# How to do a mock exam at home that actually prepares you

Source: https://spolvero.design/articles/how-to-do-a-mock-exam-at-home/
Updated: 2026-09-23
Tool: https://spolvero.design/tools/timers/exam-clock/mock-exam/

> To do a mock exam at home, use a real past paper at its full length, sit at a clear table with only the equipment allowed in the exam, and put your phone in another room. Display a clock showing the start time, the finish time and the time remaining, include reading time if the real paper has it, and work without breaks or notes. Mark it with the official mark scheme the same day or the next.

Doing past papers at your desk with notes open, stopping to check an answer, finishing tomorrow: that is revision, and it is useful. It is not a mock. A mock rehearses the conditions of the exam, and the conditions are where many marks are lost. Running out of time. Rushing the last question. Spending twenty minutes on six marks.

## Choose the paper

Use a real past paper from your exam board, with its mark scheme. Specimen papers and board-published practice papers are next best. Keep a few papers back that you have never seen, so each mock is a fair test.

Pick one paper per mock. Doing two in a row is a test of stamina, not of the exam.

## Set up the room

- **A clear table.** Only what is allowed in the exam: pens, pencil, ruler, calculator if permitted.
- **No phone.** Not face down: in another room. The urge to check it costs more attention than you think.
- **No notes, no textbook.** If you get stuck, move on, as you would in the hall.
- **Quiet.** Tell the people you live with how long you need.

Tell yourself the rules before you start, the way an invigilator would, and then keep them.

## Set up the clock

An exam clock should show three things at once: the time you started, the time you finish, and how long remains. Students who pace against a finish time handle the real hall better than those who only watch a countdown, because "finish at 10:35" needs no arithmetic under pressure.

1. Open the [mock exam timer](/tools/timers/exam-clock/mock-exam/) on a laptop or tablet you can see from the table.
2. Pick the paper's length. The presets run from 30 minutes to 2 hours, and the [exam clock](/tools/timers/exam-clock/) goes to 3 hours.
3. If the real paper has reading time, turn on a reading period. It counts down first, clearly labelled, before the writing time begins.
4. Press **Start** when you open the paper, then **F** for fullscreen.

Fullscreen shows only the clock, with no ads and no navigation. The page keeps the screen awake while the clock runs, and the time comes from the system clock, so it stays right even if the device sleeps.

## During the mock

- **Do not pause.** The real exam will not wait for you.
- **Do not give yourself time checks.** Nobody will announce halfway in the hall. Glance at the clock the way you will on the day.
- **Budget by marks.** A rough guide is minutes available divided by marks available. On a 90-minute paper worth 80 marks, that is just over a minute a mark. A six-mark question gets about seven minutes.
- **Stop when the time ends.** Mark what you finished. The unfinished part is information, not failure.

If you have access arrangements such as 25% extra time, use them in the mock. You are rehearsing your conditions, not someone else's. The guide on [how to time an exam](/articles/how-to-time-an-exam/) has a table of finish times with extra time.

## If you cannot sit the whole paper

A two-hour paper does not always fit an evening. Rather than rushing the whole paper in less time, split it by section and time each section at its proper length. Compressing a paper measures speed, not understanding.

## After the mock

Mark it the same day or the next, with the official mark scheme. Then go through every lost mark and give it a cause:

| Cause | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| Did not know it | Revise the topic |
| Ran out of time | Practise pacing, and do easier questions first |
| Misread the question | Underline command words before answering |
| Careless slip | Leave five minutes to check |

Most students find more marks in the last three rows than they expect. Those are the marks a mock exists to catch.

## Teachers running mocks in class

The same clock projects in a classroom. Start it when the last student has the paper, not before, and give no time checks. More advice for invigilators, including late starts and extra time, is in [how to time an exam](/articles/how-to-time-an-exam/).

## Questions

### How do I do a mock exam at home?

Pick a past paper, set a clock for its full length, remove your phone and notes, and sit it in one go at a table. Show yourself the finish time so you can pace against it. Mark it with the official mark scheme afterwards.

### Should I time myself exactly?

Yes. Pacing is one of the main things a mock is for. Use the real paper's length, include reading time if it has one, and stop when the time ends, even if you have not finished.

### Can I split a long paper into sections?

If you cannot sit the whole paper, time each section at its own proper length. Squeezing a whole paper into less time measures writing speed rather than what you know.

### What should I do after a mock exam?

Mark it with the official mark scheme, then sort every lost mark into a cause: did not know it, ran out of time, misread the question, or careless slip. Each cause has a different fix.