Hey man, in exams I just cry.
LOL
Mhhm here's my thoughts on your questions OP (This is what I do for my subjects):
English:
Yeah write to the very last second.
Business Studies:
Write to the very last second.
Maths:
For maths I do the questions as fast as possible for Extension 1 Maths but for advanced they give you plenty of time
In advanced though I read the question slowly and then read the question after I've answered it to make sure that I'm actually answering it.
For instance:
1) Find the values for which p has a limiting sum:
1 + (5 - p^0.5) + (5 - p^0.5)^2 + ...
Had a question like this in my trials so I went through it and got my domain for which p has a limiting sum
Then I went back and re-read the question and noticed that "Oh hey, but when p = 25 this will no longer be a geometric progression" and so I would have to add that to my domain
2) There are those rates and finance question where it will ask "In what year does Jimmy Son pay off the mortgage?" - A lot of people make the mistake of just leaving the answer in the number of months/years it takes to pay off but not in the actual month/year it was payed off (i.e. Adding the number of months/years to when the loan was taken up). You can lose a mark straight away for this
etc, etc.
For questions that require you to plug huge things in your calculator TAKE YOUR TIME because when there are huge fractions the calculator tends to lag and when you press a button it may not register (I find this happening with my CASIO fx-AU PLUS)
Sciences:
I just read read the question and think of what it will require me to do (i.e. Define something, provide a brief explanation, etc.) and for those 6 + markers I always read the question over and over again whilst writing out my responses to ensure that I stay on track when answering the question. For the calculation questions I follow the same procedure as maths; I read the question and answer it, then I read it again to ensure that I've actually satisfied what they're requesting. Overall, I'm left with 10 - 15 minutes so I usually check to see that I've attempted everything and whether I've done the calculation questions properly.