The last 11 days before YDS/2: a study plan, key phrases and the 19 December e-YDS

According to Turkish news reports, the 2026 YDS/2 exam takes place on Sunday 22 November 2026, with results on 10 December (Yeni Şafak, 8 October 2026). Applications for the December e-YDS English session run from 2 to 10 December, and the exam is on Saturday 19 December (Milli Gazete, 6 November 2026). Both sources give the same dates, but check osym.gov.tr before you apply or set off on exam day.

How to spend the last 11 days

1. Don't start new topics. At this point, speed up what you know instead of learning new grammar.
2. A practice test every day, split by section. One day vocabulary and grammar, one day reading, one day sentence completion and paragraph coherence. On Saturday, do a full test.
3. A mistakes notebook. Write down every question you get wrong and note in one sentence why. In the last two days, read only this notebook.
4. Eliminate options. In reading questions, first rule out options that are too general or mention things the text doesn't.
5. Sleep. Studying late the night before slows your reading the next day.

Phrases that keep coming up

• be about to: The exam is about to start.
• in the long run: Memorising lists won't help you in the long run.
• rule out: You can rule out options A and C.
• turn out: The easiest question turned out to be the trickiest.
• account for: Grammar questions account for a large part of the exam.
• as opposed to: Active reading, as opposed to passive reading, improves speed.
• put off: Don't put off your revision until the last night.
• come up with: She came up with a quick way to find the main idea.
• Not only … but also: needs inversion at the start of a sentence. Not only did he study hard, but he also slept well.

Typical mistakes that cost points

• Despite of the difficulty → Despite the difficulty or In spite of the difficulty.
• I am interested in to read. → I am interested in reading. (-ing after a preposition)
• I look forward to see you. → I look forward to seeing you. ("to" is a preposition here.)
• I will call you when I will finish. → I will call you when I finish. (no "will" after a time conjunction.)

Mini exercise

Fill in the gap: If I ______ (have) more time, I would have finished the passage.

Answer: had had. The main clause has would have finished, so this is a third conditional and the if-clause needs the past perfect.

If the exam goes badly

No need to panic. According to news reports, the 19 December e-YDS is the last e-YDS session of 2026, and results come out on exam day. Applications open on 2 December and can close early if seats fill up, so applying in the first days is safer.

If you're preparing for the AGS and YDS as an English teacher, have a look at the AGS + YDS study space.

Sources

• 2026 YDS/2 ne zaman yapılacak?, Yeni Şafak, 8 October 2026
• e-YDS 2026/12 başvuruları, Milli Gazete, 6 November 2026