Language Exams

[Pictureit24]

To anyone out there who is taking a language exam this fall, or who has already taken an exam-- 

 

I've been studying all summer with a tutor, and I already had a pretty good grasp of the language to begin with (I'm taking the exam in French), but I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks for taking the actual exam that were useful for them. I was able to obtain a couple sample documents (approx. 700 words)  that were used by the school in previous exams, and I've started trying to translate them within the three hour time span that I'll be given for the test. It seems to be taking me the full three hours and though memorizing more vocabulary could help, some strategies that others have found useful would be great too!

 

 

[acanthus]

That's absolutely the best thing you can do. I'd suggest mixing up the sample documents as much as you can--one day translate an article about Cezanne, the next day do one about Assyrian architecture. There's a lot of area-specific vocabulary that you won't be exposed to otherwise. Jstor is a good place to filter journals by language. 

 

Also, if you're on friendly terms with your future adviser, consider emailing to ask if s/he could recommend any recent french/german scholarship in your field, and practice translating with something that you'd actually like to read. Make it work for you!