QCAA German Extension exam-day guide
QCAA German Extension · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Photo identification
Bring the ID form your school requires for external assessment (commonly a student ID card or government-issued photo ID such as a driver licence or passport). Confirm the accepted forms and whether the name must match your enrolment exactly.
Exam timetable or attendance slip
Know your venue, seat, and reporting time, and bring any confirmation slip or attendance card your school issues. Check the start time the day before.
Two or more blue or black pens
Use pens you have already tested. Write legibly - scripts may be scanned, so faint or unusual ink can cost you marks. Bring a spare.
Pencil, eraser and sharpener
For planning and annotating the question paper or stimulus. Check these are on your school's approved equipment list.
Highlighter
Useful for marking key words in extended-response questions and stimulus material. Confirm highlighters are permitted.
Clear water bottle
Labels removed, as most exam rooms require. Confirm the container rules with your school.
Analog watch
Smart watches and phones are not permitted. Confirm whether the room has a visible clock before relying on one.
Confirm whether any reference materials are allowed
Do not assume a dictionary, notes, or vocabulary list is permitted for German Extension. Ask your teacher what the approved equipment list allows and plan to work without one if they are not.
Confirm the exam format and task requirements
Check with your teacher how many tasks you must answer, whether there is planning time, and whether any listening, viewing, or speaking component is involved, so nothing on the day is a surprise.
Candidate number and personal details
Know your candidate number and the spelling of your name as enrolled so you can complete the response booklet quickly and correctly.
A one-page personal summary
A sheet of useful structures, connectives, and theme vocabulary is good final revision - but leave it outside the exam room unless your school confirms notes are permitted.
Transport and arrival plan
Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes early so delays do not cost you reading or planning time.
Plan the day
Re-read the German Extension syllabus overview and your class notes on the prescribed themes. List the text types and task styles you may be asked to produce, and check which ones you have not practised recently.
Complete at least one full timed practice task under exam conditions, including planning time. Ask your teacher to mark it against the syllabus criteria or compare it with the criteria descriptors yourself, and note your two weakest areas.
Revise theme-specific vocabulary, connectives, and structures for expressing opinion, justification, and evaluation. Practise writing a short introduction and conclusion for an extended response without notes.
Do light revision only: skim your summary sheet, re-read one model response, and stop. Confirm the venue, reporting time, and what you are allowed to bring, then pack your bag with ID, pens, pencil, eraser, and water.
Eat a normal meal, avoid all-night study, and set two alarms. Sleep is more useful than one more hour of vocabulary at this point.
Eat breakfast, arrive early, and avoid last-minute group discussion of content that may raise anxiety. Do a five-minute quiet review of your structures sheet before you enter the room, then put it away.
Read the whole paper and the instructions before writing. Check how many tasks are required, what each is worth, and whether there is planning time. Sketch a brief outline for each extended response before drafting.
Follow your time allocation, keeping roughly proportional time for the marks available. Write in German, monitor the clock at the halfway point, and reserve the final minutes for proofreading grammar, endings, and word order rather than adding new content.
Rules to check
Carry and display the photo ID your school requires; the name must match your enrolment. Confirm the accepted forms with the provider.
Phones, smart watches, and other devices must be switched off and stored as directed. Unauthorised materials on your desk can lead to an assessment penalty.
Follow all supervisor instructions and the QCAA academic integrity rules. Do not communicate with other candidates once the test has begun.
Ask the supervisor before leaving your seat. Toilet breaks are normally supervised and the clock does not stop - confirm the room's break policy with the provider.
Write your responses in German unless the paper instructs otherwise, and answer exactly the number of tasks required. Off-topic or unreadable responses may not be credited.
Extra time or rest breaks require an approved AARA. Confirm your arrangements with your school well before exam day.
Check the marks available for each task and allocate time accordingly; leave time to proofread rather than filling every minute with new writing.