Gaokao English exam-day guide
Gaokao English · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Admission ticket (准考证), printed
Print two or three copies from the official registration system and keep them flat and clean. Check that your name, ID number, exam site and subject time are correct. Keep one copy with a parent or teacher as a spare.
Original ID card (身份证)
Bring the physical card, not a photocopy. Check in advance that it has not expired and that the number matches the admission ticket exactly; if it is lost or expired, contact your school and the local exam authority well before exam day.
Two or three 2B pencils, pre-sharpened
Used for the machine-scored answer sheet. Sharpen at both ends or bring spares, and practise shading so marks are dark, full and single.
A good eraser
Soft, clean, non-smearing. Bad erasing leaves ghost marks that the scanner can read as a second answer.
Two black gel pens (about 0.5 mm)
For the written sections. Test both before the exam; blue ink and very fine or very thick pens can scan poorly.
Transparent pencil case or bag
Many centres require transparent stationery and bags. Confirm the exact requirement with your school or the local exam authority before the day.
Plain non-smart wristwatch
Some centres provide a clock and some restrict watches. Confirm the rule for your site with the provider; never bring a smart watch or fitness band.
Clear water bottle with the label removed
Rules on drinks vary by site. Confirm with the provider; keep it on the floor rather than on the desk if permitted.
Phone and other devices left behind
Hand your phone, earbuds and smart watch to a parent or teacher before you enter the gate. Do not rely on 'turning it off' inside the room.
Confirmed route and travel time to the exam site
Check the address on the admission ticket, not from memory. Do a dry run if the site is unfamiliar, and plan a second route in case of traffic or rain.
Confirmed foreign-language session details
Check your province's arrangement: the exact time slot of the English paper, whether a listening section is included, and whether it is broadcast by radio or played through speakers. Confirm with your school or the local exam authority, as arrangements differ by province.
Weather-appropriate clothing and rain gear
Exam rooms may be air-conditioned or not; wear layers you can remove. Avoid metal-heavy clothing and accessories that slow security checks.
Plan the day
Re-read the admission ticket line by line: site address, session time, subject, and any notes printed on it. Verify your ID card is valid. Assemble all stationery in one transparent bag and leave it packed. Do one full timed paper (120 minutes) at the same time of day as the real session, then stop taking on new material and spend remaining time on your error notebook and writing phrases.
Light review only: listening to short audio for 15 to 20 minutes, re-reading your own writing samples and useful sentence patterns, skimming vocabulary lists you have already learned. Do not start new grammar topics or new word lists. Check the weather forecast and confirm transport arrangements with whoever is taking you.
Pack the bag and lay out clothes, then close the books. Eat a normal meal, avoid heavy caffeine after mid-afternoon, and go to bed at your usual time rather than unusually early. Set two alarms. Remind the person accompanying you of the departure time.
Eat a normal breakfast you are used to, not an experimental one. Leave home with a large time buffer - aim to be at the gate well before the arrival time the provider specifies. Hand over your phone and any device before entering. Use the restroom before going to the room.
Find your room and seat from the seating list. Confirm the desk is clear, check that your answer sheet is undamaged and correctly printed, and fill in name and ID number exactly as instructed. Listen carefully to the invigilator's instructions on sheet handling.
If your paper has a listening section, treat the pre-listening seconds as gold: read the questions and options ahead of the audio. Mark answers on the sheet as you go rather than saving everything for the end. If you miss an item, let it go and move to the next.
Work through reading and cloze at a steady pace, giving each passage a time budget. Do not let one difficult passage consume the time you need for the writing task.
Reserve roughly 20 to 25 minutes for the writing task: a few minutes planning, the rest writing, then a check of tense, agreement, spelling and word count. Keep the last five minutes for verifying that every answer is transferred and that no item is blank.
Rules to check
Entry requires both the admission ticket and the original ID card, and the details must match. If anything on the ticket is wrong, report it to your school or the exam authority before exam day rather than at the gate.
Phones, smart watches, earbuds, electronic dictionaries and any storage or communication device are not allowed in the exam room. Leaving a device on your person, even switched off, can be treated as a violation; the exact penalty is set by the local exam authority, so confirm the rules for your site with the provider.
There is a cutoff time after which candidates are not admitted, and it differs between sites. Confirm the exact arrival time and cutoff with your school or the local exam authority, and arrive with a buffer.
Objective answers must be marked on the machine-readable sheet with a 2B pencil, and written answers must be in black pen inside the designated areas only. Do not use correction tape, correction fluid, or any highlighter, and do not write outside the answer areas or add identifying marks.
Scoring depends on the scanner: faint, doubled or half-erased marks may not register, and handwriting that is too small or too light may be marked wrong. Keep characters and letters clearly formed and inside the boxes.
Do not talk, look at another candidate's paper, or borrow stationery during the paper. If you need something, raise your hand and wait for the invigilator.
Leaving the room before the paper ends is restricted, and the procedure for illness or a restroom visit is set by the local exam authority. Confirm it with the provider in advance so you know what to expect.
If your paper includes a listening section, the audio is played on a fixed schedule and is not repeated. Settle into your seat and stop turning pages before it begins; follow the invigilator's instructions if the sound quality is poor.