Subtract time you cannot spend answering
Start with the official working time. Subtract any review time you want to reserve and any setup that falls inside the clock. If reading time is separate, keep it separate in your plan too. Use the remaining minutes to budget the questions.
Budget by the way the paper awards marks
Divide the answering minutes by the number of questions when the questions have equal weight and similar demands. If some questions are worth more, divide by total marks for a starting rate and multiply by each section's marks. Give a section extra time if a practice attempt shows it needs more reading or writing, and take those minutes from somewhere specific.
Set checkpoints and rehearse your decision
Write the elapsed time you want to reach at each section boundary. During a mock, if you reach a checkpoint with an unfinished question, mark it and decide whether to finish it or move on. A pacing plan matters most when it tells you what to do after falling behind.
Worked example
A 90-minute paper has 60 marks. Reserve 12 minutes to check your answers. The remaining 78 minutes give you 1.3 minutes per mark. A 20-mark section gets 26 minutes and a 40-mark section gets 52. Aim to start the second section at minute 26 and begin checking at minute 78.
Before you finish
- Use the current paper's time and marks.
- Write checkpoints as elapsed minutes.
- Try the plan on one timed practice set.