Castilla y León PAU Foreign Language II - German exam-day guide
Castilla y León PAU Foreign Language II - German · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Official ID document
Bring the original DNI, passport, or residence card you used at registration; the photo and data must match the enrolment record. A photocopy or a photo on your phone is not accepted. If your document is expired or being renewed, confirm with the coordinating university or your exam centre before the day which alternative proof they admit.
Exam call/slot confirmation and registration proof
Print or download the notice showing your assigned centre, classroom, and call time. Centres sometimes publish last-minute room changes, so check the university's PAU page the afternoon before. If you have not received a call document, confirm with the provider how entry is managed.
Black or blue ballpoint pens (at least two)
Answers must be legible and written in ink; pencil is normally only allowed for rough work or multiple-choice sheets if the invigilator says so. Bring two working pens of the same colour so a failure does not cost you time.
Pencil, eraser, and sharpener
Useful for rough drafts, planning the writing task, and any machine-readable answer sheet. Keep them in a clear case so the invigilator can inspect them quickly at the start.
Wristwatch (non-smart)
Many exam rooms have no visible clock, and phones must be switched off and stored away. A simple analogue or digital watch lets you allocate the 90 minutes across the reading, grammar, and writing parts. Smartwatches and any connected device are not permitted.
Clear water bottle with no label
Staying hydrated helps concentration during a long language paper. Remove the label so the bottle can be checked at a glance. Confirm with the provider whether drinks are allowed at your specific venue.
No phones, smartwatches, or earbuds in the exam room
Switch devices off completely and leave them in the bag or in the designated area as instructed. Even a device that vibrates in a pocket can trigger a disciplinary procedure. Do not bring notes, dictionaries, or grammar tables unless the official instructions for your year explicitly allow them.
Know which options you will choose
The paper normally offers a choice of text/option (for example Option A and Option B) with comprehension, grammar/vocabulary, and a writing task. Decide in advance your personal order of work, for example reading first, then grammar, then writing, and stick to it so the writing never gets squeezed.
Arrive early with time buffer
Plan to be at the centre well before the call time, allowing for transport delays and the ID check queue. Late arrival rules are set by the centre; if you are running late, contact the centre immediately. Confirm with the provider the exact cut-off for admission.
Practice writing under time
In the last days, write at least two full compositions of the required length (typically around 120-150 words) in 25-30 minutes each, by hand, and check them against a short self-correction list: verb position, tenses, agreement, connectors, spelling. Handwriting speed matters more than typing speed here.
Review the grammar points that carry marks
Revise the highest-yield structures: subordinate clauses and verb-final word order, passive, Konjunktiv II for polite requests and hypotheticals, prepositions with case, adjective endings, and the perfect/Präteritum distinction. These appear repeatedly in transformation and gap-fill items.
Confirm permitted materials with the provider
Do not assume that a monolingual or bilingual dictionary is allowed. Rules differ by region and year. Check the official instructions for your call or ask your school's German department; if anything is unclear, confirm with the provider rather than risk a sanction.
Plan the day
Do one full timed mock under exam conditions: 90 minutes, no phone, handwritten, using only materials you will actually have. Mark it honestly and list your three weakest areas. Spend the remaining days only on those three, not on new content.
Re-read the official structure of the paper so the format is automatic: which section comes first, how many options you must answer, the word count for the writing, and where the marks sit. Format confusion is the most avoidable source of lost points on exam day.
Build a personal writing toolkit: 8-10 connectors (zum Beispiel, außerdem, deshalb, obwohl, trotzdem, einerseits/andererseits), 5 opinion phrases (meiner Meinung nach, ich bin der Ansicht, dass...), and a short mental checklist for verb position in main and subordinate clauses. Practise inserting them into two compositions.
Do light revision only: skim your error log, review irregular participles and the verbs with fixed prepositions you keep getting wrong. Do not start a new grammar topic. Stop studying in the early evening.
Prepare the physical kit: ID, call document, two pens, pencil, eraser, sharpener, watch, water. Put everything in one bag by the door. Check the route and travel time to the centre and set two alarms. Confirm room and call time on the university's PAU page.
Sleep a full night. A rested brain retrieves vocabulary and grammar far better than one more hour of cramming. Avoid caffeine late in the evening and avoid comparing preparation with classmates on messaging apps.
Eat a normal breakfast, arrive early, and keep conversation with other candidates brief and calm. Do not try to learn new vocabulary in the corridor; it raises anxiety and rarely helps. Hand your phone over or switch it off before entering the room.
Fill in your personal data exactly as instructed, then read the whole paper once without writing. Choose your option deliberately, based on which text and writing prompt you can handle best, not on which looks shorter. Note the end time and split the remaining minutes.
Work in your planned order and keep to time boxes: roughly 30-35 minutes for reading comprehension, 20-25 for grammar/vocabulary, 25-30 for the writing, and 5-10 for a final check. If an item blocks you, mark it and move on; return only if time remains.
Do a targeted check: verb at the end of subordinate clauses, subject-verb agreement, adjective endings, capitalisation of nouns, and the word count of your composition. Make sure no answer is left blank where a partial answer could earn marks, and that your name and option are correctly marked.
Rules to check
Bring the original identity document used at registration; it must be valid and show a recognisable photo. Without acceptable ID the centre may refuse admission. If your situation is unusual, confirm with the provider in advance which documents are accepted.
Electronic devices must be switched off and stored away as the invigilator instructs. Smartwatches, earbuds, and any connected device are treated as prohibited material, and possession during the test can lead to annulment of the exam.
Answer only the required number of options and tasks. If the paper asks you to choose between two options, do not mix parts from both; answers that do not follow the instructions may not be marked. Read the rubric on the front page carefully.
Write legibly in the language of the paper and respect the stated word count for the composition. Text far below the minimum loses content marks; text far above it wastes time and increases error density. Cross out drafts clearly so they are not marked.
Breaks and leaving the room are at the invigilator's discretion. Normally you may not leave during the first part of the test, and if you leave you may not take the paper with you and may not be readmitted until permitted. Ask before you need it, not after.
Scoring is anonymous and based on the official criteria: comprehension of the text, grammatical accuracy, range of vocabulary and structures, coherence, and task achievement in the writing. There is no penalty for guessing in objective items, so never leave a blank answer sheet cell empty.
Academic honesty applies throughout: no copying, no communication with other candidates, no notes or unauthorised materials. Suspected irregularities are recorded and handled by the examining board, and the consequences can affect your university access score.
If you believe there is an error in the paper, a problem with the room, or a personal incident affecting your performance, tell the invigilator immediately and ask for it to be recorded. Procedures and deadlines for later claims are set by the administering body; confirm with the provider how to formalise any complaint.