RS Mala Matura key terms

The Polish national examination taken at the end of secondary school, whose results help decide admission to university and whose compulsory parts shape the exam's structure.

The printed booklet containing all tasks, instructions and answer spaces for one examination session; candidates must follow its numbering and record answers in the designated places.

The minimum share of points needed to pass a matura paper, commonly thirty percent; falling below it means the subject is failed regardless of other results.

The standard difficulty level of a compulsory matura subject, testing core curriculum content that every secondary graduate is expected to master.

The harder matura level chosen by candidates for subjects relevant to their university plans; it covers additional content and is often required by demanding degree programmes.

A spoken examination, typically in Polish and a foreign language, in which a candidate prepares a response and then presents and discusses it with examiners.

The written part of the examination, completed under supervision within a fixed time limit and assessed against official criteria.

The official scoring document listing acceptable answers and point allocations, used by examiners to mark candidates consistently across the whole country.

The system assigning points to tasks and partial credit to steps within them, determining how a raw score is calculated before conversion.

A candidate's score expressed as a percentage of the maximum available points, reported for each subject and level and used in university recruitment.

The university admissions process in which faculties rank applicants using matura results, sometimes combined with competitions, interviews or additional tests.

The stated subject of an essay or longer written response; candidates must address it directly, since drifting away from it costs significant marks.

The main claim a candidate asserts and defends in an argumentative essay; it should be clear, debatable and supported by evidence from texts.

A reasoned point supporting a claim, usually built from a statement, evidence from a text and explanation of how the evidence proves the point.

A formal essay that argues for a position on a question, combining an introduction, developed arguments with textual evidence and a conclusion that restates the stance.

A specific reference to a literary work, character or scene used as evidence in an essay; it must be accurate and clearly linked to the argument being made.

A literary work included on the official school reading list, whose content candidates are expected to know well enough to discuss and cite in essays.

Background knowledge about an era, author, literary movement or another work that helps interpret a text and strengthen an argument.

A historical period in literature sharing characteristic themes, styles and ideas, such as the Renaissance or Romanticism, useful for placing a work in time.

A deliberate language device such as metaphor, personification or hyperbole used to create meaning or effect; candidates identify and explain these in reading tasks.

A figure of speech in which one thing is described through another, implying a similarity without using words of comparison, for example calling hope a bird.

A sustained spoken statement by one speaker on a given prompt, expected to be organised, coherent and delivered with appropriate register and pronunciation.

The quality of a text whose sentences and paragraphs connect logically through linking words, consistent reference and clear progression of ideas.

A block of sentences in a written text grouped around one idea, marked by an indentation or line break and helping readers follow the structure.

A function described by a formula of the form ax squared plus bx plus c with a nonzero, whose graph is a parabola and whose key features include vertex and roots.

The discriminant of a quadratic equation, calculated as b squared minus four ac; its sign tells how many real solutions the equation has.

The highest or lowest point of a parabola, located at x equals minus b over two a for a quadratic function, marking its maximum or minimum value.

A sequence in which each term after the first differs from the previous one by a constant amount, called the common difference.

A sequence in which each term after the first is obtained by multiplying the previous term by a fixed nonzero number, called the common ratio.

A single element of a sequence, often denoted by a letter with a subscript indicating its position, such as the first or nth term.

A number from zero to one expressing how likely an event is, often computed for equally likely outcomes as favourable outcomes divided by all outcomes.

The branch of mathematics dealing with counting arrangements and selections, used to work out how many outcomes or possibilities a situation has.

A function whose graph is a straight line, written as y equals ax plus b, where a is the slope and b the point where the line crosses the vertical axis.

A set of two or more equations solved together; its solution is the set of values satisfying all equations at once, often found by substitution or elimination.

A habitual pairing of words, such as make a decision, that sounds natural to native speakers; exam tasks test recognition and correct use of these combinations.

Restating a sentence or idea in different words while keeping the meaning, a common exam task requiring control of grammar and vocabulary.

The level of formality in language, from casual to formal; candidates must choose wording suited to the situation, such as an email to a teacher.

A listening task in which candidates hear a recording and answer questions about its content, requiring attention to detail, gist and speaker intent.

A reading task testing whether candidates can extract information, infer meaning and recognise the purpose or tone of a written passage.