Enem prioritizes interpretation and current events; candidates from Rio praise the essay topic.

Agência Brasil - The National High School Exam (Enem) emphasized interpretation and current affairs. This was the consensus among students from Rio de Janeiro as they left the campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Unirio), in Urca, in the southern part of the city, after the second day of exams.

 The much-feared essay, worth 3 points for all students taking the exam, also received praise from the candidates. With the theme "Living in a Networked World in the 21st Century: The Boundaries Between Public and Private," most candidates said they developed a good text because it deals with a subject that is part of the daily lives of young people today.

 Student Pedro Vaz, 16, who is in his first year of high school, believes that if he were already eligible to attend university, he would be accepted into law school. “I found yesterday more tiring. Today, the math test was quite logical, and for Portuguese, you just had to pay attention to avoid falling into traps. The essay wasn't difficult because it was a current topic due to the internet. I found it easy.”

 For Silene Firmino, 28, who left school more than ten years ago, the exam wasn't so easy. Even so, she hopes to get into a public university to study business administration. “The exam covered more basic knowledge. It's not so much what you study in school. And after so long without studying, I think I did well on the exam.”

 According to Breno Valverde, 17, those who read newspapers and are aware of national and international political and economic events did well on the exam. He intends to study advertising and took the exam this year as a trial run. “It’s a test about current events and less about memorization. I found it easy. I hope it’s the same next year.”