Language 2 (L2) - compulsory written examination
What the L2 written paper tests
The Language 2 compulsory written examination tests comprehension, language control and production in your second language. Tasks typically combine reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary exercises, and a guided writing task such as a summary, letter, article or argument. The paper is not a translation test: it asks you to understand a message and reshape it accurately in L2, using appropriate register and text conventions.
Core rules
- Answer in L2 throughout, even when the question is phrased in another language.
- Use your own words in comprehension and summary tasks; copied chunks rarely earn full credit.
- Respect word limits and bullet points; they define what the examiner wants.
- Identify text type and audience before writing: a formal letter needs different framing from a blog post.
- Leave time to check agreement, tense, word order, spelling and false friends.
Worked example
Source: “The city will plant 2,000 trees along main roads by 2030. Officials say the trees will lower summer temperatures, but residents worry about maintenance costs.” Task: summarise in about 25 words. Model: “The city plans 2,000 roadside trees by 2030 to reduce heat, though residents fear upkeep costs.” Reasoning: keep the agent (the city), action (plant trees), purpose (reduce heat) and concession (residents’ worry). Cut the number of roads and the officials’ attribution because they are secondary. Replace “will plant” with “plans”, “lower summer temperatures” with “reduce heat”, and “maintenance costs” with “upkeep costs”. Count the words, not the ideas. If the task asks for a formal letter instead, the same content becomes a request for information about funding and maintenance.
Traps that cost marks
Copying whole sentences from the source; changing the writer’s stance; writing a summary that is too long or too vague; confusing false friends; using informal contractions in a formal task; ignoring the required format; and answering a comprehension question with a quotation that does not actually address the question.