1. Introduction

Not sure if you should practice to prepare for your assessment centre exercises? A recent study found that around one-third of employers use assessment centres in their application processes (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2020).

That’s the brief summary of how you can pass a written assessment interview. Let’s now get into the full gist to uncover key details you must know to pass this recruitment stage.

Let’s dive right in! 

2. What is a Written Assessment?

Written exercises, also known as case studies are tests designed used in assessment centres to evaluate a candidate’s written ability. Beyond writing ability, written exercises are also used by employers to measure your skills, competencies, and job/industry knowledge.

Case studies are mostly used in screening for roles that particularly require good communication skills.

Let’s now take a look at the most common types of assessment centre written exercises.

Types of Written Exercises

What are the different types of case studies?

The type of activity to expect for an assessment centre written exercise depends majorly on the job role. The written assessment interview questions usually reflect written task challenges you may encounter in the job.

What are the common types of written exercises? 

Here are 6 common types of case studies often used in employer hiring processes:

• Letters: A letter is considered as the longer and more formal version of an email in the business world. This format of written tests assesses your ability to communicate in a formal and professional manner.

• Emails: Writing an email may sound easy but it requires adherence to specific rules when writing for an organisation. For a copywriter role for example, you may write a promotional email to the company’s website subscribers.

• Press Release: A press release is an official message announced to the public regarding a recent development. This written assessment interview task is common in public relations or marketing roles.

• Report or Essay: A report or essay in a written test typically comes with a specific topic of interest. In some cases, this is before an interview and requires you to research extensively to yield an in-depth report on the topic.

• Summary: This task in an assessment centre written exercise test usually involves summarising a long text to identify the main points. The assessor will evaluate how well you have covered all the essential information in the summary.

• Proofreading: Proofreading in a written assessment test typically involves carefully checking for spelling and grammatical errors in the text given to you. This could be an email, letter, or report related to the company’s operations.

Having considered the types of assessment centre written exercises you are likely to encounter in the recruitment process, let’s now discuss what these written exercises measure in the following section.

What do Written Exercises Measure?

The written exercise assessment centres that are typically used often test skills and competencies specific to the job role. Some of popular skills or competencies assessed by case study exercises include:

• Grammar: Hiring managers use written tasks to assess your grammar. This helps them evaluate your language proficiency and your ability to express yourself effectively especially in relation to the job.

• Spelling: Perfect spelling is crucial to effective writing. Case studies give the recruiter a good picture of how well you can avoid spelling errors when tasked with writing.

• Critical Thinking: Critical thinking is an essential ability for nearly all job roles. The candidate’s results in the written assessment test allows the employer to have some insight into your critical thinking ability from your performance in the written task.

• Communication: The importance of good communication in a business cannot be overemphasised. The written test allows the employer to assess your fluency, clarity, and attention to detail which are all key for effective written communication.

• Industry knowledge: A written test assessment also gives the recruiter some insight into your knowledge of the industry or the job in question. From your performance in the written test, they can know how grounded you are in the industry and the job.

Generally, the kind of written exercise assessment centres use evaluate the candidate’s written communication skills and industry knowledge.

Looking to prepare for your upcoming written communication assessment?

Having considered the skills that these case studies measure, let’s now see what really happens during a written communication assessment.

3. What Happens During a Written Exercise?

The written exercise assessment centres use is similar in structure to other assessments and seek competencies that are relevant to the position the candidate is applying for. The whole process can be mostly summarised into two stages:

1. For the written assessment interview, you will be in a room with other candidates. An administrator will present the task and you will receive a “Candidate Brief” which will outline the task alongside the timeline.

2. The task has a time limit and completed under general ‘exam’ conditions which implies the prohibition of side talks or discussions. The difficulty of the case studies during interviews vary but graduate and professional jobs are mostly challenging.

Written Assessment Test Example

Source: FreePik

With that we have a clearer picture of what happens during a written assessment interview. Now, let’s try out a common assessment centre written exercise example below.

Assessment Centre Written Exercise Example

Written tests are typically specific to the role you are applying for, and may involve case studies or real examples previously encountered by your potential employer. To help prepare for these exercises, below is a common written assessment test sample we can use to practice.

Scenario

You have been provided a case file regarding a lawsuit, and your manager has asked you to write a report on this case.

• Your report should be no more than 500 words and should provide a detailed analysis of the case, highlighting the most relevant information.
• Your report should also include any recommendations or conclusions that you draw from your analysis.
• You will have no longer than 60 minutes to complete this written task.

Report Structure

The report structure should contain the following sections:

1. Introduction: A good opening and a brief overview of the lawsuit that adheres to industry standards and the candidate brief.
2. Summary of Key Facts: Outline important details of the case, such as background events, timeline, and pivotal facts.
3. Legal Issues: Identify the main legal questions or challenges raised in the case.
4. Arguments: Summarise the positions of both parties as you focus on the main argument presented.
5. Recommendations: Propose solutions or necessary actions based on the legal issue and arguments examined.
6. Conclusion: Finish off with a brief recap of findings and your recommendations.

You may use your discretion to decide which topics are most relevant to cover in your report.

Assessment Criteria

• Grammar and Spelling: Your report should be free of any spelling and grammatical errors.

• Communication: Your report should be written in a clear manner, conveying your message using appropriate language and tone.

• Attention to Detail: Your report should demonstrate high attention to detail, with accurate and thorough analysis of the casefile.

• Analysis and Recommendations: Your report should provide a comprehensive analysis of the legal issues raised by the case and should include sound and well-reasoned recommendations.

After taking a look at some written assessment test examples, let’s now dive into the various industries that use case studies in recruitment.

4. What Industries Use Written Exercises?

Written exercises are often used as part of the assessment centre process by several industries around the world. Some of the most common industries that use case studies to evaluate candidates for recruitment include:

• Law 
• Marketing
• Retail
• Healthcare
• Customer service

These industries offer roles that require good language proficiency and communication skills. Written assessments therefore enable recruiters to sieve through the application pool and find the best candidate with these abilities.

Let’s now look at some big companies that use written communication assessments to screen candidates for recruitment.

Which Employers Use Case Studies?

Here are some top employers that use written assessments as part of their assessment centre tests when recruiting employees.

The list goes on, but how do these companies assess written exercise during assessment centres? Here are the written communication assessment metrics you need to know.

How are Written Exercises Assessed?

Written exercises are generally scored using a set of metrics that are relevant for most roles. In some cases, these are specific to competencies relevant to the company’s values or operations. However, here are areas that are most often assessed by employers.

• Communication: The important points provided in the text, the flow, tone and clarity in the presentation of the written text.

• Learning and Research: The unique insight the text provides backed by facts or specific examples. The overall depth of the material.

• Decision Making: The candidate’s decision expressed in the text. The argument presented and the logical recommendation or solution they provide.

• Structure: The format of the text must conform to industry or house style standards. Presented in a manner that is official and ensures clarity.

Based on these areas of assessment, how then can you prepare for your next written assessment test to ace the interview? Let’s discuss this right away in the following section!

5. How to Ace Case Study Exercises

Assessment centre written exercises can be challenging especially when tailored to the company’s business operations. However, here are top 7 core tips to guide you in this stage irrespective of the company.

Top 7 Tips to Ace Your Written Exercise

1. Research the Company and the Role: This is crucial as it gives you important details about the company to help you tailor your written work accordingly.
2. Learn the Industry Language: Every job has its specific terminologies used to communicate. Knowing these terms will help you better understand the candidate brief and allow you to express yourself professionally in your text.
3. Practice: Ensure you practice example case study exercises beforehand to sharpen your writing skills and familiarise yourself with the formats and tasks you may encounter in your assessment centre written exercise.
4. Beware of the Allocated Time For the Written Assessment: Budget enough time for each area of your work to enable you finish on time and cover all the key information.
5. Write Clearly: Do well to structure your work to follow industry standards and write in a clear and simple language to ensure that the assessors have no issues understanding your work.
6. Feel Free to Ask Questions: If there’s something you do not understand in the instructions, feel free to ask the assessors to get clarity and ensure that you are on the right track.
7. Re-read Before You Submit: Writing can be tricky and you are always prone to making errors in your first draft. Be sure to go over your work as well as you can before making the final submission to the assessor.

With that, we have covered all key details you must know about the written exercise assessment centres use and how you can ace them. If you have other questions about writing assessment tests, here are top questions other candidates are asking.

6. Written Exercises FAQs