Work sample
Free Business Email Writing Test (Practice)
This is a work-sample-style practice: instead of writing from scratch, you read a realistic workplace situation and choose which drafted reply is best. Each set of drafts varies in tone, clarity, and accuracy, so you are judging real writing decisions the way an evaluator would. After every question you will see why the strongest reply works and where the others fall short.
About 8 minutes
Take the practice test
This runs exactly like the SkillCort candidate experience — a clean, fair assessment with no instant feedback. Answer every question, submit, then get a proportional score and a transparent rationale for each one. Everything below is here to help you prepare.
Work sample · about 8 minutes
You'll take it exactly as a candidate would — answer, submit, then see your results. There's no instant feedback along the way, just like a real assessment.
What it measures
- Tone: matching warmth and professionalism to the situation and the reader.
- Clarity: getting the message across simply, with a clear ask or next step.
- Accuracy: saying only what is true and not overpromising or misstating facts.
- Structure: leading with the point and keeping the reply easy to scan.
- Judgement: knowing what to include, what to leave out, and when to escalate.
How to prepare
- Read the situation first, then ask what the reader most needs from the reply.
- Prefer replies that open with acknowledgement or the key point, not filler.
- Watch for accuracy: reject drafts that promise things you cannot be sure of.
- Favour a clear next step or ask over a vague, open-ended ending.
- Be wary of tone that is too blunt, too casual, or defensive for the situation.
Sample questions
Worked examples with a full explanation — read these before, or after, the interactive quiz above.
A customer emails to say their order arrived damaged. Draft A opens 'Per our policy, damage claims must be filed within 48 hours.' Draft B opens 'I'm sorry your order arrived damaged — that's frustrating. I can sort this out for you; here's what I'll need.' Which reply is stronger, and why?
Draft B is stronger. It opens by acknowledging the problem and the customer's feeling, then moves straight to helping and sets up a clear next step — warm, clear, and action-oriented. Draft A leads with policy and an implied hurdle before showing any willingness to help, which reads as cold and defensive. The policy detail may still be relevant, but it belongs after the acknowledgement, framed as help rather than a barrier.
You must tell a colleague their requested deadline is not possible. Draft A says 'That timeline won't work.' Draft B says 'Thanks for the heads-up on this. The Friday deadline isn't realistic with the current workload, but I can commit to Tuesday, or Friday if we drop the secondary report — which works better for you?' Which is stronger, and why?
Draft B is stronger. It is polite, explains why the deadline is not possible, and — crucially — offers concrete alternatives and a choice, so the colleague can decide. Draft A is accurate but blunt and leaves the reader with a problem and no path forward. Clear communication of bad news works best when it pairs honesty with options.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this business email writing test free?
- Yes. The scenarios, choices, and explanations are all free, with no sign-up required.
- Why do I choose a reply instead of writing my own?
- Choosing the strongest of several drafts lets you practise the same judgement — tone, clarity, accuracy — that a good writer applies, with instant, transparent feedback and no subjective grading. It is a fair, consistent way to practise writing decisions.
- What makes one business email better than another?
- Usually it acknowledges the reader, gets to the point, stays accurate (no overpromising), and ends with a clear next step — in a tone that fits the situation. The explanations point out exactly which of these each draft gets right or wrong.
- Is this the same as a grammar or spelling test?
- No. It focuses on the judgement behind a reply — tone, clarity, accuracy, and structure — rather than catching typos. Good business writing is mostly about clear thinking and the right message, not perfect punctuation.
- Will an employer see my practice result?
- No. This is private practice on the SkillCort site. Your answers and score are not shared with any employer and are not stored against your name.
For hiring teams
From practice to a defensible decision
Written communication is most of the job in support and inside sales, yet a CV rarely shows it. A work sample like this — judging real replies for tone, clarity, and accuracy — gives hiring teams evidence of how a candidate would actually write to a customer. In SkillCort, a writing work sample is scored against a role rubric by real evaluators, with AI to summarise and never to decide, producing a defensible, comparable view of communication skill.