Exams on the 1st day of Enem 2026 — Photo: Bruna Araújo/MEC
The Federal Constitution of 1988, the history of the creation of the Unified Health System (SUS) and the Covid-19 pandemic are some examples of sociocultural repertoire that could be used by candidates when writing the National High School Exam (Enem) 2026, applied last Sunday (8).
The chosen theme was “Valuing the Unified Health System (SUS) as a universal right”.
According to writing teachers interviewed by g1, the challenge was to relate historical, social and cultural references to the importance of the public health system and the obstacles that still hinder its appreciation.
One of the references most directly related to the subject is the 1988 Constitution, which established health as a right for all and a duty of the State.
Article 196 even appeared among the motivating texts presented to students.
The legislation could be used to discuss the distance between the right guaranteed by the Constitution and the difficulties faced by part of the population in accessing health services.
However, simply reproducing the content of the collection would not be enough to demonstrate mastery of the sociocultural repertoire.
Another possible path would be to address the history of the Brazilian Health Reform, a movement that helped lay the foundations for the creation of the SUS.
The reference would make it possible to show how access to healthcare is no longer mainly associated with social security contributions and has come to be recognized as a right for all Brazilians.
The Covid-19 pandemic could also serve as a repertoire. In this case, candidates could highlight the role of the SUS in vaccination and in dealing with the health emergency, relating these services to the importance of strengthening the public health structure.
For Daniela Toffoli, Writing professor at the Anglo Course, at Cogna Educação, there were two main ways to develop the argument: the lack of adequate funding for the system and the lack of knowledge on the part of the population about the services offered by the SUS.
According to her, the word “valuation”, present in the statement, already indicated that students needed to identify a problem.
Thus, it would be possible to discuss both resource limitations and the lack of information and stigma associated with public care.
Care was taken, however, not to transform the text into a simple list of public health problems.
The professor emphasizes that the candidate also needed to address the universal nature of the SUS, relating the arguments to guaranteeing access to healthcare for the entire population.
Beware of 'forced' repertoire
Although references such as the Constitution and the pandemic are directly related to the topic, teachers emphasize that it is not enough to mention historical events, laws or known concepts to guarantee a good assessment.
The sociocultural repertoire is considered in Competency 2 of the writing, which assesses, among other aspects, the ability to mobilize knowledge from different areas to develop the proposed theme.
In the 2026 booklet, the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep) once again warned about the so-called “pocket repertoires”: references memorized and used in a generic way, without an effective connection with the subject discussed.
To be used well, the sociocultural repertoire needs to be integrated into the argument.
It is not enough to quote a law, a historical event, a book or a well-known phrase: it is necessary to explain how this reference relates to the topic and contributes to defending the point of view presented.
In practice, some precautions help to make the repertoire more relevant for writing:
Present the reference: correctly identify the law, historical event, work or concept used. In the case of SUS, for example, it would be possible to mention the 1988 Federal Constitution, which recognized health as a right for everyone.
Explain its meaning: contextualize the information, demonstrating that the candidate understands its importance. When citing the Constitution, for example, it would be necessary to explain what it means to guarantee universal access to health.
Relate to the argument: show how the reference helps to support the idea defended. The student could discuss, for example, the distance between the right provided for in the Constitution and the difficulties faced by the population in accessing certain services.
Develop your own analysis: use the reference as a starting point for reflection, and not just as isolated information. The Covid-19 pandemic, for example, could serve to discuss the importance of the public health structure and vaccination.
Avoid generic or forced citations: mentioning a work or a famous thinker just to demonstrate knowledge does not guarantee a good argument. The reference needs to have a clear relationship with the subject and add something to the discussion.
