you don't get a high score you won't feel ashamed because you finish the exam earlier than the others. [marctiu]
I appreciate that your friend still handed in the paper so early even if he failed itlol [youless]


I usually hand my exam paper early. Usually I have the time to finish my exam, in the amount of time that my professors give me. However, there have been a few times, when I handed my exam paper at the last minute. [dodo19]
Thanks for your response. [youless]


I would do the same, I would never hand in my paper early, I would use the time at the end to check, recheck and check again, so many times I have done this and found a big error that I had made, sometimes you need a bit of time afterwards as errors are not always detected first time round. So once you have checked later you will find a mistake that you can put right. Time should always be used wisely and even if you have checked, you use the time to contemplate and think, and sometimes extra things come to mind that you may have forgotten about and have the opportunity to add! Extra points could mean the difference between failing and passing too. [wolfie34]
I agree with you. Perhaps it is boring to check the answer again and again, but it is still worth. [youless]


When in school days,i used to write the examination itself to the very last minute,and on many occasions i finish just in time, and the teachers will wait anxiously sleep near my table so that i can hand over the paper. But then when i was doing the departmental examinations in my Life Insurance subject, after joining the service, i used to plan meticulously the moment i receive the question paper, as to how much time that i must allocate to each question, and to each section as a whole, and this i do for the first five minutes after receiving the examination question paper, and then write the exam. Oh..God,i am too sketchy here, but i cannot control my expression So strictly adhering to the schedule i would finish the examination with cool head, normally 10 to 15 minutes before the bell rings and will just hand over the paper in time, and will leave the examination hall in a majestic fashion. [saivenkaat802003]
I can see the teacher is impatient to the students like ushappy If we can hand in the paper early, they can also leave the classroom earlylol [youless]


hi.. I definitely will give in the exam paper at the last moment of the exam only no matter what. Although i tend to finish my papers 10 minutes back i prefer it that way. I guess i do it to recheck the paper as many times as possible to avoid any silly mistakes and to have that last minute luck for answers that i would guess well.. at the last minute.. And plus i always prefer to avoid the postmortem of the exam after its over. TY [manuking55]
I think this will make you get extra marks. [youless]


Depending on the exam. We had to be in our exam room for an hour, MINIMUM. Except for one. He said the exam was three hours if you complete everything thoroughly so we had to be in the room for atleast three hours. Most of my teachers though would make us stay two hours minimum to make sure we completed all the questions, checked our answers and did any editing we felt we needed to do in order to do our best. I always stayed as long as they would let me and sometimes it still wouldn't be enough. [katisaurus]
Three hours of an exam is quite a long time. Here maybe it is about two hours. I am not quite sure for it as I had graduated long time agolol [youless]


I hand it in as soon as I can. I hate sitting in exams, I don't mind the exam itself but I hate exam rooms. Usually here you have to wait untill everyone has finished their exam to be let out, and sometimes if everyone finishes early you still aren't allowed to leave until time is officially up. But I tend to hand it in as soon as I can just incase I can leave, I hate re-checking my exam papers because I start to doubt all of my answers. [goldiegold]
You are confident for yourselfhappy [youless]


I seldom handed in the exam paper earlier except i didn't care about the score about the exam or the exam was not that important. I don't think handing exam paper earlier means that you are cool and you are quite sure that you can get a high score with less minutes than others. I did once hand in exam paper an hour earlier but just because i felt sick and wanted to have a rest . [grace118224]
Sometimes I admire the students who dare to hand in paper so earlylol [youless]


Hi youless, you are very honest and a good student by the sound of it. On the other hand, I would never hand in a paper early unless I was absolutely sure, that I would never see the other students again in my life. Because, if you hand in your paper too early and fail, you could run an increased risk of LOOKING REALLY STUPID!!!!! Take your time and appear humble even if you feel confident because you just never know. Make sure you leave the room with an unsure look on your face so all can see. Then you'll appear to be more of a genius 'in disguise', one who is not even aware of their brilliance - a great trait I might add! You will probably become more attractive to others because of it - LOL [redzventures]
If I were a teacher I would be in prison now. The children today are just too rude. They'd be trying to tell me to leave them alone as they are sending a text message in class on their cellphone.......What?! I'd smash that cell phone over their...I'd just smash their cell phone! [redzventures]


Hello youless. Like you, when I was at school, I did not usually hand in the exam papers until it was time for us to leave the classroom. Now as a teacher, we demand students to do the same, but there are quite a few lazy students who are not so hardworking would always like to hand them in much earlier. More time is needed by some students who can not finish doing their papers. To students of this kind, they are usually doing too slow in doing the papers. So to help them overcome this from happening again, I have them train themselves by doing some exercises within the limited time given. It really works for them...Take care, youless. [williamjisir]
You are a very good teacher [youless]


It would depend. But usually I pass my exam papers earlier. If I finished everything earlier then after I review my answers, I pass my papers after. But there are times also that if I have difficulty answering the examination, so I consume all the time that has been alloted for the exam. [0811mg]
Thanks for your response. [youless]


I hand it in early so I would have time to study for my next exam. I used to have six classes and my 1st and 2th period always have exams on the same day. I would study very hard on my first test, finish it early so that I could study for my test next period. If there's no test next period, I would go over me paper since I'm pretty careless sometimes [animegirl334]
You are a good studenthappy [youless]


Hmm... I would love to hand in early. Cos that is a sign that I am confident with my work and I can finish it early to relax for the next paper. But most of the time, by the time I am done with my paper and finished my double checking, I am always in the last half hour to the end of the paper. That last half hour is also the time where no one is allowed to leave the exam hall. So most of the time, I will twiddle my thumb for the last 20 mins or so of my paper, much to the ire of the one sitting beside me! lol When I hand in at the last minute, that means that I am not as prepared as I thought I was simply because I have to struggle through my paper. lol [ahgong]
ha ha ha ha ha... you flatter me! I do okay enough to graduate. :p [ahgong]


i prefer to hand in the exam paper earlier, but in the matter of fact, i always hand it at the last minute, as i always do everything very slowly including the exam,if i can be hand very early,it means i'm very confidence of this exam,or this exam is very easy for me, so if i do well and check it once,no problem to to set it earlier.for when you check more,you will doubt your first decision,sometimes the first decision is correct.good luck and have a nice day! [haiershen]

Hi my friend You Less. When I was a student at university I wrote so quickly I often needed a extra answer book. I used to begin by reading the exam paper and then attempting the questions. If I came to a question and I didn't know the answer I would put a star next to it. I would complete the exam and then go back to that question. I would read all my responses then hand the exam papers in. It would always be before the last minute. I usually completed my answers before the end of the exam. [maximax8]
This is a good habit. [youless]


Hi lol you reminded me of my student days, i was a student long back.. i used to labor hard ... read for about 8 hours each day... in the exam hall i made it a habit to hand over the paper at the last second, i kept revising the answers i wrote already... Thank you so much for this discussion. lol . Have a nice time. surrender ARUN [arun2009]
This is a good habithappy [youless]


This actually depends on the type of the exam, if it was just a multiply choice exam I usually handed them earlier. Not because I know everything but because I hated doubting myself and thinking, maybe this answer is not correct. If I didn't know much and I tried to copy from my desk mate then it was totally another story as I took me time to copy. Yeah, I admit, I copied sometimes, but my desk mate copied from me too, we never had competition problems, I was happy if she got an A and she was happy if I got an A. It was even better if we both got an A. If the exam was the one where you needed to write long answers or even a story than was always among the last one to hand it in. I always read and re-read what I wrote, added and canceled sentences so I ended up among the last ones to hand in the paper. [lorelai]
When I was a student, I dared not to look at others' paperlol [youless]


Hi If the exam paper is easy for me then I will finish it quickly and hand over it or if it is tough, I will go through it and take some time to think the answer or try to find out the way out for that problem and solve it then leisurely I will go through it and give it before the alloted time [vathsala30]
It makes sensehappy [youless]


I write a lot in my exam papers and what I usually do is that I time every answer. For example, if it is a sixty marks paper and is for three hours, I allocate three minutes for every one mark. This way I allocate number of minutes to every question and do not spend more time on any answer. If I spend less time, then I use the time that I have saved to do revision and recheck all my answers at the end of the paper. I submit my exam paper only after all the time is up so that I get time to check my answers and think of any answer that I want to remember or complete. That is why even I don't hand in my exam papers early. [mistlady]
You are a very careful personhappy [youless]


last minute.. as i know that to please the parents, the results are very important. They would not see how much knowledge you have got and instantly ask for results. my father used to say...check and check again and again but do not hand the paer before time goes off. [coolcat123]
Your father is righthappy [youless]