Basque PAU English case studies
Basque PAU English · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Basque PAU English test is the English component of the university entrance examination taken by students in the Basque Country who plan to enter university. It is designed for secondary-school leavers and mature or international candidates sitting the exam in Euskadi, and it assesses whether your English is strong enough to follow academic work in a bilingual environment. The Basque PAU English case studies are 5 cases and about 2,379 words.
1Reading comprehension: inference versus literal matching
In a PAU reading paper, candidates read a short article about a municipal recycling pilot. The key sentence is: 'The council's pilot scheme cut household waste by 18% in six months, but only in districts where collection remained weekly; in districts switched to fortnightly collection, waste levels did not change.' The multiple-choice item asks: 'What can be inferred about the scheme?' The options are: A) It reduced waste in every district.
471 words, about 2 min2Grammar: agreement, inversion and proximity under exam conditions
In the grammar section of a Basque PAU English paper, candidates must rewrite three sentences so that they mean the same, with a maximum of five words changed. The mark scheme awards 1 point for a fully correct rewrite and 0.5 for a version that preserves meaning but contains a grammatical error; 0 for a change of meaning.
502 words, about 3 min3Composition: short script, clear opinion, weak range
A PAU writing task asks for 120–150 words on: 'Some secondary schools ban mobile phones during the school day. Do you agree?' A candidate writes 82 words: 'Nowadays mobile phones are very important for young people.
495 words, about 2 min4Listening: self-correction, repair and negation
In a PAU listening task, the recording is played twice. The relevant extract says: 'The workshop is on Thursday - sorry, Friday - at ten.
446 words, about 2 min5Word formation: economic or economical?
In a PAU vocabulary task, candidates complete a text by changing the word in brackets. The text concerns a town's energy plan.
465 words, about 2 min