Today was the first part of the National Danish Exam called Prøve i Dansk 3. In other words, the final stretch for many of us with Prøve i Dansk 3. While my mind is still fresh, I wanted to share my review of it, so that you know what may be ahead of you in future PD3 exams.

Please note that below feedback is based on my personal experience of the exam. If you feel like sharing your own feedback about your experience in learning Danish in Denmark, you are very welcome to contact me. I will gladly feature you on the blog!

NB: I will be using the abbreviation PD3 for “Prøve i Dansk 3”.

Welcome to Prøve i Dansk 3 – Written Exam Review!

Exam expectations

We trained a lot in module 5, so I was ready for this final exam. I did my very best to use the given time in the best way possible. Proof reading is very important, so you need to allow yourself a fair amount of time to make sure you triple checked all your inversions, modal verbs, singular/plural, expressions, tenses, etc.

I think the topics and exercises this spring 2018 were interesting and not so difficult compared to previous PD3 exams we trained on. Funny enough I felt after the exam that this was by far my best written performance of PD3. Some students in my group felt the same. We did not have the same difficulties along the exam, I felt part 2 was tougher, where others struggled more in part 1.

But before getting too excited, let’s see what my grade will be when I get the results

Exam on the day

You need to be there 15 min before exam time. Your school will make sure that you get reminders before the exam, so no stress.

Must-have on the day of the exam:

What you can expect in regards to the layout of the exam:

ID Check: you will enter the room, get your ID checked and then find your table. I passed the exam at Studieskolen and we shared a table with another student. It was separated by a large piece of carton, which gives you privacy and really helps to focus.

Phone: our phones had to be switched off and put in an enveloppe where you write your name on it. They are kept safely and given back at the end of the exam.

Managing your time: the examiners gave us the beginning time and said when it was over, after each exercise. They will not tell you how much is left, it is up to you to check the remaining time. They did write on a board what was the starting time, so we could check it at anytime.

Toilet break: you can obviously go to the toilets, but an examiner will come with you.

Finishing early: for those who finished the written assignment early, it was possible to get out. However it was not possible to get out from 15 min until the final time. This was done to keep the room quiet and allow everyone to finish their assignment in silence.

Exam overview

The exam was in 3 parts which were as follows:

– Part 1 (25 min): Reading exercise where you have a booklet and need to answer questions relating to sections of the booklet

– Part 2 (65 min): Reading exercises where you are given 2 texts with questions to answers (multiple choice). You are also given a fill in the blank text

– Part 3 (2h30): You have the written assignment where you get an e-mail and have to write a response. The other section is the heaviest one, with a choice between describing statistics or argumentation. Dictionaries are allowed in this part.

This structure followed exactly what we trained for in class, so there was no surprise there. The exam pressure and time can play with your nerves and concentration, so this is where you need to stay focused and not be overwhelmed.

My impression of the written exam

Personally, the written exam was the one I feared the most, because of grammar which has been my weakness throughout all the modules. I come out stronger of this exam and regained a lot of confidence. If you studied consistently, read and wrote your assignments pre-PD3 exam, then fear not. You are well armed and you can do it!

Coming up this summer..

I will share my review of the oral exam in June, once I am done with it.
Following this review, expect more posts with a lot of online material to prepare the written and oral exams! Stay tuned

Have you taken Prøve i Dansk 3 recently and want to share your feedback? I would be delighted to feature you on the blog, feel free to get in touch!

The post Prøve i Dansk 3 – Review of the written exam appeared first on Learn Danish.