Essays or exams?

Gingham_Ribbon

Essays. I love researching them and I like redrafting them too.

Exams aren't my favourite. Mainly because you get one shot at it and that's it. so if you're having an 'off day' tough.

I used to get black outs caused by migraine. I had one half way through an English A level exam. Essays every time.

meher

Depends on the subject - science and maths - exams might be the right way of assessing. Literature and social sciences - assignments would be best I suppose considering literature searching and wide reading.

I prefer exams - I don't like to spend time on endless researching, reading and the sight of books, so want everything over and done with.

IvanOpinion

Essays are too easy to plagarise and therefore may not show any understanding of the subject in hand .. exams require you to understand the subject .. although lately it appears that many peoples definition of exams (particularly Microsoft exams) is to learn the answers to all the possible questions by surfing a couple of websites and then sitting the exam without ever actually having a clue about the subject .. so maybe essays .. who cares I am the worlds worst exam taker

Ivan

studentphil

Probably like GCSE coursework is easy to copy off the internet, but like Degree level essays would be difficult to plagarise as they do notice the difference in expression if you do start copying chunks out of texts.

studentphil

There are so fairly rubbish university exams, for example, one place gives you 3 goes at the same exam paper and you get the best mark of the 3 attempts- which is really completely unacceptable as a method of testing.

viktory

I love writing essays, so that would be my choice. Hate exams for the 'mind going blank' fear. I also hate writing free hand and much prefer to type. With a typed essay I can move big chunks of text around.

Heth_2

I did physics so all our assessment was exam based, and our project report/dissertation.

pennineman

IvanOpinion wrote:

Essays are too easy to plagarise and therefore may not show any understanding of the subject in hand .. exams require you to understand the subject ..

Ivan

Well, yes, but rather more they test whether you have a good memory or not.

If your memory's faulty then exams can be a real nightmare.

My best exam results have usually been where I had access to texts during the exam so that I could construct an argument based on the subject's facts rather than try to remember the facts and reproduce them.

Where I was assessed based on coursework I liked best - but now I do see the problem of plagarisation using the internet - it wasn't such a problem in the late 80s early 90s which is the time period I'm talking about.

mrcow

Spendless wrote:

I know the answer to this :j . Please send me your million ££s:D

I can owe it to you in smarties? :rotfl:

Do you really know the answer?

Spendless

mrcow wrote:

I can owe it to you in smarties? :rotfl:

Do you really know the answer?

smarties-hmm:think: the colours are all wishy washy nowadays-but I'll let you

Babies start to form as females first by the time they have decided to be male the nipples have already formed
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8123-2011252,00.html

I preferred essays when at school, nowadays I prefer exams;)