How to assess · For hiring teams
How to Assess Written Communication Skills When Hiring
The test formats that actually work for Written Communication, what a strong answer looks like, sample questions and a scoring rubric you can use as-is.
The short answer
Assess Written Communication with a task, not a conversation: realistic writing tasks, rewrite exercise, ai-scored assessment (e.g. cohesyve) or past writing review. Score it against written criteria you fix before you see any submissions, and weight the criteria that the role actually depends on.
- Leads with the point and the ask
- Structures longer pieces so a reader can skim and still get it
- Writes for the specific reader: their knowledge, their time, what they need
- Is concise: nothing the reader does not need
Paste a job description; Cohesyve generates a role-specific assessment and rubric. Ten candidates free, no card.
Written communication is how most work happens now — messages, documents, proposals, updates — and poor writing costs time for every reader of every message. The skill is clarity: knowing the point, leading with it, and saying it in words the reader will understand the first time. It is one of the easiest skills to test and one of the most predictive. This page covers how to assess written communication across roles: clarity and structure, audience awareness, concision, and the judgement to know what to write and when to talk instead.
Why Written Communication is worth testing
Unclear writing multiplies: a confusing message generates three replies, a vague proposal stalls a decision, an unstructured update goes unread. A short writing test on a realistic task shows whether a candidate writes for the reader, and that predicts how much of everyone else's time their writing consumes.
What strong Written Communication looks like
- Leads with the point and the ask
- Structures longer pieces so a reader can skim and still get it
- Writes for the specific reader: their knowledge, their time, what they need
- Is concise: nothing the reader does not need
- Uses plain words and short sentences
- Chooses the right channel and knows when a conversation beats a document
- Proofs: no errors that distract
Ways to assess Written Communication
Realistic writing tasks
Ask for three short pieces: a status update to a senior stakeholder with a problem in it, a request to a colleague, and a summary of a provided document for someone who will not read it. Thirty minutes.
Pros
Cons
Best for Any role.
Rewrite exercise
Provide a rambling, buried-lead message and ask for a rewrite.
Pros
Cons
Best for Screening.
AI-scored assessment (e.g. Cohesyve)
Generate a written communication task from the job description — a set of short writing tasks, a rewrite, a channel-choice judgement — 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.
Past writing review
Ask for a document they wrote and discuss the choices.
Pros
Cons
Best for Senior roles.
Cohesyve
Run a Written Communication assessment on your next opening
Cohesyve generates a unique Written Communication 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
Clarity and structure
Whether the reader gets it.
Audience
Whether it fits the reader.
Concision
Whether nothing is wasted.
Judgement
Whether writing is the right choice.
Sample Written Communication questions
What should the first sentence of a message do?
EntryLook for State the point or the ask; context after.
Rewrite this message so the reader knows what you need in the first line.
EntryLook for The ask leads; context follows; shorter.
Write a status update that includes a problem, for a senior stakeholder.
MidLook for Problem stated plainly and early, impact, what is being done, what is needed; no burying.
When should you not put something in writing?
MidLook for Sensitive or emotional matters, complex negotiations, when tone will be misread; talk, then confirm in writing.
Summarise this three-page document for someone with thirty seconds.
SeniorLook for The decision or finding, the reason, the ask; nothing else.
Red flags
- Buries the point
- Long sentences and jargon
- Same message for every reader
- Hedging and padding
- Errors that distract
Scoring rubric
| Criterion | Weight | What strong looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity and structure | 35% | Point first; skimmable. |
| Audience fit | 25% | Written for the reader. |
| Concision | 25% | Nothing wasted. |
| Judgement | 15% | Right channel, right moment. |
Mistakes hiring teams make
- Judging on grammar alone
- Not testing on realistic tasks
- Giving too much time
- Skipping the audience test
- Assuming senior people write well
Roles that need Written Communication
Common questions
What is the best single written communication question?
Ask for a status update containing a problem, to a senior reader. Burying and hedging show immediately.
How long should a writing assessment take?
Thirty minutes for three short tasks; ten for a rewrite.
Is a writing test fair to non-native speakers?
Score structure, audience and concision over polish. Clarity of thought shows through imperfect grammar.
Does AI change what to assess?
It raises the value of judgement — what to say, to whom, how briefly. Test those; polish is cheap.
Cohesyve · Skill assessments for hiring
Test Written Communication before the first interview
Generate a role-specific Written Communication 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