Spanish 103 exams will cover the material emphasized in class, and be similar to activities done in class and as homework.

We test what we teach and how we teach; no surprises for students who have been attending class regularly, participating actively and completing all assignments!

Each exam will have 4 parts:

Listening comprehension
Grammar activities
Culture
Reading

Listening comprehension

This part of the exam consists of answering questions based on a text that is read by your instructor. The text is read twice.

The format is short answer, (unless specified in the question, you do not need to use complete sentences), multiple choice, fill in the blank, true or false. Often, one longer answer is required to show global comprehension of the text.

Grammar activities

This part of the exam asks you to use structures that you have seen in the unit’s grammar. These activities are often task based; you need to produce something or fill in the blank.

Culture

This section requires you to know the content (it may come from a reading, class activity, movie, etc.) being covered and emphasizes your need to demonstrate cultural understanding. The culture section is answered in English in the Unit 1 and Unit 2 exams and in Spanish for the Unit 3 and the final exam.

Reading

This section of the exam consists of a reading, related to themes from the Unit. You must answer comprehension questions that are: short answer, multiple choice, fill in the blank, true or false. Often, like the listening comprehension section, one longer answer is required to show global comprehension of the text.

Some helpful hints:

Do not try to cram for a Spanish exam. Attending class and keeping up with your homework is your best preparation for the exams.
Be well rested and have some “brain food” in your system.
Use the strategies that you have learned to help you with the different sections of the exam.
Read the listening and the reading questions before dealing with the text. This will give you an outline of the text and also alert you to key words and phrases to be listening or looking for.
Read the questions carefully, if you have any doubts about what is being asked of you, ask your instructor. Pay special attention to whether the question is to be answered in English or Spanish and whether you need to use complete sentences or not.
Watch your time while taking the exam. The exams are carefully written not to be too long; however, we are testing your active knowledge. This means that you need to be able to produce answers in an allotted amount of time.
Keep your writing tidy. Vowels are very important in Spanish, and you do not want your instructor to have to guess whether it is an “a” or an “o” that you are writing.

Please note: the exams are different every semester. All exams are taken in your classroom, except for the written section of the final exam. On the day of the exam, you are to put your chairs in a row, facing the front of the classroom.