What Is an Essay Exam?
An essay exam is an examination in which respondents answer exam questions with essays. This type of exam is designed to test not only knowledge, but the ability to organize and present thoughts under pressure. Essay exams are also used to assess spelling ability. Historically, respondents wrote out answers by hand, classically in a “blue book,” but today, many essay exams are administered on the computer, with respondents using a very basic word processing program which will allow them to enter text, delete text, cut text, and paste text, but not to perform complex tasks like spellchecks.
