The paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of matura essays or writing in the mother tongue in Slovenia and neighbouring countries: Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy. In addition to the matura essay, students can (in Austria and Italy) or have to (in Hungary) write other kinds of texts (e.g. a letter, a newspaper article). Although developed literary skills are a basic goal of teaching literature in secondary school, the comparative part of the matura examination in the mother tongue in Italy and Austria, by offering a choice of different assignments, mean that students can completely avoid any literary theme, and so the examination does not check the students literary skills. Since the matura has a washback effect on what is taught, the absence of literary content can contribute to its diminished importance in school practice. In the comparative part of the Croation, Hungarian and Slovene part of the matura exam in the mother tongue, a literary theme is compulsory.
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