WACE French Background Language ATAR exam-day guide
WACE French Background Language ATAR · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Photo identification
Bring the identification document your school or the exam authority requires for admission to the room. The exact accepted forms vary by year and venue, so confirm the current requirement with your school's exam coordinator or the School Curriculum and Standards Authority before exam day.
Exam admission slip or timetable confirmation
Check whether your school issues a printed statement of examination entries or a personalised timetable. If you are unsure what you must present, confirm with the provider.
Approved pens and spare pens
Bring at least two black or dark blue ballpoint pens for written responses. Check the current stationery rules for your exam, since permitted items can change year to year.
Approved dictionary or reference materials
For a background language course, a monolingual or bilingual dictionary may or may not be permitted. Do not assume; confirm the permitted materials and any annotation rules with your teacher or the authority, and check whether the dictionary must be unmarked.
Clear water bottle with labels removed
Many venues permit a clear, unlabelled water bottle. Confirm the current rules for your exam room.
Watch without smart features
A simple analogue or digital watch can help you pace extended writing. Smart watches and phones are normally prohibited in the room; confirm what is allowed.
No phone or smart device in the exam room
Leave devices switched off and stored as directed. If you are unsure where devices must be kept, ask your supervisor before the exam begins.
Know your seat, room and reporting time
Confirm your venue, room and arrival time at least a day ahead, and plan to arrive well before the scheduled start to allow for seating and reading time.
Rehearse the timing of each section
Know roughly how long you will spend on listening, reading, and writing tasks. Practise with a timer so you can allocate time for planning, drafting and checking.
Prepare a short planning routine
Decide in advance how you will spend the first few minutes of each writing task: decoding the prompt, choosing a text type, and jotting a brief structure.
Confirm rules on rough work and answer booklets
Ask your teacher where planning notes should go and whether they are collected or ignored. The exact rule varies, so confirm with the provider.
Check any permitted equipment for annotations
If a dictionary or reference is allowed, confirm whether highlighting or notes are permitted. If uncertain, use a clean copy and ask the supervisor.
Plan the day
Do a final review of your weakest areas rather than rereading everything. Spend time on vocabulary you tend to misspell, connectors and discourse markers for structured writing, and the text types you find hardest. Complete one timed practice task under exam conditions and mark it against the criteria your teacher has provided. Confirm your venue, reporting time, permitted materials and identification requirements with your school.
Review your own past work and note recurring errors in grammar, register and paragraph structure. Prepare a one-page summary of useful phrases for argument, narration and description. Practise a listening or reading task if your course includes one, and check how you will manage time across sections.
Pack your bag with identification, pens, permitted materials and a water bottle. Lay out clothes and plan your transport. Do a light review of key vocabulary and structures, then stop studying early enough to sleep well. Avoid learning brand-new material that could confuse what you already know.
Eat a proper breakfast and arrive early. Do not cram new content in the final hour; instead skim your summary sheet and remind yourself of your timing plan. Switch off your phone and store it as directed before entering the room. Use the reading time, if provided, to scan the paper and identify question requirements and text types.
Read all instructions and check the marks available for each question so you can judge how much to write. Note any choice of questions and decide quickly. Begin with a brief plan for extended responses so your structure is clear before you write.
Keep to your time allocation and monitor the clock. Write in clear, well-organised paragraphs with appropriate register and text-type conventions. If a question is taking too long, finish a complete answer and move on rather than leaving it blank.
Reserve time to check that every question has been attempted, that your handwriting is legible, and that you have corrected obvious grammar and spelling errors. Check that you have written your details where required and that all answer booklets are handed in as directed.
Rules to check
Follow all instructions from supervisors. Raise your hand if you need to speak, need materials, or feel unwell; do not communicate with other candidates once the exam has begun.
Bring the identification required by the exam authority. The accepted forms can change, so confirm with your school or the provider before exam day and keep the document accessible.
Do not bring phones, smart watches or other unauthorised electronic devices into the exam room. Store them as directed and keep them switched off.
Only use materials explicitly permitted for this exam, such as an approved dictionary if allowed. Confirm the rules on dictionaries, annotations and rough paper with your teacher or the authority, since these vary.
If you need to leave the room for a break or toilet visit, follow the supervisor's procedure. The rules on breaks and supervision vary by venue, so confirm with the provider.
Marks are awarded for content, structure, range and accuracy of language, and appropriateness to the text type. Read the criteria used in your course and answer the question that is asked rather than a rehearsed topic.
Manage your time according to the marks available. A question worth more marks generally requires a fuller response, so plan and check your work rather than spending all your time on one section.
If you believe there is a problem with the paper or your circumstances, tell a supervisor immediately and follow your school's procedures for reporting issues. Do not rely on informal advice; confirm official processes with the provider.