PAU Latin II (Cantabria) exam-day guide
PAU Latin II (Cantabria) · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Official ID document
Bring the identity document (DNI, passport, or equivalent) required to sit the exam. Confirm with the provider which documents are accepted and whether a copy is valid; carry the original.
Exam venue and session confirmation
Print or save the individual convocatoria/call showing date, time, building, and room or seat. Re-read it the day before; venues and access times can change. If anything is unclear, confirm with the provider.
Arrival time and access route
Plan to arrive well before the stated call time, allowing for traffic, public transport, and locating the room. The exact cutoff for late entry is set by the exam centre: confirm with the provider.
Black or blue ballpoint pens (spare)
Bring at least two reliable pens of the same ink colour, plus a spare. Answers must be legible; do not rely on pencil for final text.
Pencil, eraser, and sharpener
Useful for rough work, underlining, and any multiple-choice answer sheet. Keep rough work clearly separate from final answers.
Transparent pencil case or bag
Many centres require transparent containers so invigilators can check contents quickly. If the rule is not stated in your call, confirm with the provider.
Clear water bottle, labels removed
Hydration helps during a long paper. Remove or cover labels unless the centre states otherwise; confirm the policy with the provider.
No smartwatch or phone on your person
Leave phones and smartwatches switched off and stored as instructed, ideally outside the room. Any device found on you during the exam can be treated as misconduct.
Authorised materials only
Latin papers normally require no dictionary, grammar, or notes unless the call expressly permits them. Do not bring reference materials unless the convocatoria authorises them; confirm with the provider.
Printed past papers and your own summaries
Use these for the final review, not inside the exam room. Bring clean annotated texts and vocabulary lists to revise on the way.
Watch (non-smart) or room clock awareness
A simple analogue watch helps you pace the paper. Do not rely solely on a phone, which must be stored away.
Medical or access arrangements
If you have an approved adaptation (extra time, separate room, medication), bring the authorisation and arrive early to confirm logistics. Confirm arrangements with the provider in advance.
Plan the day
Switch to consolidation rather than new content. Re-read the exam structure and mark allocation from the official call, then do one timed full paper under exam conditions. Mark it strictly against your own criteria, list the three error types that cost the most marks (for example, case endings, verb tense recognition, or translation word order), and build a short revision list for each. Sleep normally; do not start an all-night cycle.
Work through the highest-value skills in short blocks: unseen translation technique, sight comprehension, and any prescribed-text or literary questions. For translation, practise the routine of reading the whole passage first, identifying main clauses and verbs, then rendering clause by clause. For prescribed texts, revise characters, themes, and key quotations with brief notes rather than full re-reading. Check transport, ID, and venue logistics.
Do light revision only: vocabulary, principal parts of common irregular verbs, and a one-page checklist of translation pitfalls (ablative absolute, indirect statement, subjunctive uses, deponent verbs). Pack your bag with ID, pens, pencil, eraser, water, and the printed call. Set two alarms. Avoid intensive new practice papers; a short warm-up passage is enough. Go to bed at a normal time.
Eat a proper breakfast and arrive early. Skim your one-page checklist and a short Latin passage to activate the language, but stop revising new material. Keep phones off and stored. Locate the room, confirm your seat, and read the front of the paper carefully for instructions and mark allocations before writing.
Read all instructions and the whole paper or passage before committing. Note the time budget per section and stick to it. Start with the section you handle most confidently, but never leave the translation until the final minutes.
For translation, draft in the margin or on rough paper, then write a clean version; check every noun-verb agreement and case ending. For comprehension, answer in the language and format requested, quoting Latin where asked. For literary or cultural questions, structure answers with a clear point, Latin evidence, and explanation. Leave time to proofread names, numbers, and endings.
Check that every question has an answer, that no answer is in the wrong box, and that your name or candidate details are filled in as instructed. Do not erase or rewrite large sections in a rush; a legible imperfect answer scores better than an illegible perfect one.
Rules to check
Bring and display the identity document required by the call. If you have lost it, ask the venue staff immediately; the accepted alternative is set by the centre, so confirm with the provider rather than assuming.
Follow all invigilator instructions on seating, materials on the desk, and timing. Only authorised items may remain on the desk; everything else must be stored as directed.
Phones, smartwatches, and any other electronic devices must be switched off and stored away. Possession of an active device during the exam may be treated as academic misconduct.
Do not communicate with other candidates once the paper has been distributed, and do not look at another candidate's work. Raise your hand and wait for an invigilator if you need anything.
If you need to leave the room (toilet, illness), raise your hand; permission and escort rules are set by the centre. Time lost is not normally recovered, so confirm the policy with the provider.
Write in the language and format the questions require, and answer in the designated spaces. Answers outside the marked areas or in unauthorised materials may not be marked.
Scoring follows the official mark scheme and weightings published for the subject; do not expect discretionary marks for effort. Check the published structure so you allocate time to the highest-weight sections.
If you believe there is an error in the paper or a disruption during the exam, report it to the invigilator at the time and follow the centre's incident procedure. Appeals and special consideration deadlines should be confirmed with the provider.