Fellow left-handers! How'd you do you write your essays?

<p>I'm left-handed and I'm proud of it :) but when I write a two-page essay with a No.2 pencil, I end up with a literally black hand on sides, and my essay looks horribly smudged. The smudginess probably doesn't affect the essay score at all, but my bad hand-writing becomes even more illegible which might affect it.
Is there anything you do to keep your hands clean or prevent the smudginess?</p>