Guide for candidates EXAVER 3

General Information

EXAVER 3 is the third and highest-level exam in the EXAVER series of General English proficiency tests developed by Universidad Veracruzana. It is not tied to any specific textbook or syllabus. This exam aligns with ALTE Level 3, which corresponds to the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Candidates at this level are expected to handle a wide variety of transactional situations, even when complications arise. This means that candidates who successfully pass this exam demonstrate an upper-intermediate level of English proficiency.


EXAVER 3 is a paper-based test comprised of three components (Papers).

Anchor Test

At the beginning of the exam, all candidates take an Anchor Test. This Anchor Test lasts fifteen minutes. This test is administered before Paper One and is used to ensure scoring consistency and comparability across different test versions, based on the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CEFR (2001, 2018, 2020).

Paper One: Reading & Writing

This paper assesses your ability to read and write in English at a B2 level. It consists of 57 items and lasts 1 hour and 25 minutes. This section evaluates your ability not only to understand written English but also to produce texts that are cohesive, grammatically accurate, and appropriate to the task. This component is designed to test a wide range of reading and writing skills necessary for functioning effectively in academic, social, and professional contexts. According to the CEFR (2001, 2018, 2020), candidates at B2 level should be able to:

  • Read with a high degree of independence, adjusting reading style and speed to different texts and tasks.
  • Quickly scan texts (e.g., articles, reports, websites) to find specific information and assess relevance.
  • Understand the structure of complex written texts, such as arguments, cause-effect discussions, and problem-solution formats.
  • Use contextual clues and reading strategies to support comprehension, even when encountering unfamiliar language.
  • Interpret a range of text types, including descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive content.
  • Use paraphrasing and circumlocution effectively in writing to express complex ideas.
  • Demonstrate control over grammar, vocabulary, and textual organization, producing clear, well-structured writing.
Below you will find a table summarizing the contents of Paper One:

Paper One (Reading & Writing)
Section Questions Type of item Description Timing
1 1 - 5 Matching EXA2 1 hour 25 minutes
2 6 - 12 Matching EXA2
3 13 - 20 Multiple choice EXA2
4 21- 30 Multiple choice EXA2
5 31 - 42 Word formation EXA2
6 43 - 57 Gap-filling EXA2

Paper Two: Listening

This paper assesses your ability to understand spoken English in a variety of everyday, academic, and professional situations. It consists of 25 items and takes approximately 40 minutes to complete. At the B2 level, you are expected to follow and understand extended speech and dialogue on both concrete and abstract topics, even when the discourse includes more complex reasoning, opinions, or subtle viewpoints. You should also be able to identify main points, supporting ideas, and contrasting opinions, especially in familiar contexts or areas related to your work, studies, or interests. According to the CEFR (2001, 2018, 2020), candidates at B2 level should be able to:

  • Understand the main ideas and specific details in extended discourse, including technical discussions in their field.
  • Follow complex lines of argument and identify reasons for and against particular opinions or proposals.
  • Understand both explicit and implied meanings, including attitudes, intentions, and viewpoints.
  • Recognize chronological sequences in stories or explanations and track cause–effect relationships in spoken material.
  • Understand announcements and instructions in both formal and informal contexts, even when delivered at a regular speed.
  • Keep up with animated conversations between proficient speakers, even if they involve overlapping turns or emotionally expressive speech.
  • Comprehend a wide range of recorded or broadcast materials, such as podcasts, news, interviews, and presentations.
Below you will find a table summarizing the contents of Paper Two:

Paper Two (Listening)
Section Questions Type of item Description Timing
1 1 - 6 Multiple choice EXA2 40 minutes approx.
2 7 - 12 Matching EXA2
3 13 - 18 Multiple choice EXA2
4 19 - 25 Gap filling EXA2

Paper Three: Speaking

This paper evaluates your ability to communicate clearly and effectively in spoken English. The speaking test lasts approximately fifteen minutes per group and is conducted with two or three candidates at a time, depending on scheduling and availability. The tasks are designed to reflect real-life communication in both formal and informal settings, ranging from personal topics to more abstract or professional ones. According to the CEFR (2001, 2018, 2020), candidates at B2 level should be able to:

  • Give clear, systematically developed descriptions and presentations, with appropriate emphasis on key points and supporting details.
  • Communicate complex information and advice, especially related to personal or professional experiences.
  • Develop arguments and justify viewpoints using examples and comparisons.
  • Describe events, procedures, or experiences in detail, clearly marking the relationships between ideas.
  • Express opinions fluently and spontaneously, adapting tone and formality as appropriate for the situation.
Although the interview is conducted in pairs or trios, each candidate is assessed individually. Your score is based solely on your own performance, not on the performance or language use of your partner(s). Speaking more or less than other candidates will not affect your result, what matters is the quality of your spoken English. During the test, you are expected to demonstrate your control of grammar and vocabulary, your pronunciation and fluency, and your ability to interact naturally and effectively. This paper reflects your ability to participate actively in conversations, present arguments, and sustain dialogue with confidence in a variety of situations.

Below you will find a table summarizing the contents of Paper Three:
Paper Three (Speaking)
Part Type of item Description Timing
1 Greetings and introductions EXA2 15 minutes per pair
2 Communicative activity EXA2
3 Extended responses EXA2

In this section you will find a description of the language proficiency level that EXAVER 3 candidates should have based on:

  1. The topics candidates are expected to handle.
  2. What they are expected to be able to do with the language (general functions).
  3. The grammatical structures they should know.

1) Language purpose

Topics
  • Personal information
  • House and home
  • Ecology and environment
  • Daily activities, including work and study
  • Leisure activities
  • Cinema and theatre
  • Travel and holidays
  • Family, friends and other relationships
  • Health
  • Education
  • Food and Drink
  • Clothing
  • Shopping
  • Giving directions to places
  • Language
  • Public and private services
  • Weather
Transactions
  • Contacts with officials
  • Arrangements for accommodation
  • Arrangements for meals
  • Shopping: buying consumer goods
  • Using public transport
  • Using private transport
  • Using information services
  • Visiting public places
  • Using public services
  • Educational services
  • Finding the way
  • Communicating at work
  • Private hospitality

2) Language structures

  • VERB FORMS (includes affirmative, negative and interrogative forms unless otherwise stated) Lexical Verbs
    • Present Tense
      Simple: for states and habits
      Continuous: for present actions and future plans
  • Past Tense
    • Present Tense
      Simple: for past events
      Continuous: for interrupted actions, parallel past actions
  • Simple Future: for offers, promises, predictions
  • Going To (Idiomatic Future): for future plans / intentions
  • Future Perfect and Future Continuous
    Present perfect: recent past, general experience, unfinished past Simple Continuous
  • Past perfect: for narrative, reported speech
    Simple/ Continuous
  • Auxiliary Verbs
    • Non-modal (BE, DO, HAVE): all forms (includes “tenses”)
    • Modal Verbs
  • Other Verb Forms
    • Passive voice structures: all tenses
    • Reported statements and questions using a full range of reporting verbs
    • Conditional structures
    • Gerunds and infinitives
    • Wish/it's time/I'd rather/as if/though
    • Causative have
    • Word order – adverbs and adjectives
    • Adjectives/nouns/verbs/followed by prepositions
    • Prepositions preceding nouns and adjectives
      • Linkers
      • Phrasal Verbs

Summary: ALL USES OF TENSES LISTED

  • PRONOUNS
    • Subject pronouns
    • Object pronouns
    • Reflexive pronouns
    • Possessive pronouns
    • Indefinite pronouns
    • Relative pronouns
    • Demonstrative pronouns
    • Impersonal pronouns:
      • there is / there are
  • DETERMINERS
    • Definite
    • Indefinite
    • Demonstrative
    • Possessive
    • Relative
    • Interrogative
    • Quantitative
    • Identifying
    • Pre-determiners
    • Post-determiners
  • PREPOSITIONS
    • Time
    • Place
    • Distance
    • Direction
    • Origin
    • Arrangement
    • Duration
    • Manner
    • Instrumentality
    • Inclusion
    • Similarity
  • ADJETIVES
    • Color, size, shape, quality, nationality
    • Cardinal and ordinal numbers
    • Possessive adjectives
    • Quantitative some / any / many / much/ a few / a lot of / all
    • Comparative forms of adjectives
    • Superlative forms of adjectives
    • Participial
  • ADVERBS
    • Manner
    • Frecuency
    • Time
    • Degree
    • Direction
    • Sequence
    • Comparative and superlative forms

3) Language functions for EXAVER 3

Candidates at this level able to converse on a variety of topics related to their own lives and experiences, opinions, views, attitudes, emotions and wishes. They are also able to negotiate joint action.
General categories of interaction

  • Giving and getting factual information (identifying, stating, correcting, asking, answering)
  • Expressing and finding out attitudes (agreeing, disagreeing, expressing knowledge, expressing degrees of probability & certainty, expressing and asking about likes, dislikes, preferences and intention, expressing and asking about emotions: regret, sympathy, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, fear, surprise, disappointment, approval, gratitude)
  • Getting things done (suggesting, advising, warning, instructing, asking for help, inviting, accepting and declining invitations)
  • Structuring and repairing communication (asking for clarification, introducing a topic, correcting oneself, summarising, exemplifying, asking for help, paraphrasing, asking for spelling, closing a conversation)
  • let’s para sugerencias
  • auxiliares: can, could, may, must: like + -ing/ ( i like swimming / to swim)
  • there is/are
Some specific examples of interaction
  • language learning
  • personal life/activities
  • possessive adjectives (her/ their )
  • living conditions and household activities
  • professions, trades and occupations
  • education
  • traveling
  • shopping & consumer products
  • eating out
  • social relations

For more information about the language purposes, structures and functions that candidates should expect to encounter in the Exaver Level Three exam, please see below. For a more complete list, please see Vantage and The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (specifically, the descriptors for level B2).

Summary of Functions for EXAVER Level 3 Speaking Test
...

Below, there is a downloadable sample booklet to familiarize yourself with the structure and content of the EXAVER 3 exam (B2 level). This booklet includes a full-length sample test that reflects the actual format and difficulty of the official exam. You will also find the Answer Sheet to practice marking your answers under exam conditions, the Audio File for Paper Two (Listening) to complete the listening section just as you would during the real test, and the Answer Key to check your responses and self-assess your performance. These resources are designed to help you prepare effectively and evaluate your current level of English. We recommend using them under timed conditions to simulate the test experience.



Paper One & Paper Two


EXA2

Content


Paper One
Paper Two
Answer Sheet
Answer Key
Audio

Download

Paper Three


Watch the video below to see a real example of how Paper Three (Speaking) is administered during the EXAVER 3 exam. In this video, you will observe how the interaction unfolds between the examiner and the candidates across the three parts of the speaking component. The video will help you understand the format and timing of each part of the test.


Aviso legal

Todo el contenido disponible en este sitio web (incluyendo booklets de exámenes, audios, información específica de cada sección del examen, hojas de respuesta, claves de respuestas y los videos de muestra del Paper Three, entre otros) constituye propiedad intelectual exclusiva de la Universidad Veracruzana y se encuentra protegido por la legislación nacional e internacional en materia de derechos de autor y propiedad industrial. Queda estrictamente prohibida su reproducción, distribución, modificación, venta o utilización con fines comerciales, incluidos cursos o talleres de preparación ajenos a esta institución, sin autorización previa y por escrito de la oficina del Abogado General de la Universidad Veracruzana. El uso indebido de los contenidos en este sitio web, en contravención a los términos establecidos, podrá dar lugar al ejercicio de las acciones legales correspondientes, tanto civiles como penales, por parte de la Universidad Veracruzana. El uso del material de preparación tiene fines exclusivamente informativos y de preparación individual para el Examen de Certificación de Lengua Inglesa EXAVER. Se recomienda a los usuarios presentar dicho examen únicamente si obtienen un desempeño superior al 80% de aciertos en el Sample Test. Es responsabilidad del sustentante asegurarse de contar con el nivel de competencia necesario, ya que para acreditar el examen se deben aprobar las cuatro habilidades evaluadas (Comprensión y Expresión Oral, y Comprensión y Expresión Escrita). El reprobar una sola habilidad implica la no acreditación del examen. Asimismo, el Sample Test únicamente proporciona información sobre tres de las cuatro habilidades; por ello, se sugiere ver el video de muestra del Paper Three para conocer el formato y criterios de evaluación de la entrevista antes de presentar el examen. Este sitio web y su contenido se rigen por las leyes mexicanas. Cualquier controversia relacionada con su uso será competencia de los tribunales de la ciudad de Xalapa, Veracruz, México. Para cualquier consulta relacionada con este sitio o el contenido aquí publicado contáctenos en exaver@uv.mx.