How to assess · For hiring teams
How to Assess Copywriting Skills When Hiring
The test formats that actually work for Copywriting, what a strong answer looks like, sample questions and a scoring rubric you can use as-is.
The short answer
Assess Copywriting with a task, not a conversation: timed writing test on your product, edit exercise, ai-scored assessment (e.g. cohesyve) or portfolio interrogation. Score it against written criteria you fix before you see any submissions, and weight the criteria that the role actually depends on.
- Writes for a specific reader and can say who that reader is
- Leads with what matters to the reader, not with the product
- Is clear: short sentences, plain words, one idea at a time
- Cuts: every sentence earns its place
Paste a job description; Cohesyve generates a role-specific assessment and rubric. Ten candidates free, no card.
Copywriting is the easiest marketing skill to test and the most often assessed by proxy. A portfolio shows what a candidate has produced, with help, over time; it does not show what they can produce for your product, alone, by Thursday. The skill is understanding the reader, finding the one thing that matters to them, and saying it plainly — and being able to explain why. This page covers how to assess copywriting for copywriter, content and marketing roles: audience understanding, clarity, persuasion, and the judgement to cut.
Why Copywriting is worth testing
Weak copy costs conversions on every page it touches and is hard to see from the inside, because it reads fine to the people who wrote the brief. A short writing test on your own product, with a stated audience, shows in twenty minutes whether a candidate writes for the reader or for themselves, and it is more predictive than any portfolio.
What strong Copywriting looks like
- Writes for a specific reader and can say who that reader is
- Leads with what matters to the reader, not with the product
- Is clear: short sentences, plain words, one idea at a time
- Cuts: every sentence earns its place
- Persuades with specifics and evidence, not adjectives
- Matches tone to context and brand without losing clarity
- Explains choices and takes edits well
Ways to assess Copywriting
Timed writing test on your product
Provide a one-paragraph product summary, an audience, and a format — a landing-page headline and subhead, a 100-word email, a product description. Thirty minutes, with a short note on choices.
Pros
Cons
Best for Any copy role.
Edit exercise
Provide a bloated, product-led paragraph and ask for a rewrite at half the length with the reasoning.
Pros
Cons
Best for Screening.
AI-scored assessment (e.g. Cohesyve)
Generate a copywriting task from the job description — a piece written to a brief, an edit of weak copy, a headline set with reasoning — with a rubric. Each candidate receives a different variant; the work and the reasoning behind it are scored together.
Pros
Cons
Best for Screening an applicant pool fairly before interview time is spent.
Portfolio interrogation
Pick one piece and ask what the brief was, what they changed, and what they would change now.
Pros
Cons
Best for Senior roles.
Cohesyve
Run a Copywriting assessment on your next opening
Cohesyve generates a unique Copywriting task per candidate from your job description, with the scoring rubric attached. Questions are different for every applicant, so they cannot be shared or looked up.
What to test
Audience understanding
Whether they write for a reader.
Clarity
Whether it can be read once.
Persuasion
Whether it moves the reader.
Judgement
Whether they can explain and adapt.
Sample Copywriting questions
What is wrong with "Our innovative platform leverages AI to empower teams"?
EntryLook for Says nothing specific; about the product not the reader; jargon; rewrite with a concrete benefit.
Who is the reader of this piece, and what do they want?
EntryLook for A specific person with a specific need, stated before writing.
Cut this 200-word paragraph to 80 without losing the point.
MidLook for Keeps the one idea, removes preamble and repetition, sentences shorten.
A stakeholder wants five benefits in the headline. What do you do?
MidLook for Explain why one beats five, propose where the others go, hold the line with reasons.
Write three headlines for the same page with different angles and say which you would test first.
SeniorLook for Distinct angles, specific, a reasoned choice.
Red flags
- Leads with the product
- Adjectives instead of specifics
- Cannot say who the reader is
- Cannot cut
- Defensive about edits
Scoring rubric
| Criterion | Weight | What strong looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Reader focus | 30% | Written for a specific person's need. |
| Clarity | 30% | Readable once; nothing wasted. |
| Persuasion | 20% | Specific, evidenced, moves the reader. |
| Judgement | 20% | Choices explained; edits handled well. |
Mistakes hiring teams make
- Hiring on a portfolio alone
- Not testing on your own product
- Rewarding cleverness over clarity
- Giving no audience in the brief
- Skipping the edit exercise
Roles that need Copywriting
Common questions
Is a writing test fair when AI can draft copy?
It is more necessary. The test should reward judgement — audience, angle, cutting — which is what the writer contributes when drafting is cheap. Ask for the reasoning note.
What is the best single copywriting question?
Give a jargon-filled sentence and ask what is wrong with it. Reader focus shows immediately.
How long should a copywriting assessment take?
Thirty minutes for a timed piece with a note; fifteen for an edit.
Should I pay for the writing test?
Keep it under an hour and clearly not usable work, and most candidates accept it. For longer briefs, pay.
Cohesyve · Skill assessments for hiring
Test Copywriting before the first interview
Generate a role-specific Copywriting assessment from your job description and see who can do the work before you spend interview time on them.
1,500+
assessments completed
50%
faster time-to-hire
90%
completion rate
5 min
from JD to assessment
No credit card · 10 free candidates · Plans sized to your hiring volume
From the blog