The reading and writing part: 90 minutes, 9 tasks, two bands
4 min read
Reading and writing are one combined 90-minute electronic paper worth 50 points out of 80 — more than listening and speaking put together. There is no standalone reading module, and no standalone grammar module either: it is all folded into a single set of nine tasks.
The paper runs from 10:00 to 11:30, and listening starts immediately afterwards, with no long break.
How the paper is split
| Tasks | Band | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | A1 band | 22 |
| 5–9 | A2 band | 28 |
| total | 50 |
This is the paper's most important property: the nine tasks are not one list but two separate bands, and each band is counted on its own.
The thresholds you have to reach
The marking rule here is the same as everywhere in this exam — 60 per cent of that band's own points, with A1 as a precondition for A2 within the same part:
- 13 points or more out of 22 on the A1 tasks (1–4) — A1 reached;
- 17 points or more out of 28 on the A2 tasks (5–9) — A2 reached;
- if A1 is not reached, A2 is not even calculated.
From which follows an inconvenient but useful conclusion: the A1 tasks are compulsory, not an easy bonus. Someone preparing for "the higher level" and skipping the A1 band can do tasks 5–9 brilliantly and still not be awarded A2.
How the parts combine into a final result is covered in how the exam is marked.
The neighbouring part: listening
Listening starts at 11:30 and lasts 25 minutes, with headphones, and is worth 20 points. It is built on the same logic:
| Tasks | Band | Points | Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | A1 band | 10 | 6 or more |
| 3–4 | A2 band | 10 | 6 or more |
A practical note: listening arrives after you have already spent 90 minutes at a screen. It is short, there is no second chance to replay, and its thresholds are relatively high — 6 out of 10 in both bands. Fatigue costs more here than in the nine-task morning marathon.
It is an electronic paper, so you type
Both reading and writing and listening are sat electronically. That means the writing tasks are typed on a computer, not written by hand.
If you rarely type Lithuanian characters, practise beforehand: on exam day it is an assumption, not an option. Keyboard mistakes are the cheapest mistakes to avoid — avoiding them costs nothing.
How to plan the 90 minutes
There is no officially published recommended split of time between tasks, so we do not offer one as a rule. But the structure itself implies a few obvious ones:
- Do not start with the hardest. The A1 band (1–4) carries the 22 points without which A2 is not calculated at all. Do not leave it for the end.
- Do not sacrifice writing to reading. Both sit inside the same 90 minutes and the same points total — the time you "win" by reading slowly is deducted from writing.
- Leave a margin for review. In an electronic system an unanswered field looks exactly like an answered one; you will only find it if you go looking.
What you will not find here
- Exactly what task 9 is. Its format is not unambiguously published officially, so we will neither assert it nor guess at it.
- The formats of the individual listening tasks. These are not published either; what we can state is the number of tasks, the points and the thresholds.
- Real exam material. Our tasks are built from the official topic areas and task types, but they never reproduce official exam material.
The range of topics is known and limited — the twelve areas of the programme; that is covered in the exam topics.
Where to try it
You can work through the whole format of this part — nine tasks in two bands — in the sample exam papers. Writing tasks with feedback can be practised in the training section. What a whole exam day looks like is covered in exam day step by step. Short answers are on the FAQ page.
Sources
- Exam execution instructions (part durations, number of tasks, order) — https://www.nsa.smsm.lt/for-foreigners/lietuviu-kalbos-egzaminai-uzsienieciams/vykdymo-instrukcijos/
- Results evaluation — the basic–I category (A1–A2 level) exam — https://www.nsa.smsm.lt/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/A1-results-evalution.pdf
- State language exam programme (No. ISAK-209) — https://www.nsa.smsm.lt/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AR_2009-06-12-1.pdf
Last verified: 12 October 2026.
"Lietuvių A2" is an independent exam-preparation website. We are not an examination centre and not a legal practice; we are not affiliated with any institution that organises or recognises the state language exam. Our feedback is practice feedback, not an official exam result. This text is informational and is not legal advice. Check the structure of the parts and the thresholds with the body that administers the exam before your exam date.