Just like the other muscles in your body, your hands can get tired when over worked and can get cramp. Holding a pen and writing for three hours will definitely put your small hand muscles to the test. Use either exercise putty, Plasticine or firm Play dough to help give your hands the pre exam work out that they need. Do make sure that you give your hands a rest  a few days before your exam, just as you would  before an important running race or sporting competition.  Also consider the weight and thickness of the pen you are planning to use for the exam. 

Place the putty in the hand you write with. When doing the below exercises try to not use your other hand or another surface such as a table to shape it. 

To start

• roll it out between your fingers to make a Snake  
• make a ball 
• lay the snake on a table– pinch the snake using your thumb and a different finger all the way from one end to the other end e.g. thumb and first finger, thumb and second finger.
• put the snake back in your hand and roll it up to make a snail
• use your thumb and fingers to flatten it out to make a pancake
• place the pancake over tented fingers (fingers all touching each other) and open up your fingers to make spider webs

Repeat as many times as your like- aim for your hand to feel tired.