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VWU Vienna · Ergänzungsprüfung Englisch (EPE)

Make your mistakes here, not in the exam room

Practice for the VWU English exam. You answer first. When you miss, Lena shows you the rule right then, followed by another item to use it on.

View plans How the exam works

671: tasks in exam format
29: theory articles
3 + oral: exam parts covered

Try the product itself, right here

The same Theory and Practice tabs you get inside the course. Read the explanation and solve a task right away.

EPE · Editing

The red pen: which word in the line is extra

Tap a word to strike it out, or draw across it. If everything in a line is correct, tap the space on the right: a ✓ appears there.

Step by step · 1/5

In the Editing task almost every line has one extra word: you strike it out and write it on the right. Line 0 is already done as an example. Line 1: “Flights are more cheaper”. Strike out the extra word by tapping it.

Tap the extra word in line 1

Before You Book

At most one extra word per line. 2 to 4 lines are correct.

EPE exam, Language in Use, Editing. Read the text about family, friends and relationships. In most lines (0-9) there is a word that should not be there. Write these words in the spaces provided on the answer sheet. 2-4 lines are correct. Make a ✓ in the space if the line is correct. (5p.)

Practice task

Read the text about health and nutrition. In most lines (0-9) there is a word that should not be there. Write these words in the spaces provided on the answer sheet. 2-4 lines are correct. Make a ✓ in the space if the line is correct. (5p.)Nine Hundred Shift Workers

0A study of nine hundred shift workers was published in Vienna last
1week. Its results were been clear enough to change a rota, the
2authors say. No one's had measured this group over two winters
3before. Almost all of workers on rotating shifts slept forty minutes less
4than those on fixed ones, and the team is convinced about that its
5difference shows in accidents on the road as well as at work.
6The journal has published it all the data without a paywall,
7which is rare enough to be worth a sentence of its own.
8Employers can read the tables before they design the next rota.
9Whether they will ever to read them is a different question entirely.

Theory articles for this exam

Free to read, no account needed.

Language in Use

Word Formation (Wortbildung)

Not every gap asks for a new word: after was, were or had been it wants another form of the same one. The slot names the word class and the number first, the meaning next door names the sign — un-, im-, dis- or -less — and only then does the word in brackets take its form.

26 min

Open Cloze (Offener Lückentext)

You classify the gap before you guess the word: a preposition, a linking word, a helper verb, or half of a set phrase. Many answers are ordinary content words the text supplies; the expensive ones are grammatical, and the nearest neighbour picks them. One word per gap, in the form the sentence needs — and in the official sample key about half the gaps accept more than one.

22 min

Reading

True / False + Justification

One sentence of the text carries the decision, and you find it before you tick anything; the justification is the first four words of that sentence, copied exactly as printed. A false statement is usually built from a single flipped element, and an absolute word like no or everything decides nothing on its own: a doubtful item is settled by the text, never by counting your crosses.

20 min

Multiple Matching

Shared words do not work: a statement is a paraphrase, and the word it shares with one text can sit just as well in a text that does not fit. A statement has to fit whole, and when two people fit, the distinguishing detail decides rather than the closer resemblance. Letters repeat, one person can take several rows, and an empty column is allowed but is a reason to reread the rows you hesitated on.

20 min

Text Production

Blog Comment (Text Production)

Two ways to lose all twenty before quality counts: a text that does not address the task, or one under 110 words. A missing content point caps Task achievement at 2 and leaves the other criteria alone, and from 225 to 275 words length costs nothing. Then what separates a comment from a letter: a you, a question, and an invitation to reply, three different things rather than one repeated.

20 min

The plan before the text

A plan of three lines, one per content point, each opening with the task’s own verb: summarise, reasons, suggest. Each line holds what the task does not — anything copied gets struck — and each carries a figure of about 70 words beside it, so the first point does not eat the third.

30 min

All theory topics

Writing and speaking, marked like the exam

Your blog comment comes back with the four marks the VWU uses. For the oral you get a real topic, the same timing and a follow-up question.

Text Production: a blog comment

About 250 words. An excerpt, marked.

I agree with Samantha that we spend too much time on our phones. Many young people stay online all evening because their friends are there, and nobody wantwants to miss anything. In my opinion, schools should to makemake clear rules. Phones could stay in our bags during lessons, and inon buses people could use headphones.

T task achievement: 4/5
O organisation and coherence: 4/5
R structural and lexical range: 3/5
A structural and lexical accuracy: 3/5
Total: 14/20

A clear opinion and two concrete rules. Next time, check that the verb agrees with nobody and everybody.

Oral: one topic, one stimulus

About 20 minutes to prepare, then about 7 minutes of conversation.

Travel, tourism, means of transport

A crowded beach packed with umbrellas and sunbathers, seen from above.

Two hikers with large backpacks walking towards snowy mountains.

Photos: rowan zomerdijk and Toomas Tartes, Unsplash.

Suggest ways tourists can travel more responsibly.

Oral practice is included in both plans.

Two plans. Oral practice is in both.

The theory library is free, with no account needed: 29 articles, each starting with a task you try before the rule.

Read the free theory How the exam works

€39/ monthMonthly

All 671 tasks and 29 articles
Writing marked on the exam's four criteria
Oral practice included
Cancel any time

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You need 9 points in every part, not just a good total

Three written parts, 20 points each. You need 36 of 60 overall and at least 9 in each part, so one weak part fails the whole paper. Below is an example result.

Written exam · 150 min: Reading, Language in Use and Text Production, 20 points each. Pass with 36 of 60 and at least 9 in every part.
Oral exam · ~7 min: Only after passing the written part. Choose one of two topics, about 20 minutes to prepare, then about 7 minutes of conversation.
Exam fee · €66: Per attempt. The exam is held 3 times per semester.

3 written parts, no listening section.

Full format, dates & fees

Ergänzungsprüfung Englisch · schriftlich

Part	Points	Minimum
IReading Comprehension	14 / 20	9
IILanguage in Use	8 / 20	9
IIIText Production	15 / 20	9
Total	37 / 60	36

Ergebnis: nicht bestanden

Total 37 of 60, above the pass mark of 36. But Language in Use: 8 of 20, with a minimum of 9, so the exam is not passed.

Read before you start

Guides on EPE: exam format and preparation strategy.

All articles

Article · 5 min

The EPE English exam

The score you need to pass, and the tasks that show up on the paper

Read the article →

Article · 6 min

Failed your VWU exam

How many attempts you have left and what happens to your residence permit

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Article · 8 min

The VWU preparatory course in Vienna

What the course is, who needs it, and how to get from application to enrolment

Read →

EPE FAQ

Preparation organised by the parts of the exam, with no topics you do not need: theory and plenty of tasks for every written part, and practice for the oral. Every task comes with its answer key and a note on how to approach it; for the blog comment there is a model answer, and your own comment is marked on the exam's four criteria. Access opens right after payment.

The exam pass (€79) gives 3 months of access from the day you pay and then ends on its own. The monthly plan (€39) runs one month at a time and renews until you cancel it.

The exam pass is a single payment: it never renews and there is nothing to cancel. The monthly plan renews every month; you can cancel it at any time from your account page, and access continues until the end of the month you have already paid for.

Yes, in both plans, with no add-on. You get a topic with material as in the exam, the same timing and a follow-up question.

Three parts, 20 points each, 150 minutes in total: Reading Comprehension (50 min), Language in Use (40 min) and Text Production (60 min). Text Production is a blog comment of about 250 words, marked out of 5 each for task achievement, organisation and coherence, structural and lexical range, and structural and lexical accuracy.

At least 9 of 20 in each of the three parts and at least 36 of 60 overall. Both conditions apply, so 37 points still fail if one part is at 8.

No. The written EPE has no listening section, only Reading Comprehension, Language in Use and Text Production.

No. Dictionaries are not allowed in the written exam or in the oral.

You can only take the oral after passing the written part. You are given two topics from the pool of 10, choose one, and then receive a stimulus. After about 20 minutes of preparation you discuss it with the examiner for about 7 minutes.

An exam can be repeated at most 4 times. The fee for the exam is 66 euros, and there are 3 exam dates per semester.