Madrid PAU English - Additional Foreign Language study plan
Madrid PAU English - Additional Foreign Language · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Reading comprehension - global understanding of a written text & Lexical and grammatical competence (use of English)
Identify the main idea and the author's purpose in three short opinion articles of 350-450 words each without using a dictionary.
Summarise each article in exactly two sentences, keeping the original stance intact.
Build a personal list of 40 academic and opinion-signalling connectors (however, whereas, arguably, on balance) and classify them by function.
Diagnose your baseline by completing one full past-paper-style reading task under timed conditions and logging every error by type.
Your checkpoint
A one-page error log listing at least 15 mistakes tagged as global-meaning, detail, inference, or vocabulary, plus your two-sentence summaries of the three articles.
Reading comprehension - global understanding of a written text & Reading comprehension - specific information and inference
Locate topic sentences and paragraph functions (claim, example, concession, conclusion) in two longer texts of 500-600 words.
Distinguish main ideas from supporting examples by underlining claims and bracketing evidence.
Answer five global-understanding questions per text and justify each answer with a quoted line number.
Paraphrase the thesis of each text in your own words in under 25 words.
Your checkpoint
An annotated copy of two texts with claims underlined, evidence bracketed, and a written justification for every answer choice.
Reading comprehension - specific information and inference & Lexical and grammatical competence (use of English)
Practise scanning for specific data (dates, figures, names) in three informational texts, timing yourself at 90 seconds per question set.
Identify referents of pronouns and demonstratives (it, this, they, the former) across ten sentences.
Complete 30 use-of-English items on tense, articles, prepositions and conditionals, then correct and explain each error.
Form five inference questions of your own from a text and answer them with textual evidence.
Your checkpoint
A 20-item self-made inference quiz with an answer key citing the supporting line for each item.
Written production - guided composition (coherence, cohesion, accuracy, range) & Lexical and grammatical competence (use of English)
Write two opinion paragraphs of 120-150 words using a clear claim-evidence-comment structure.
Apply a checklist of five cohesion devices (reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, lexical chains) and mark each one in your own text.
Rewrite one paragraph to eliminate repetition and raise lexical variety, replacing at least eight basic words with precise alternatives.
Self-assess both paragraphs against a four-criterion rubric (coherence, cohesion, accuracy, range) and score each out of 5.
Your checkpoint
A portfolio of two 120-150 word paragraphs with a first draft, a revised draft, and a scored rubric for each.
Written production - guided composition (coherence, cohesion, accuracy, range) & Reading comprehension - global understanding of a written text
Plan and write one guided composition of 180-220 words in 35 minutes from a prompt, using a five-minute outline.
Draft a reusable structural template (introduction, two body paragraphs, conclusion) and adapt it to two different prompt types: opinion and advantages/disadvantages.
Read two model-style texts and extract three sentence patterns you can reuse without copying their content.
Reduce grammar slips by proofreading your own text against a personal top-ten error list.
Your checkpoint
Two timed 180-220 word compositions written under exam conditions, each with a corrected second version and a list of the errors you fixed.
Reading comprehension - specific information and inference & Written production - guided composition (coherence, cohesion, accuracy, range)
Answer ten inference and attitude questions where the answer is implied rather than stated, and explain the reasoning in one sentence each.
Write a 100-word personal response to a text, agreeing or disagreeing and supporting your view with two reasons.
Practise linking reading to writing by converting a text's argument into a counter-argument paragraph.
Cut filler and vague language from a previous composition, reducing word count by 10 percent without losing meaning.
Your checkpoint
A written response of 100-120 words to one article, plus a marked-up earlier composition showing at least ten deletions or replacements.
Reading comprehension - global understanding of a written text & Lexical and grammatical competence (use of English) & Written production - guided composition (coherence, cohesion, accuracy, range)
Complete one full mock exam under strict timing: reading, use of English and composition in a single sitting.
Mark the mock against the rubric and record a score for each of the four domains.
Target your two weakest item types with 30 focused practice items each.
Rewrite the mock composition in 25 minutes, aiming to raise the rubric score by at least one point per criterion.
Your checkpoint
A completed mock exam with a domain-by-domain score sheet and a rewritten composition showing measurable improvement.
Written production - guided composition (coherence, cohesion, accuracy, range) & Reading comprehension - global understanding of a written text & Reading comprehension - specific information and inference
Complete two further timed mocks and compare scores with week 7 to confirm progress.
Memorise and rehearse a 15-phrase bank of advanced connectors and opinion frames for immediate use in writing.
Rehearse a fixed exam routine: skim for gist, scan for detail, outline the composition, reserve five minutes to proofread.
Review your full error log and confirm that your three most frequent error types no longer appear in your latest writing.
Your checkpoint
A final score report across three mocks with a short written reflection naming your remaining risks and your exam-day checklist.
Milestones
Week 2: Can identify the main idea and author's purpose of an unseen 500-word text in under four minutes and justify the answer with textual evidence.
Week 4: Can write a coherent 120-150 word opinion paragraph scoring at least 3 out of 5 on each rubric criterion, with errors confined to your known list.
Week 6: Can answer implied-meaning and attitude questions with at least 70 percent accuracy and explain the reasoning behind each answer.
Week 8: Can complete a full timed mock within the time limit and reach at least 65 percent overall, with no repeated high-frequency grammar errors.