Marking exam papers

Time of the year again, with bundles of handwritten exam papers to mark. This can be a painful and time consuming process. In order to be fair to the examinees, I tried to read their badly written handwriting, try to understand where they are coming from, and whether what they explained to some extend is similar to what I am expecting. In some cases, each sentence must be read at least 2 or 3 times to finally determine if the contents are worth any points.... As a result, my own study assignments and seminar preparation is now at halt until all these work obligations are cleared from my plate.