Ergänzungsprüfung Deutsch (EPD) in Vienna: a sample exam with tasks and solutions

The easiest way to see what to prepare for in the EPD, the German exam for admission to Vienna's universities, is through the tasks themselves. Here you'll find one task from each part of the written exam, each solved step by step. All of them come from our practice exam Übungsprüfung Neues Format 1, which is built on the VWU's official model and open for free.

Parts of the EPD written exam

You pass the written part if you score at least 45 of 75 points and don't fall below the minimum in any part. Dictionaries and electronic devices are not allowed.¹

Leseverstehen: a gap-fill text

You read two or three texts. The official model shows more task types than fit into one exam. The real exam picks several of them, worth 20 points together: gap-fill texts, true or false with a supporting sentence, multiple choice, short answers, matching.¹

Our practice exam opens with a gap-fill text and a word box. The instruction reads: „Fügen Sie aus dem Wortkasten die passenden Wörter in den Text ein. Verwenden Sie jedes Wort nur einmal. Es gibt mehr Wörter als Lücken.“ Here is the first gap.

„Dass dieser ___(1) an Schlaf weitreichende Konsequenzen für die Gesundheit haben kann …“

The word box includes Bedürfnis, Folgen, Mangel, Risiko, Unterschied and Zusammenhang, among others.

Read the whole sentence, not just the words next to the gap. After „dieser“ you need a masculine singular noun, and it has to go with „an Schlaf“. Bedürfnis and Risiko are neuter, Folgen is plural, and Unterschied and Zusammenhang don't go with „an Schlaf“. That leaves Mangel: „der Mangel an etwas“, a lack of something.

Hörverstehen: one answer out of three

There are two audio texts, and each is played twice. Before the recording you have 90 seconds to read the task, and after the second listening another 60 seconds to check. There are three task types: choosing one answer out of three, a short answer of no more than five words, and notes where each gap takes one word.¹

The exam plays broadcasts from the radio station Ö1, while our practice exams use our own recordings built on the same pattern. Task 3 of the practice exam begins: „Zuerst haben Sie 90 Sekunden Zeit, um die Aufgabe zu lesen. Dann hören Sie den Text zweimal.“ Its first item goes like this.

„Aus der Zahl von etwa 14 Prozent schließt Dr. Huber, dass ...“

a) Unternehmen reines Homeoffice nur sehr selten erlauben.

b) viele Tätigkeiten doch Präsenz vor Ort erfordern.

c) die meisten im Homeoffice eine Mischform bevorzugen.

In the 90 seconds, note how the three options differ from each other. On the first listening, follow the conclusion the speaker draws from the number, not the number itself. On the second, check that the option you chose was said in full, not just one word of it. The correct answer is c. How to prepare for this section is covered in detail in the article on listening.

Strukturen und Wortschatz: finishing a sentence

This part has exactly two tasks. The first asks you to rewrite a nominal construction as a subordinate clause, and you can try it with a check in the EPD overview, which has an item from the same practice exam.

In the second task you complete three sentence openings. The instruction says plainly how they are scored: „Sie erhalten für einfache Sätze 2 Punkte, für komplexere Sätze 3 Punkte.“ With simple correct sentences you can get no more than 6 of the 9 points here. An example from the practice exam shows the difference:

• „Obwohl es stark regnete, ging sie trotzdem spazieren. (2 Punkte)“
• „Obwohl es stark regnete, ging sie trotzdem spazieren, weil sie frische Luft brauchte und den ganzen Tag drinnen gewesen war. (3 Punkte)“

The practice exam's answer key explains the difference like this: a simple continuation earns 2 points, and 3 points go to a continuation extended with a reason or additional information.

Textproduktion: an argumentative text

You write a text of 230–250 words and choose one of two tasks: a text extract or a chart. Both ask for the same three steps: briefly sum up the main point in your own words, take a position and justify it, and propose measures and justify those too.¹

In our practice exam the first task is about the four-day working week. Its three points read:

• „(1) Geben Sie kurz die zentrale Aussage des Textausschnitts in eigenen Worten wieder.“
• „(2) Nehmen Sie zu der Aussage Stellung. Begründen Sie Ihre Meinung mit sachlichen Argumenten.“
• „(3) Schlagen Sie ein Arbeitszeitmodell vor, das sowohl die Bedürfnisse der Beschäftigten als auch die der Unternehmen berücksichtigt. Begründen Sie Ihren Vorschlag.“

The second task, the one with the chart, carries a separate warning: „(Achtung: Eine detaillierte Beschreibung der Grafik ist nicht gefragt!)“ The chart is a prompt for arguments, and you don't need to describe it in detail. What earns points in the writing is shown in the criteria table in the EPD overview.

How to work through the EPD practice exams

1. Do Übungsprüfung Neues Format 1 in full in 180 minutes, without a dictionary or phone.
2. Check each part against its minimum, not just the total: a single part below its minimum fails the whole written exam.
3. Build up your weak part in the EPD trainer, where tasks are sorted by part and type.
4. Do Übungsprüfung Neues Format 2 and compare each part with your first attempt.

When the sessions take place and how to register is covered in the article on dates and registration.

Sources

· 1 checked 23.09.2026

1. 1Modell Ergänzungsprüfung Deutsch (gültig ab Juni 2026)