A computer learning system includes a database containing one or more sample essay questions and model answers prepared in advance by qualified instructors. The system assists a user in preparing for an essay examination by presenting the user with a sample essay question and prompting the user to identify an issue raised by the essay question until the user correctly identifies an issue raised by the essay question. The user is then enabled to provide a partial response related to the identified issue and to conduct a self-evaluation as to whether the partial response is correct by comparing the partial response to a partial model answer. Once the user has completed a question, the user's complete response, which combines the user's partial responses and organizes them by issue, is displayed and the user can compare the complete response to a complete model answer, which includes the partial model answers, organized by issue.