Once you’re registered for the Online Essay, there are a few things you can do to ensure the session goes smoothly. Read on to ensure a smooth session.
If you have any lingering questions, you can check out these resources:
- Online Essay Help Articles
- FAQ on our Online Essay website
- Recorded Webinar - Watch here
After you register for an Online Essay date, you will receive a confirmation email. This email will include the student appointment ID which is necessary to access the Online Essay platform. Detailed instructions including the Zoom link will be sent out 1 week before the essay, 1 day before the essay, and 1 hour before the essay.
One Week Before
You’ll want to test your computer setup and ensure you can access both Zoom and the Online Essay Platform. We have an in-depth checklist that you can follow here.
- Find your confirmation email
- Open the Zoom meeting
- Turn on the camera
- Test your sound
- Share the screen
- Locate the chat button
If you encounter any trouble with Zoom check out these help articles.
- Log in to the Online Essay Platform
- https://testinnovators.com/essays
- Check your target schools
- Check accommodation settings
We have a step-by-step demo of this process here.
If you need any assistance with the above steps you can contact support at support@testinnovators.com.
Day Of The Essay
You will need to join the Zoom session at the designated Online Essay start time. Don’t forget to log in to the Online Essay platform as well. Students must have both Zoom and the Online Essay platform open. A parent or another helper is welcome to stay with students to assist with setup. The proctor will note when these helpers should leave the room.
In the first 15 minutes of the Zoom meeting, the proctor will go over instructions and assist with any technical difficulties that might arise. Students who are not signed in and ready on time will be unable to participate and may need to reschedule their essay session.
Optional Preparation
All prompts for the Online Essay are open-ended and designed so that they can be answered by anyone. In general, preparation isn’t required and we don’t provide any tutoring for the Online Essay. Below are some sample prompts.
The online essay prompts were not designed to question content-based knowledge. In addition to this, the essays aren't explicitly graded by target schools. There is no set length for the online essay. The standard times are 30 minutes for the essay and 15 minutes for the analytical thinking exercise.
Should your student desire to review general essay strategies we provide some here.
Typing
As mentioned above the essays aren’t explicitly graded by target schools and there’s no required length for the essay. Should your student be unfamiliar with typing we would recommend utilizing free sites where they can practice typing before their session. For example, typing.com is a great free resource.
Alternatively, if your student feels this won’t work for them, we would recommend reaching out to your target school. They may be able to provide an alternative option for your student.
Analytical Thinking Exercise
As with the essay prompt the analytical thinking exercise was not designed to be academically challenging and does not require any preparation. It is a 15-minute typed response that takes place after the essay. Students will respond to a visual prompt. In order to honor our agreements with the target schools, we are limited in what we can share. This includes not providing any samples for this portion of the Online Essay.