PAU Latin II (Balearic Islands / UIB)

It is a written paper answered in Catalan or Spanish. Expect a translation of an original Latin prose passage, questions on morphology and syntax, a literary commentary, short-answer items on authors and genres, and lexicon or etymology questions. The official body publishes the exact current structure and any optional authors, so confirm the wording there before you build a study plan.

The number of items and the time allowed change between calls and are fixed by the official PAU regulations for the Balearic Islands. They are not stated here because they must be verified. Check the current official specification and the model papers published by the university for the exact timing and layout.

Noticeably harder, mainly because the translation is unseen and longer, and because you are expected to read prose rather than decode it word by word. Candidates who only memorised paradigms struggle. Those who have translated a little every day and know the core vocabulary usually find the syntax questions and the commentary the easier half.

Passing scores and the weighting of each part are set by the official regulations and can change. This page does not state a figure. Consult the official university-access body for the Balearic Islands for the current marking criteria and any minimum requirements attached to the subject.

Retake rules, the number of sittings and how long results remain valid are governed by the official PAU regulations. Check the official body's site for the current policy, including whether you may improve a grade in a later call and which mark counts for admission.

Start with morphology and a core vocabulary list, because translation fails fastest when forms are misread. Then move to short prose passages with a dictionary, working up to timed translations. Add literature and civilisation revision in parallel rather than leaving it for the final weeks, and finish with full past papers under time pressure.

The usual causes are misreading a case ending, ignoring a subordinate clause introduced by cum, ut or quod, and leaving a verb without its subject. Another common loss is translating word by word into unnatural Catalan. Read the whole sentence first, identify the main verb, then render it in natural target-language order.

Aim to know the high-frequency words that recur in prose authors so you are not looking up every second line. Learn words in context with their case constructions, and group them by root, which also helps the etymology questions. Keep a personal list of the words you actually miss in your own translations.

Some calls restrict the literary questions or the commentary to a published list of authors or works. Whether that applies in your year, and which authors appear, is stated in the official specification. Check it before investing time in a particular author, and confirm whether translation passages are drawn from set texts or unseen prose.

Latin is normally useful or required for Classics, History, Humanities and related programmes, and it can serve as a weighting subject for others. The exact weighting depends on the university and degree you apply to. Check the admission parameters published by the universities you are targeting rather than assuming.