Maturity examination essay: Instructions for bachelor’s thesis supervisors

Arranging the maturity examination

The maturity essay process starts with the supervisor preparing the examination, that is, creating the maturity essay questions or topics for the student. The maturity essay is to be written either in the Exam system or in a separate examination session organised by the degree programme or faculty.

Examination using the Exam system

In the Exam system, select Maturity Test as the exam type (see instructions for the Exam system: Ohjeet - Kypsyysnäyte EXAM tenttinä, in Finnish). It is important to specify Maturity Test as the type, because only then will the maturity essay be automatically forwarded to language assessment after the content evaluation.

Separate examination session

You can choose to arrange the maturity test in a traditional examination session where the maturity essays are written on paper.After the content evaluation, send the paper essays by internal mail to Movi at Oppio.  You can also scan the maturity essays and send the files to kypsyysnaytteet-movi@jyu.fi .

Assignment for the maturity essay

The maturity essay written in the examination is a piece of reflective expert writing based on the student’s bachelor’s thesis. You should formulate the assignment in such a way that it guides the student in writing their essay. The essay is a text that forms a coherent whole (title describing the content + introduction + main body + conclusion) and can be understood without the reader being familiar with the student’s bachelor’s thesis. 
 

Checklist for a good maturity essay assignment

1.    Provide students with a selection of options for the assignment. Typically, there are three options. 

2.    Instruct the student to respond to only one assignment. For example, you can start the assignment text with clear instructions to choose one of the options. 
•    Write an essay on one of the following topics: 
•    There are three optional assignments below. Choose one of the options. 

3.    Instruct the student to write an essay and include the word essay in the assignment text. For example, the following assignments provide clear instructions to produce an essay:
•    Write an essay on the role of generative AI in the financial markets. Give your essay a title. 
•    Review the key findings and conclusions of your research, drawing on the theoretical framework of your research. Give your essay a title.
•    Write an essay titled “Language learning methods in informal workplace interactions”.

4.    Ensure that the wording of your assignment does not direct students to produce other text types, such as exam answers. That is why it is not a good idea to provide the assignment as a simple question or to use expressions in the assignment that suggest an exam answer, such as “answer one of the following questions.”  Instead, use wordings that direct the student towards the correct text type:
•    “Write an essay on one of the following topics” 
•    “In your essay, reflect on the following question:” 

5.    Instruct the student to write for an audience that is familiar with the mindset and general terminology of the field but is not familiar with the topic or content of the bachelor’s thesis. For example, you can add the following phrase at the end of the assignment: 
•    Write your essay for a reader who is familiar with the mindset and general terminology of your field but is not familiar with the topic or content of your bachelor’s thesis.

Give instructions for the students

Instruct students to read the maturity essay guidelines and assessment criteria before taking the maturity examination. Provide the student with a link to these instructions: Maturity exam

Special situations

•    Literacy difficulties. The student’s literacy difficulties will be considered in the language assessment if the student so wishes. In order for literacy difficulties to be considered, students are required to submit a statement regarding their literacy difficulties prior to the language assessment of their maturity essay to the following address:  kypsyysnaytteet-movi@jyu.fi. The language assessment only takes into account statements that specify the linguistic features with which the person has particular difficulties. In addition, a statement regarding literacy difficulties will be considered if it was obtained at the age of 16 or later. The statement should be sent by secure email.

•    Student’s background in Finnish as a second language. If a student has an S2 background but their language of school education is defined as Finnish, their background can be considered in the assessment. Ask the student to a make a notification of this before the maturity essay language assessment to kypsyysnaytteet-movi@jyu.fi. The student’s language of school education is determined when they begin their studies in the degree programme. If the determination of the language of school education is unclear, you should consult the study services of the degree programme. 

•    Expediting the language assessment process. The language assessment will be carried out within two weeks from the time the maturity essay arrives for assessment. If a quicker assessment is needed, please send a request for expedited assessment or ask the student to send one to kypsyysnaytteet-movi@jyu.fi .