Just like the phrase 'This Page Intentionally Left Blank', the words 'Blank Page' appearing in the middle of a blank page in an exam paper¹ can at times seem very odd. This entry looks at why they are there.

Why Do the Words 'Blank Page' Appear in Exams?

This is very simple; this message appears so that the candidate (ie the person taking the exam) knows that the page should not contain any information that they need for the exam. There is nothing on there which they need to be concerned about, as the page has been left without anything on it, so the words 'Blank Page' have been put there to tell you this. In other words, as exams are stressful enough, it's to stop the candidate from panicking that they're missing something vital.

There are many variations of the words 'Blank Page', including the words 'No Questions Printed On This Page'. It all depends on the exam board of the paper .

There are also other ways to tell if a blank page is intentional or not. Most exam papers have the number of questions and pages printed on the front of the paper, and each page is then individually numbered and has a heading and serial number. The reason the words 'Blank Page' appear is to save the candidate time.

Why Do Exam Papers Have Blank Pages?

Well, the majority of blank pages appear at the end of the paper, and do not usually contain any text at all. This is because of how the exams are printed, there are a few unused pages, and since after the last question the words 'End of Paper' appear, the exam boards save ink and leave the following pages totally blank.

When blank pages appear in the middle of exam papers, they are there because the following question goes over a double page, and you will need to see both pages at the same time to answer the question. Therefore, blank pages usually only appear on the recto (right-hand side), and it is very odd to see a blank page on the verso (left-hand side) of the paper, although this has been reported as happening in paper with tables of contents, such as the GCSE English Literature paper in the UK.

Do Blank Pages Appear Often in Exam Papers?

Not really. Exam boards only use blank pages when they are needed, and most blank pages appear in language exams, where there is a block of text on one side, and questions about the text that need to be answered on the other side. These questions are usually things like true or false questions based around the text, so the exam boards have the question going over two pages to make it easier for the candidate.

However, most exam boards try to avoid using blank pages as the smaller the exam papers are, the cheaper they are to produce, the lighter and easier they are to transport, and the simpler the exam is for the candidate.