EPD Exam Theory

Grammar rules, reading strategies, and essay writing tips for the Ergänzungsprüfung Deutsch.

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Reading Strategies

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How the EPD exam works

Quick check: where should you start?

Task 1, Reading: to come
Task 2, Reading: to come
Task 3, Reading: to come
Task 4, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 5, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 6, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 7, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 8, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 9, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 10, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 11, Structures and vocabulary: to come
Task 12, Structures and vocabulary: to come

Short tasks at exam level, one at a time. Your answers show which articles to read first.

12 tasks · about 10 minutes · after each one: why, and where to read

Listening, writing and the oral exam are not part of this check.

Reading
Structures and vocabulary

Part A

Reading

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Reading Strategies

Three reading strategies (skimming, scanning, intensive reading) and how to apply them to each EPD reading task type.

20 min3 drills

True/False Strategy

How to solve True/False/Not in the Text tasks in the EPD reading section: distinguishing the three categories, locating the matching text passage, and writing a correct Belegsatz.

20 min3 drills

Parallel Text Strategy

Five steps to the parallel-text task: the pronouns, connectors and topic words around the gap lead you to the option that fits.

20 min3 drills

Word Meaning in Context

Three tools for inferring the meaning of unknown words from context: word formation analysis, signal words, and internationalisms.

20 min3 drills

Gap-Fill Strategy

A five-step method for gap-fill tasks with a word bank: understand the text, sort the word bank, check grammar, fill the confident gaps first, then verify meaning and watch for distractors.

25 min3 drills

Part B

Listening

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Listening Strategies

A three-phase strategy for listening comprehension: preparation, selective listening and reviewing your answers.

20 min3 drills

Listening Task Types

The three task types in the EPD listening comprehension section: single choice, short answers and completing notes, with a strategy for each.

15 min

Ö1 as the Source of the Hörtexte

The EPD listening texts come from the Ö1 radio schedule: how a radio feature is built, which programmes match the exam format and how to practise with them.

20 min2 drills

Part C

Structures and vocabulary

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Subordinate Clauses

The conjunctions and verb placement of the seven subordinate-clause types tested by the EPD in sentence transformation tasks.

35 min8 drills

Passive Voice

Vorgangspassiv and Zustandspassiv: formation in all tenses, active-to-passive transformation, passive alternatives

25 min3 drills

Infinitive Constructions

The three infinitive constructions um...zu, ohne...zu and (an)statt...zu, the placement of zu, and which verbs take zu and which do not.

30 min5 drills

Participial Attributes

Partizip I and Partizip II used as attributes before the noun: formation, extension with further clause elements, and the transformation between relative clause and participial attribute.

35 min2 drills

Nominalization

Noun suffixes and their articles, agent nouns in -er/-in, and converting subordinate clauses into noun phrases with the right preposition and case.

35 min4 drills

Verbalization

The correspondence table from preposition to conjunction, the anteriority rule with "nachdem", and resolving participial attributes into relative clauses.

35 min4 drills

Connectors

Four connector types (coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, two-part connectors) and their effect on word order.

25 min4 drills

Relative Clauses

Forming relative pronouns from gender, number and case, relative clauses with a preceding preposition, and the wo/was substitutes.

30 min5 drills

Subjunctive II

Forms and uses of Konjunktiv II: the würde-construction and dedicated forms for sein, haben, and modal verbs, unreal conditional sentences, polite requests, and the past double-infinitive construction.

30 min2 drills

Modal Verbs

Meaning distinctions between the modal verbs, present and simple-past conjugation, subjective versus objective use, and the double infinitive in the perfect tense.

30 min5 drills

Adjective Declension

Weak and strong adjective endings, three tables, and the one-signal rule.

30 min4 drills

Case Usage

The four cases, verbs and prepositions with a fixed case, and the two-way prepositions that switch between accusative and dative.

25 min6 drills

Part D

Writing

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Writing: Structure

How to structure an argumentative EPD essay: introduction, main body and conclusion, word count, handling counterarguments, and the key useful phrases (Redemittel).

30 min1 drill

Useful Phrases

Fixed German phrases for the introduction, argumentation and conclusion of the EPD Textproduktion, with worked examples and a B2 versus C1 comparison.

30 min6 drills

Chart Description

The four-part structure of a graph description: introduction, description, interpretation and comment, with vocabulary for trends, approximation and comparisons.

30 min3 drills

Topic Vocabulary

Vocabulary for five of the ten EPD topic areas (education, environment, work, health, digitalisation), with collocations, false friends and word families.

30 min3 drills

Oral exam

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Monologue: Structure & Tips

The three-part structure for the oral EPD monologue: timing, transition phrases, what to do when ideas run out, and how examiners score the presentation.

20 min1 drill

Discussion Strategies

Fixed phrases for agreement, polite disagreement, stating opinions, buying time, and steering the conversation in the EPD oral discussion.

25 min2 drills

Assessment Criteria

What the official EPD exam model actually says about the oral exam: it publishes no criteria grid, only a description of what you should show, plus the commission, the dictionary, the exam format, our four practice categories and a checklist.

20 min

Go to the EPD exercises