Free Practice Questions for Tawjihi Literary Stream

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Key Facts: Tawjihi Literary Stream Exam

120 ILS

Registration fee for regular school students (200 ILS for private-study candidates)

https://www.palcurr.com/minhaj/147

50%

Minimum mark needed in every examined subject; otherwise the result is 'incomplete'

https://tawjihiai.com/help/system/palestine-pass-mark

10 papers

Literary Stream papers in the 2026 timetable (8 subjects; Arabic and English in two papers each)

https://tawjihiai.com/exam-schedule/palestine

74%

Overall 2026 first-session pass rate, West Bank including Jerusalem and candidates abroad (all streams)

https://www.wafa.ps/news/2026/7/24/%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%AB-%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9-2026-150921

40 items

Four-option multiple-choice items per paper for Gaza candidates in 2026

https://felesteen.news/post/184439

The Palestinian Tawjihi Literary Stream is a set of 10 MOEHE papers in 8 subjects, held in June–July with an August second session. Every subject needs 50%, and the fee is 120 ILS (200 ILS for private study). This free bank offers 81 English-language MCQs on Grade 12 Arabic, History, Geography, Mathematics and Scientific Culture as an independent study adaptation of the Arabic-language papers.

Sample Tawjihi Literary Stream Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Tawjihi Literary Stream exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 81+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which poet is regarded as the pioneer of the Revival school (مدرسة الإحياء) in modern Arabic poetry?

A.Mahmoud Sami al-Barudi

B.Gibran Khalil Gibran

C.Badr Shakir al-Sayyab

D.Mahmoud Darwish

Explanation: Mahmoud Sami al-Barudi is considered the pioneer of the Revival (neo-classical) school, which restored the strength of classical Arabic poetry after a long period of weakness; Ahmad Shawqi and Hafiz Ibrahim continued it.

2What was the main aim of Revival (Ihya') school poets such as al-Barudi and Ahmad Shawqi?

A.Abandoning rhyme and meter in favour of free verse

B.Restoring the strong style of classical Arabic poetry

C.Writing poetry mainly in local colloquial dialects

D.Expressing longing for home from exile in the Americas

Explanation: The Revival poets revived the language, structure and vigour of the great classical poets, especially of the Abbasid age, after a period of weak, ornamental verse. They kept the traditional two-hemistich line with one meter and rhyme while treating new subjects.

3Which feature characterises the poetry of the Mahjar (emigrant) school, such as that of Gibran and Iliya Abu Madi?

A.Strict imitation of pre-Islamic odes, including weeping over ruins

B.Praise of rulers composed for royal courts

C.Deep reflection, longing for the homeland and freer forms

D.Use of a single repeated foot instead of the full line

Explanation: Mahjar poets, who emigrated to North and South America, are known for reflection on life and the soul, nostalgia for their homeland, love of nature and a freer, simpler language and form. Gibran's circle formed al-Rabita al-Qalamiyya (the Pen League) in New York.

4Mahmoud Darwish's landmark 1964 poem 'Bitaqat Hawiyya' (Identity Card) achieved international renown primarily for conveying which central thematic stance?

A.Acceptance of exile and of integration into a new life abroad

B.A romantic description of nature with no political message

C.Nostalgic praise of the old Ottoman administration of Palestine

D.Assertion of Palestinian Arab identity and roots in the land

Explanation: Mahmoud Darwish's 'Bitaqat Hawiyya', opening with the iconic refrain 'Sajjil, ana 'Arabi' (Record, I am an Arab), became a rallying anthem of Palestinian steadfastness (Sumud). The poem asserts ancestral belonging, agrarian rootedness ('My roots were entrenched before the birth of time'), and militant defiance against military rule and identity suppression.

5What is the basis of the free-verse (taf'ila) school pioneered by Nazik al-Mala'ika and Badr Shakir al-Sayyab?

A.Abandoning all meter and rhythm completely

B.Keeping the two-hemistich line with one rhyme throughout

C.Writing only in the Andalusian muwashshah form

D.One metrical foot repeated a varying number of times

Explanation: The taf'ila school builds each line on a single metrical foot that is repeated a varying number of times, instead of a fixed number of feet arranged in two hemistichs with one rhyme. The poem therefore keeps rhythm while gaining freedom in line length and rhyme.

6Which nineteenth-century development helped the poetry of the new Arabic schools spread quickly among readers?

A.Printing presses and newspapers

B.Royal courts that paid poets for praise

C.Tribal poetry markets such as 'Ukaz

D.Memorisation by professional reciters

Explanation: Among the factors behind the modern poetic schools were printing, the press, translation and contact with Western literature. Newspapers and printed collections carried new poems to a wide reading public far faster than oral transmission.

7In contemporary Arabic poetry, how does the nationalist trend (الاتجاه القومي) differ from the national trend (الاتجاه الوطني)?

A.The national trend covers the whole Arab nation; the nationalist one country

B.The national trend centres on one homeland; the nationalist on the nation

C.The national trend is written in prose; the nationalist only in verse

D.Both trends deal only with love and with descriptions of nature

Explanation: The national (watani) trend expresses love of and concern for the poet's own homeland and its causes, while the nationalist (qawmi) trend addresses the whole Arab nation, its unity and its shared causes.

8In tashbih tamthili (representative simile), what is the point of resemblance (wajh al-shabah)?

A.A single quality, such as courage or beauty

B.There is no point of resemblance between them at all

C.A composite image drawn from several elements

D.Only the colour of the two things being compared

Explanation: In tashbih tamthili the point of resemblance is a composite image (sura muntaza'a min muta'addid) taken from several elements together, as when a whole scene is likened to another scene. In a single (mufrad) simile the point of resemblance is one quality.

9Consider the verse: 'Wa-idha al-maniyyatu anshabat azfaraha / Alfayta kulla tamimatin la tanfa'u' (And when Death sinks its claws, you find that every protective amulet is futile). What specific rhetorical figure (Isti'ara) is used here?

A.Isti'ara tasrihiyya, because the vehicle is stated and death is omitted

B.Isti'ara makniyya: death is likened to a beast shown only by its claws

C.Tashbih tamthili, because a whole scene is compared to another scene

D.Majaz mursal, because claws are the cause of death

Explanation: In this famous verse by Abu Dhu'ayb al-Hudhali, the poet employs Isti'ara Makniyya (implicit metaphor). He compares death (Al-Maniyya, the Mushabbah) to a ferocious predatory beast (the Mushabbah bihi). The beast itself is deleted from the text, but one of its intrinsic physical attributes—its claws (Azfar)—is preserved (known as Takhyil) to indicate the comparison.

10Which type of simile is 'العلمُ كالنورِ يهدي الحائرين' ('Knowledge is like light, guiding the perplexed')?

A.Tashbih tamthili, because the resemblance is a composite image

B.Tashbih dimni, because the comparison is only implied

C.Isti'ara tasrihiyya, because the topic is deleted

D.Tashbih mufrad, likening one thing to another in one quality

Explanation: Knowledge (topic) is likened to light (vehicle) with the tool 'ka' in a single quality, guiding people, so it is a single simile (tashbih mufrad). Both sides are stated and the resemblance is one quality, not a composite scene.

About the Tawjihi Literary Stream Exam

The Palestinian General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) Literary Stream (الفرع الأدبي) is the Grade 12 school-leaving exam for students heading to law, the humanities, education and the social sciences. MOEHE sets national papers in Arabic, English, Mathematics, Scientific Culture, Information Technology, Religious Education, Geography and History, and each subject must reach 50%. This page is an independent English-language MCQ study adaptation of the Arabic, History, Geography, Mathematics and Scientific Culture syllabuses; the official exam is in Arabic.

Exam sponsor: General Directorate of Assessment, Evaluation and Examinations, Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education (الإدارة العامة للقياس والتقويم والامتحانات — وزارة التربية والتعليم العالي). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

In 2026 Literary Stream candidates sat 10 ministerial papers in 8 subjects: English (two papers), Arabic (two papers), Mathematics, Scientific Culture, Information Technology, Religious Education, Geography and History. Each subject is marked out of 100 and must reach 50%. The first session ran from 20 June to 8 July 2026 and the second session from 15 to 27 August 2026. Papers are in Arabic, apart from English. This bank is an independent English-language MCQ study adaptation of the Grade 12 MOEHE textbooks for Arabic, History, Geography, Mathematics and Scientific Culture. It does not cover the English, Information Technology or Religious Education papers, and it is not an official translation or a simulation of the Arabic papers.

Time Limit

Set per paper in each session's official timetable; in Gaza's 2026 second session, Mathematics, Arabic and English lasted 2 hours and other papers 1.5 hours

Passing Score

At least 50% of the maximum mark in every examined subject; missing 50% in one or more subjects gives the result 'incomplete' (غير مستكمل), and those subjects must be resat

Exam / Certification Fees

120 ILS for regular school students; 200 ILS for private-study candidates

Exam sponsor website

Reported exam pass rate: 74% overall (2026 first session, West Bank including Jerusalem and candidates abroad). Overall figure for all streams announced by Minister Amjad Barham on 24 July 2026 (WAFA). No per-stream rate was published in the sources reviewed, and the Gaza rate was deferred until after the second session. This describes exam candidates, not OpenExamPrep users or results from using our resources. Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

25 practice questions

Arabic Language and Literature (اللغة العربية)

The Revival, Mahjar and free-verse schools, national and nationalist trends, Mahmoud Darwish, literal and figurative language, explicit metaphor, single, representative and implicit simile, diptotes, exclamation, la of absolute negation, i'rab of accusatives, ibdal, the active participle, prosodic writing and the Wafir, Tawil, Basit and Khafif meters.

18 practice questions

History (التاريخ)

Types of war, Yarmouk, Marj Dabiq and the fall of Constantinople, the Frankish wars from Clermont to Hattin and Acre (1291), the triggers and results of both World Wars, Sykes-Picot and the Balfour Declaration, the Algerian revolution, the first Intifada and the 2010 Tunisian uprising.

18 practice questions

Geography (الجغرافيا)

Temperature lapse rate, the Coriolis effect, trade, monsoon, sea-breeze and khamsin winds, convectional and relief rainfall, dew point, Mediterranean, equatorial and tundra climates, renewable energy, earthquakes including Palestine's 1927 quake, desertification and tourism.

14 practice questions

Mathematics (الرياضيات)

Average rate of change, derivatives and minimum values, indefinite and definite integrals, matrix multiplication, inverses and Cramer's rule, exponential and logarithmic equations, arithmetic series and standard (z) scores.

6 practice questions

Scientific Culture (الثقافة العلمية)

Thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers, polymerisation, saponification and how soap cleans, ultrasound in medicine and the energy content of nutrients.

Preparing for the Tawjihi Literary Stream Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: At least 50% of the maximum mark in every examined subject; missing 50% in one or more subjects gives the result 'incomplete' (غير مستكمل), and those subjects must be resat
Assessment: In 2026 Literary Stream candidates sat 10 ministerial papers in 8 subjects: English (two papers), Arabic (two papers), Mathematics, Scientific Culture, Information Technology, Religious Education, Geography and History. Each subject is marked out of 100 and must reach 50%. The first session ran from 20 June to 8 July 2026 and the second session from 15 to 27 August 2026. Papers are in Arabic, apart from English. This bank is an independent English-language MCQ study adaptation of the Grade 12 MOEHE textbooks for Arabic, History, Geography, Mathematics and Scientific Culture. It does not cover the English, Information Technology or Religious Education papers, and it is not an official translation or a simulation of the Arabic papers.
Time limit: Set per paper in each session's official timetable; in Gaza's 2026 second session, Mathematics, Arabic and English lasted 2 hours and other papers 1.5 hours
Exam / certification fees: 120 ILS for regular school students; 200 ILS for private-study candidates Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

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Tawjihi Literary Stream: Suggested Study Strategy

1Study from the Grade 12 MOEHE textbooks: History and Geography are organised by theme (wars, revolutions, empires; climate, resources, disasters, tourism), not by country.

2For Arabic, learn each poetry school with one named poet and one defining feature, and practise identifying simile and metaphor types in short examples.

3Scan verses aloud and write their prosodic transcription so you can tell Wafir, Tawil, Basit and Khafif apart quickly.

4Keep a timeline of the dates the History papers ask for, from Yarmouk (636) to the first Intifada (1987) and the 2010 uprisings.

5In Mathematics, practise matrix inverses, Cramer's rule and z-score questions until each takes under two minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Palestinian Tawjihi Literary Stream?

It is the Literary Stream (الفرع الأدبي) of the Palestinian General Secondary Education Certificate Examination, the Grade 12 school-leaving exam run by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The overall average is used for university admission to programmes such as law, the humanities and education.

Which papers do Literary Stream candidates sit?

The 2026 timetable had 10 papers in 8 subjects: English (two papers), Arabic (two papers), Mathematics, Scientific Culture, Information Technology, Religious Education, Geography and History.

What is the pass mark?

A candidate passes by scoring at least 50% of the maximum mark in every examined subject. Missing 50% in one or more subjects gives the result 'incomplete' (غير مستكمل), and the candidate must resit and pass those subjects.

How much does it cost to register?

For 2026 the fee was 120 ILS for regular school students and 200 ILS for private-study candidates.

Is this practice bank the official exam?

No. The official papers are in Arabic (except English) and are set by MOEHE. These 81 questions are an independent English-language MCQ study adaptation of Grade 12 Arabic, History, Geography, Mathematics and Scientific Culture. They are not an official translation and do not reproduce ministry papers.