In the United Kingdom, an unseen examination is an essay test in school or college, where the student does not know what questions are going to be asked in advance.
[1][2] The student is required to answer questions based upon what they have learned over the course of their academic study.
[4] The vast majority of UK undergraduate exams in all fields, such as law[5] and psychology,[1] are unseen examinations.
Unseen examinations are favoured for their inherent protection against plagiarism,[6] and their potential to develop students' ability to handle pressure and time constraints.
[7] However, they have been criticised for causing anxiety and stress in students,[6][8] for negatively impacting motivation and the depth of learning experiences,[9] and for unfairly favouring students who happen to be particularly skilled at unseen written exams as opposed to other assessment methods.