Five reasons why take home exams aren’t that bad

Just glad to complete the paper without pins and needles


COVID-19 has brought many disruptions to student life, and while the vast majority have been negative, there has been one particularly positive change. This exam period, many students have experienced take home exams, and here’s why they’re actually not so bad:

You’ll finish with a fully functioning hand

Gone are the days of scribbling as fast as possible onto a piece of lined paper, with such a ferocity that your pen pierces through the other side. Take home exams mean electronic submission and, therefore, most likely a typed essay. Finishing the exam without feeling like your hand is about to drop off is truly a blessing.

You get more time

Take home exams tend to be 24 hours, which means there’s no great panic. Need to stretch your legs? Grab a drink or snack? Well now you can.

You don’t have to cram

Forget the revision cards and (unnecessary) coloured pens, take home exams mean you can sift through the relevant notes as you go. If you struggle to remember facts and figures, take home exams are definitely for you.

You can choose where to do it

Exam halls are a location that we have been taught to anticipate in fear from a young age and entering one is enough to reduce even the bravest of students to a trembling tearful wreck. One of the greatest benefits of take home exams is being able to complete them in a place that you feel comfortable in. You won’t be distracted by the person next to you coughing or the person behind sighing and there’s no need to negotiate that tiny unsteady desk.

You don’t have to spend weeks on it

It’s possible to spend weeks, or even months, working on a piece of coursework. This not only means that the expectations are far higher and a large bibliography is presumed, but also that you concern yourself with it for a lot longer than required. While the usual exams seem to be over far too quickly, coursework can really drag on, so take home exams provide the perfect solution.

Don’t get me wrong, if given the choice between a pandemic or normal exams, I’d obviously choose the normal exams, but in a time of so much uncertainty it’s important to reflect on the positives and take home exams are definitely one of them.