Catalonia PAU Spanish Literature (Literatura Castellana) exam-day guide
Catalonia PAU Spanish Literature (Literatura Castellana) · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Official ID (DNI, passport or recognised equivalent)
Bring the original document, not a photocopy. The document must be valid and show a photograph. If you are unsure which documents the tribunal accepts for your call, confirm with the provider (your school or the university coordinating the PAU).
Exam call slip / registration confirmation
Print or download the individual call document showing your name, the centre, the room and the timetable. Check the room assignment the day before, because rooms are sometimes reassigned. Confirm with the provider whether a printed copy is required.
Black or blue ballpoint pens (at least two) and a pencil with eraser
Write the final answers in ink. Use the pencil only for planning or underlining. Bring a spare pen: running out mid-essay wastes time you cannot recover.
Wristwatch (non-smart)
Many exam rooms have no visible clock, and phones must be switched off and stored. A plain analogue or digital watch lets you manage the 90 minutes yourself.
Clear water bottle, no label
Stay hydrated, but keep the bottle on the floor and label-free so it cannot be mistaken for notes. Confirm with the provider whether drinks are allowed in your room.
Know the syllabus texts and your own notes by memory, not on paper
The PAU Literatura Castellana syllabus is set by the Departament d'Educació and rotates. Verify the exact list of works and authors for your year on the official PAU/Departament website or with your teacher; do not rely on lists from previous years.
One-page mental map of each set work: author, period, genre, themes, characters, style, key quotations
For each work on the list, be able to state in two sentences what it is, when it was written, its literary movement and three distinctive features. This is what the commentary and development questions reward.
Prepared structure for the text commentary
Practise a fixed order: locate the text (author, work, period, genre), summarise its content, analyse structure, then form and style, then themes and meaning, and finish with a short personal judgement grounded in the text. A stable structure saves planning time.
Prepared structure for the essay / open question
Have a template: brief introduction stating your thesis, two or three body paragraphs each with a claim plus textual evidence, and a conclusion. Examiners reward specific references to the works over general statements.
Quotations bank
Memorise a handful of short, accurate quotations per work (one or two lines each). Short and exact beats long and approximate; misquoted lines cost more than they gain.
Leave your phone switched off and out of reach
A phone that vibrates or is seen during the exam can lead to disqualification. Switch it off before entering the room and store it in your bag as instructed.
Plan your arrival with margin
Arrive at the centre at least 20-30 minutes before the call. Traffic, transport disruptions and locating the room are the most common causes of avoidable stress. Confirm the exact call time with the provider.
Plan the day
Stop reading new material. Re-read your own summaries of every set work and check the official syllabus list once more. Write, under timed conditions, one full commentary and one essay, then mark them against the assessment criteria your teacher uses. List your three weakest areas and spend the remaining time only on those.
Build a single revision sheet: for each work, author, dates, movement, genre, main themes, main characters, narrative or poetic voice, style features and two short quotations. Keep it to one or two sides. Test yourself by covering the page and reciting each entry aloud.
Do a light pass only: read your revision sheet twice and rehearse two essay plans in note form (five minutes each). Prepare your bag with ID, call slip, pens, pencil, watch and water. Check the room and timetable on the official notice. Sleep a full night; do not stay up memorising quotations.
Eat a proper breakfast and arrive early. Read only your revision sheet, no full texts. Once seated, write your name and details exactly as instructed, read the whole paper before choosing questions, and note the mark allocation so you can budget minutes per question.
Read every option carefully. Choose the questions where you can cite specific textual evidence, not the ones that merely look familiar. Draft a short outline for each answer: thesis, three or four points, conclusion. Allocate roughly one minute per mark and keep 5-10 minutes at the end for checking.
Answer in full sentences and structured paragraphs; use literary terminology correctly (narrative voice, focalisation, metric, rhetorical figure, generation, movement). Quote briefly and accurately, always linking the quotation to an interpretative point. If a question is unclear, state your interpretation in one line and answer it, rather than leaving it blank.
Check that every required question is answered, that names, titles and dates are spelled consistently, and that no answer is left as rough notes. Confirm your name is on every sheet and that you have handed in all materials as instructed.
Rules to check
Bring original identification and place it on the desk as instructed. The exact list of accepted documents and whether the call slip must be printed are set by the organising body, so confirm with the provider before the exam day.
Electronic devices, smart watches, notes and unauthorised materials must be switched off and stored away before the exam starts. Keeping a phone accessible during the exam can lead to annulment of your paper.
Write in the language of the exam (Spanish) and answer only the required number of questions. Extra answers beyond what the paper allows are normally not marked, so follow the instructions on the cover exactly.
Respect the time limit and the announced call. You may normally only leave the room in the circumstances the tribunal allows; ask an invigilator rather than assuming. Confirm the specific rules for your centre with the provider.
Scoring follows the official criteria: adequacy to the question, knowledge of the works and literary context, textual analysis, organisation and correctness of written expression. Marks are lost for irrelevance and for serious language errors, so prioritise clear, well-organised prose.
Use the official syllabus for your year. The set works change between calls, and preparing a work that is no longer listed wastes limited time; verify the list with the Departament d'Educació or your teacher.
If you believe there is an error in the paper or a problem in the room, raise it calmly with an invigilator at the time; do not discuss it with other candidates during the exam.
Follow the centre's rules on leaving, returning and personal belongings. Because these vary by centre and call, confirm the details with the provider rather than relying on what happened in previous years.