HAVO Engels study guide
HAVO Engels · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
HAVO Engels is the English component of the havo (senior general secondary education) central examination in the Netherlands. Candidates are typically havo pupils in their final year who need a pass in English to complete their diploma and to move on to higher professional education (hbo) or further study. The exam is set and quality-assured within the Dutch central examination system, and the College voor Toetsen en Examens (CvTE) is the body responsible for the examinations; CvTE publishes syllabi and information for the central exams in secondary education through its website and linked portals such as Examenblad.nl. Preparation should combine steady reading of authentic English texts - news, opinion, popular science, fiction - with practice in writing clear, well-structured English and in recognising how a text signals its argument. Topics on this exam: Leesvaardigheid (reading comprehension) and Schrijfvaardigheid / taalvaardigheid (writing and language skills). The HAVO Engels study guide has 2 sections and about 750 words.
01Leesvaardigheid: using evidence from the English text
Leesvaardigheid tests whether you can use an English text to answer a question, not whether you can translate every word. HAVO reading tasks cover main idea, details, inferences, vocabulary in context, purpose/tone, reference and text structure. Questions may be multiple-choice or open; the instruction tells you whether to answer in Dutch or English. Identify the question type before returning to the text.
345 words, about 2 min02Schrijfvaardigheid / taalvaardigheid: task, register and accuracy
Schrijfvaardigheid / taalvaardigheid tests whether you can produce a short English text that fits a scenario and audience, and whether your grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation are accurate enough to communicate. A HAVO writing task usually gives a situation, a text type (for example email, letter, article or review) and content bullets. Marks depend on task completion, register, coherence and language control. Treat each bullet as a required content point.
405 words, about 2 min