'Interesting', 'unexpected', 'tiring': candidates are divided on the 1st day of the Enem exams and praise the essay's theme

This Sunday (8), the first day of exams for the National High School Exam (Enem), candidates needed to answer 90 questions on languages ​​and human sciences, in addition to writing an essay on the topic "The valorization of the Unified Health System".

g1 spoke to candidates who took the exam at the Catholic University of Pernambuco (Unicap), one of the largest test sites in Recife, located in the city center (see video above). The students were divided on the degree of difficulty of the questions, but they evaluated the topic of textual production as "interesting".

The first candidates left the room at around 3:30 pm. Among them was student Karine Lima da Silva, 18 years old, studying the first period of biology at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), but intends to change to dentistry and, therefore, decided to take the Enem again.

She said she found this year's test more difficult than the 2025 edition, but felt that the essay topic was more "accessible". In 2025, candidates had to write about "Perspectives on aging in Brazilian society".

"I thought there were things from last year that were simpler than this year. The English test, for example, if you don't know the translation, you can't answer. Furthermore, there were questions about the United States' conflict with Iran and a text about Clarice Lispector. Now, from the essay, I liked this year's theme more. I was surprised", she commented.

Arthur Victor Carvalho, 19 years old, is also a student at UFPE, where he is studying his 4th period of electrical engineering. He signed up for Enem this year with the aim of testing his own knowledge. This is the fourth time that the university student has taken the test and the first time since entering university.

"I started taking it as a trainer when I was in the 2nd year. I like testing my knowledge because it's an intellectual test. You have to write an essay, ask questions, so it's something I like to do. I found [the test] tiring, but it was different from other years because, in the first years, I found it more content-based, and today I found it more interpretive. There were questions about the colonial period and philosophers like Hannah Arendt and Socrates", he said.

Regarding the essay, Arthur said he was surprised by the topic and positively evaluated the chosen approach. "I found the topic interesting and it seems to fit in with the current government," he said.

Douglas Ramos, a 2nd year high school student, participated in the exam as a “trainer”. Still not knowing which area he wants to pursue professionally, he considered the test difficult and said he was looking forward to the second day of Enem, next Sunday (15), when mathematics and natural science questions will be applied.

"I found the test difficult, but good to answer. I managed to answer the essay topic, but I found it more difficult than I had imagined. I prefer mathematics and the exact area", he said.

Arthur Victor, Bruno and Evelyn Letícia participated in the 1st day of the Enem tests, this Sunday (8), at Unicap, in Recife — Photo: Mariane Monteiro/g1

Interpretation and writing

Bruno Raéli Barros de Paula, 18 years old, also decided to take the Enem to test his knowledge. He studies geography and does not intend to change his course. For the university student, the test required even more interpretation skills.

"I found the test easy, because it has easy, medium and difficult questions. The easy and medium ones are relatively good to do. It's more of a question of interpretation, if you pay attention, you can answer these questions easily. [...] And the essay, I thought it was a good topic to do. And there is a lot of repertoire nowadays", he stated.

Finishing the 3rd year of high school, Guilherme Lucas da Silva Lopes, aged 18, intends to study biomedicine and took the test for the first time.

"I found this test interesting, but in terms of questions, I found it easy, despite having some with banana peels. I found the topic of the essay very unexpected, but in a way well done because the topic is very interesting. It emphasizes and reminds us all that we cannot try to predict the Enem, the only way to prepare is by studying repertoire from different areas", he assessed.

Evelyn Letícia da Silva Graça, 18, is trying for the second time, after completing high school in 2025. She wants to take an aesthetics course.

"I thought the test went smoothly, the essay topic was also calm about SUS, everything was fine. I was really looking forward to today, the preparation is more or less ready for next week, but I think we can go", he stated.