In many countries, formal exams are used to assess students’ abilities and to judge the success of their education. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using formal exams to assess students’ abilities? Do you think the benefits of using formal exams outweigh the drawbacks?

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Introduction
In many nations, written tests are used as a means to evaluate scholars' capabilities and to assess their achievement in studies. I strongly believe that the advantages of using standardised assessments do not outweight it's disadvantages.
This
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essay will discuss both views.
Body · 1
One major advantage of a formal exam is that it helps to evaluate the academic position of a
student
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. Written
exams
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can be used as an approach to judge each
student
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's intelligence, as all the
students
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will be answering the same question, which simplifies the evaluation process.
For instance
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, when
students
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are assessed based on the same questions, it gives a clear overview of where the
student
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's academic ability stands.
Additionally
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, written
exams
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are
also
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considered a fair system, as it provides the same questions and time to each
student
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.
Body · 2
However
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, in my opinion, the written exam can not measure the accurate ability of
students
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as some
students
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might get nervous or anxious, which might cause them to perform worse than expected. It should
also
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be noted that some scholars might have high intellectual capability, but they might not be able to put it clearly into words as required in the formal test system. Several studies have
also
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shown that
students
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tend to get stressed
while
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taking
exams
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, which causes them to perform badly. Written
exams
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are
also
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often focused on memory testing rather than real ability.
Conclusion
Hence
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,
to sum up
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, the benefits of using formal
exams
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do not outweigh the drawbacks, as there are more drawbacks in the written examinations, which are more focused on memory testing of the
students
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,
as well as
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causing them stress and fear.

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task response
Answer all parts more fully. You gave both sides and your view, but your ideas need more depth.
task response
Use more clear and real examples to support your points.
task response
Explain why each point matters. Some ideas are good, but they are a bit general.
coherence and cohesion
Your essay has a clear start, body, and end. Keep this shape.
coherence and cohesion
Link ideas more smoothly. Some parts repeat the same idea about stress and memory.
coherence and cohesion
Make each body paragraph have one main idea and develop it step by step.
task response
You answered the question and gave a clear opinion from the start.
task response
You discussed both advantages and disadvantages.
coherence and cohesion
Your essay is easy to follow because it has clear paragraphs.
coherence and cohesion
You included both an introduction and a conclusion.
Support ideas with relevant, specific examples

Examples make your writing easier to understand by illustrating points more effectively.

Examples, if used properly, not only help you get higher marks for ‘Task Response’ but also for ‘Coherence’.

When giving examples it is best to put them after your main idea or topic sentence. They can be used in the middle of supporting sentences or they can be used to start a new sentence. There is no rule for where exactly to give examples in essays, logically they would come after your main idea/topic sentence or just after a supporting sentence.

Linking words for giving examples:

  • for example
  • for instance
  • to illustrate this
  • to give a clear example
  • such as
  • namely
  • to illustrate
  • take, for example
Topic Vocabulary:
  • assess students
  • measure ability
  • formal exam
  • fair system
  • equal chance
  • same standard
  • clear result
  • academic success
  • time pressure
  • study habit
  • self-control
  • education system
  • large scale
  • select candidates
  • real ability
  • test memory
  • problem solving
  • creative thinking
  • team work
  • high stress
  • perform badly
  • true level
  • steady effort
  • drawbacks
  • outweigh the benefits
  • combined with coursework
  • teacher assessment
  • long-term progress
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