Have you ever found yourself surrounded by pressure and frustration in the middle of a time-sensitive test? Each one of us has experienced it at least once. After talking to many people, including both adults and children, we at Delhi Public School Sushant Lok, regarded among the most renowned CBSE schools in Gurgaon, have found that one of the most common contributors to poor exam performance is not the lack of preparation or knowledge but the inability to write faster. It might sound absurd, but it’s more common than one can imagine.
This is why most students emphasize improving their writing speed. We believe writing speed isn’t only about writing faster but also about gaining more control, reducing stress, and improving the ability to express oneself effectively under pressure. While students can practice any technique that helps them improve their writing speed, in this blog post today, we have handpicked some practical, easy-to-follow, and impactful tips to share with you. If you’re ready to see tangible improvement in your writing speed, practice the following tips.
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Rapid Drafting Technique
This technique requires students to set short intervals to write as much as they can without worrying about perfection. The intervals are generally short and range from five to ten minutes. While practicing this technique, remember that the focus is not on perfectionism but on speed. This technique was designed to train the brain to prioritize speed over perfection, breaking the tendency to overthink during timed writing.
If you want to improve your writing speed, avoid self-editing during rapid drafting intervals. Trust that you can refine the writing in subsequent versions. Regular practicing of this technique will help to instill in you a sense of urgency, nudging you to focus on getting ideas on paper quickly and efficiently within the allocated time.
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Prewriting and Outlining
At Delhi Public School Sushant Lok, we believe prewriting and outlining are the preliminary steps crucial for improving writing speed. When you begin to plan your content a few minutes or even hours before diving into the main writing, the practice gives you a clear outline with relevant points in a logical order.
It not only removes hesitation during the actual writing but also saves time by preventing unnecessary backtracking. If you’re getting started with this technique, focus on jotting down key arguments, evidence, and transitional phrases in a structured outline. You can later use it as a reference guide for writing faster while maintaining contextual relevancy.
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Chunking Information
Whether your upcoming exams require writing a well-informed, coherent, and well-structured essay within a limited time or answering maximum questions logically, it will demand faster writing speed. Always try to chunk information to ensure you’re prepared on this front.
This technique requires you to break down the writing task into smaller and more manageable sections so that you only focus on one segment before moving to the next. For example, if you’re writing an essay, divide it into segments, like introduction, main points, conclusion, etc., so you can write faster while maintaining clarity and coherency.
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Use Sentence Starters and Connectors
It is one of the easiest yet most effective tips to improve writing speed. We have seen that students often slow down while writing because they cannot seamlessly transition into the next set of information. If it sounds like you, start including a lot of sentence starters and connectors like ‘In addition,’ ‘Furthermore,’ ‘Moreover,’ etc.
These words can help you transition smoothly between ideas while maintaining coherence without the need for extensive contemplation. The more you use sentence starters or connectors that fit flawlessly into any given section, the easier it will become to write faster without getting distracted.
Conclusion
Many standardized tests, especially tests in academic settings, are characterized by time constraints. If the students don’t have a strong command over their writing speed, they may fail to answer all questions despite being fully prepared for it. It negatively affects students’ exam scores, leaving them discouraged and unmotivated. Here, we at Delhi Public School Sushant Lok, one of the well-known top school in Gurgaon, would like to mention that such situations are pretty common, and there’s absolutely nothing to feel awkward about! Moreover, it is very much possible to improve your writing speed with practice.
To make the journey easier for you, we have discussed four practical, result-driven tips in this blog post that will definitely come to your aid along the path. Just keep in mind that since not everyone can experience the same level of success with a given technique, it is always better to consistently keep trying all the different tips discussed above and only then decide and stick to what works best for you.