« Compréhension écrite » (reading): the method

Managing your time

Difficulty rises from one question to the next, and the texts get longer. Handle the first questions (A1 to A2) quickly, in about 30 seconds each, to save time for the B2 to C2 texts, which often take two to three minutes.

Read the question before the text

First read the question and the four options. You then know what information to look for: a date, an intention, an opinion, a consequence. On a long text, this saves you from reading everything twice.

Identify the type of question

• Specific information (« Quand ? », « Où ? », « Combien ? »): look for the exact passage.
• Intention or purpose (« Pourquoi cette personne écrit-elle ? »): look at the beginning and the end of the document.
• The author's opinion (« Que pense l'auteur ? »): spot opinion verbs and linking words (« mais », « pourtant », « en réalité »).
• General meaning (« Quel est le sujet ? »): the title and the first sentence are often enough.

Avoiding the traps

• The option that repeats the exact words of the text is not necessarily correct: the right answer is often a rephrasing.
• Watch the nuances: « certains », « parfois », « en partie » (some, sometimes, partly) do not mean « tous », « toujours », « totalement » (all, always, completely).
• An answer that is true in general but not in the text is wrong: answer only from the document.
• At C1 and C2, spot irony and concessions (« certes…, mais… »): the author's view usually comes after the « mais ».

Never leave an answer blank

A wrong answer does not cost you points. If you run out of time, answer every remaining question, ruling out the clearly wrong options first.

Frequently asked questions