Aragón PAU Technical Drawing Applied to Plastic Arts and Design II exam-day guide
Aragón PAU Technical Drawing Applied to Plastic Arts and Design II · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Official ID document
Bring the original DNI, passport, or residence card in force. The invigilator must match your identity to the enrolment record before you sit down. Do not rely on a photocopy or a photo on your phone; confirm with the provider which documents are accepted if you hold a non-Spanish ID.
Printed exam venue and session confirmation
Check the assigned building, room, and call time on the official Aragón PAU portal or your centre's notice, because venues can change between the ordinary and extraordinary sessions. Arrive with the printed or downloaded confirmation so you can locate the room quickly.
Approved drawing instruments
Bring a compass with a locking hinge and spare leads or a spare compass, 2H and HB graphite pencils, a mechanical pencil, a soft eraser, and a pencil sharpener. A clean eraser matters more than a fancy one: smudged construction lines cost marks in the technical drawing exercises.
Rulers, set squares, and protractor
Bring a 30-60-90 and a 45-45-90 set square, a graduated ruler of at least 30 cm, and a protractor. Clear plastic instruments let you see the construction lines underneath, which reduces errors when tracing perpendiculars and bisectors.
Colour media for the plastic arts block
Bring the colour pencils, markers, or gouache you normally use, plus a water pot and cloth if you work wet. Confirm with the provider whether the specific medium you plan to use is permitted in the room, since some centres restrict solvents and sprays.
Clear pencil case and transparent water bottle
Many venues require a transparent case and an unlabelled bottle with the label removed. Pack only what you need so the desk check is fast, and keep your ID visible on the desk throughout the test.
Analogue watch
Mobile phones are usually collected or switched off, so a simple wristwatch is the reliable way to pace a long drawing paper. Practise with it in the final week so you know how long each block should take.
No programmable or graphic calculator unless confirmed
The technical drawing paper rarely needs a calculator, but if you bring one it must not be programmable or store text. Confirm with the provider which models are allowed before the day.
Rehearsed timing plan written on paper
Write your minute-by-minute plan for each exercise on a small card and memorise it. A fixed plan prevents you from over-investing in one elaborate construction and running out of time on the rest.
Small practice sheet of standard constructions
Before the call time, sketch the constructions you tend to forget: tangent lines to a circle from an external point, the radical axis, the golden section, and the standard dihedral and axonometric steps. Keep it in your bag, not on the desk during the test.
Confirm permitted materials and arrival time with the provider
The exact list of allowed instruments, the earliest entry time, and the procedure if you arrive late are set by the administering body. Confirm with the provider or your centre's PAU coordinator rather than assuming from a previous year.
Transport and backup plan
Plan the route with a buffer of at least 30 minutes and identify a backup line or a taxi number. In Zaragoza, Huesca, and Teruel the exam centres can be far from the main bus and train stations, so check the walk from the stop to the room.
Plan the day
Do a full timed mock of the whole paper under exam conditions: same instruments, no phone, no notes, and the exact duration. Mark it against the published criteria, then list only the three constructions or colour exercises that lost the most marks. Spend the remaining days on those three, not on the topics you already handle.
Check the official call, room, and permitted materials once more, and confirm any doubt with the provider. Prepare the instrument case and replace worn compass leads, blunt blades, and dried markers now, so a missing tool cannot derail the last two days.
Review the standard constructions and the normalisation conventions that are easy to lose marks on: line types and thicknesses, correct dimensioning with arrows and figures, lettering, scale notation, and the layout of views in a multiview drawing. Redraw each once from memory, then compare with your notes.
Stop learning new content. Re-read your one-page summary of formulas and construction steps, pack the instrument case and ID in the same bag, and check the transport route and weather. Sleep at your normal time; a tired hand produces shaky lines and misread scales.
Eat a normal breakfast, arrive at the venue at least 30 minutes before the call, and keep the instrument case closed until you are seated. Once seated, lay out instruments in a fixed order, check that the compass holds its radius, and write your timing plan on the corner of the answer sheet if scrap paper is not provided.
Read the whole paper before drawing anything. Mark each exercise as easy, medium, or hard, and allocate minutes in proportion to the marks rather than to the order printed. Start with the exercise you can execute most reliably to secure marks and settle your nerves.
Work construction lines in 2H and final lines in HB, keeping the difference in thickness visible. Draw the construction fully before inking: an incomplete construction usually loses more marks than a slightly imperfect final line. Label points and keep auxiliary lines light but present.
Block the composition lightly before committing to colour, and keep the colour plan consistent with the stated brief. Reserve the last minutes of this block for cleaning edges and checking that the answer addresses every stated requirement, such as the requested colour range or the design function.
Stop starting new constructions. Check that every exercise has an answer, that scales and units are written, that dimension figures are legible, and that your name and details are on every sheet as instructed. Hand in only what the invigilator requests, in the stated order.
Rules to check
Bring the original valid ID and place it on the desk for the whole session. If your identity cannot be verified, the invigilator may not allow you to continue; confirm with the provider in advance what to do if your document is being renewed.
Phones, smartwatches, and any device that stores or transmits information must be switched off and handed in or stored as the invigilator directs. Keeping one on your person can be treated as an irregularity even if you never use it.
Do not bring notes, pre-drawn templates, or tracing aids into the room. All construction must be done during the session; using a pre-prepared sheet can invalidate your paper.
Raise your hand and ask the invigilator if you need to leave the room. Leaving is normally escorted and only one candidate at a time; the exact rules on breaks and re-entry are set by the venue, so confirm with the provider if you have a medical need.
Ask the invigilator to clarify a misprint or an ambiguous instruction rather than guessing. Questions about the content of an exercise are usually not answered, but a faulty statement is normally noted; confirm with the provider how such incidents are recorded.
Scoring follows the published criteria for each exercise, so show construction lines, dimensioning, and annotations that the marker needs to award method marks. An unexplained final result earns fewer marks than a documented construction.
Write only in the spaces and on the sheets indicated. Answers on unauthorised paper or in the wrong section may not be marked; confirm with the provider how extra sheets are requested and labelled.
If you believe an irregularity affected your performance, report it to the invigilator at the time and follow the centre's procedure afterwards. Claims raised only after the session are harder to support; confirm the deadline and channel with the provider.