Written examinations: the Language 3 paper
What the L3 written paper tests
The European Baccalaureate Language 3 written examination is a timed, unseen paper. It assesses three connected competences: reading comprehension, controlled language use, and written production. Tasks are set against the European Schools' L3 syllabus and the Baccalaureate assessment criteria, so they reward communicative performance rather than memorised content. You may have to understand an authentic or adapted text, manipulate grammar and vocabulary in context, and produce a text for a specified audience.
Core rules and concepts
- Task achievement: identify the text type (article, email, report, letter, essay), audience, purpose, and register. A formal letter and a peer blog post need different openings, pronouns, and connectors.
- Reading: separate main idea from detail and recognise attitude, implication, and organisation. Base answers on the text, not on general knowledge.
- Language: use a range of structures you control. Accuracy matters, but so does range: a short, correct text with only simple sentences may score lower than a slightly ambitious text that communicates clearly.
- Organisation: plan before writing. A five-minute outline saves rewriting. Use paragraphs with topic sentences and linking words.
- Word limit: stay within it. Too short usually means underdeveloped content; too long can signal poor task management and adds chances for error.
Worked example
Prompt: “Your school magazine has asked for an article on whether learning a third language is worth the effort. Write 250–300 words.” Reasoning: the text type is an article for peers, so the register is semi-formal and engaging, not a formal essay. The purpose is to persuade and inform. Required content: a clear position, at least two benefits with examples, a counterargument, and a conclusion. A workable outline is: title and hook; benefit one (cognitive flexibility, with a personal example); benefit two (career and mobility); acknowledgement of difficulty; qualified recommendation. Use present simple for general claims, present perfect for experience, and conditionals for hypothetical benefits. Check the draft against the prompt: Does it sound like an article? Is the position clear? Are paragraphs linked? Are articles, prepositions, and verb forms consistent?
Traps that cost marks
- Writing a memorised essay that only partly fits the prompt.
- Copying sentences from the reading passage instead of paraphrasing.
- Mixing registers: slang in a formal letter, or stiff formulas in an informal email.
- Ignoring the word limit or writing one long paragraph.
- Choosing advanced structures that produce frequent errors when simpler ones would communicate better.
- Leaving no time to check agreement, tense consistency, and spelling.