Canary Islands PAU Spanish Language and Literature II / Lengua Castellana y Literatura II
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ExploreAbout this exam
Lengua Castellana y Literatura II is the Spanish-language and literature paper of the Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad (PAU/EBAU) in the Canary Islands, the university entrance assessment taken after the Bachillerato. It is compulsory for students entering most degrees and is used by universities in the archipelago and elsewhere in Spain as part of the admission score. The paper asks you to read an unseen non-fiction or journalistic text and then work with it: summarise it, describe its structure and communicative situation, explain selected words or expressions in context, and identify grammatical categories and syntactic functions. A separate literature section tests your knowledge of Spanish literary history from the nineteenth century to the present and your ability to write about a prescribed reading. Success comes from steady practice rather than last-minute memorisation: read opinion columns and essays regularly, practise condensing a text into a short, faithful summary, and drill sentence analysis until you can label functions quickly and accurately. Build a timeline of movements and authors and prepare a small set of flexible quotations and arguments for the prescribed work. This page is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with the Canary Islands education authorities or any university.
What you'll study
About Canary Islands PAU Spanish Language and Literature II / Lengua Castellana y Literatura II preparation
Who has to take this exam?
It is part of the general phase of the PAU for students finishing Bachillerato in the Canary Islands, and it is compulsory for admission to most degrees. Candidates from other regions or education systems should check the specific requirements of the university and degree they are applying to.
How long is the exam and how many questions does it have?
The current structure, timing and number of items are set each year by the official PAU coordinating body for the Canary Islands. Because these details change, consult the official specification and the model papers published on the regional education authority's website before you plan your revision.
What score do I need to pass?
Passing and admission thresholds depend on the university and degree, and the minimum requirements are published officially each year. Do not rely on second-hand figures; check the current rules on the Canary Islands PAU website and the admission information of the universities you are targeting.
How difficult is the paper?
Most candidates find the text commentary manageable but time-pressured, and the literary essay the hardest part to score well on. The linguistic reflection rewards precision rather than breadth. Solid reading speed, a reliable method for summarising, and prepared literary knowledge matter more than obscure facts.
Can I retake the exam if I do badly?
Resit sittings are generally offered in later calls, but the exact rules on retakes and on how long results remain valid are set officially and can change. Confirm the current policy with the Canary Islands PAU coordinating body or your school's guidance department before making plans.
Should I study the text commentary or the literature first?
Start with the text commentary, because it is the larger share of the paper and improves quickly with practice. Add literature in parallel, building a timeline of movements and authors and rereading the prescribed work at least twice. Leave the final weeks for timed full-paper practice.
Which literary works are prescribed?
The reading list is fixed by the official specification for each academic year and is published by the regional authority. Always work from the current list rather than older materials, and prepare at least one work thoroughly enough to write a structured essay with textual evidence.
Where do candidates usually lose marks?
Common problems are summaries that copy sentences from the text, vague structural descriptions that merely list paragraphs, mislabelled syntactic functions, and literary essays that retell the plot instead of arguing a thesis. Answering the question actually asked, with precise terminology, gains marks quickly.
How should I practise the linguistic reflection section?
Take one paragraph of a newspaper column each day and label word classes, then identify subject, predicate, objects and subordinate clauses. Write your answers in full sentences using standard terminology, and check them against a grammar reference. Ten minutes daily beats a single long session.