Read like an examiner

Thirty minutes is not long, and this paper hands you four exercises. Most candidates start at the first word of exercise one and read every line. They meet the questions afterwards, then go back through the document again. That second read is where the half hour disappears.

There's a cheaper order, and this lesson gives it to you. First you'll see the exact shape of the paper and what each exercise is worth. Then comes the reading mindset the task line asks for, and the way a question points at its own answer. A plan for your thirty minutes closes the lesson.

Four exercises, thirty minutes, twenty-five points

Compréhension des écrits is the reading paper. You get 30 minutes and it's marked out of 25. Four exercises share those 25 points, and they don't share them evenly.

Exercise 1 is a matching task worth 6 points. Six short texts sit on one side, six people and their needs on the other. Your job is to attach each text to the person it suits.

Exercise 2 gives you one document and six multiple-choice questions, also worth 6 points. QCM is the French name for a multiple-choice item, and you tick one box per question.

Exercise 3 is worth 6 points too, but the reading is split up. Three separate documents share the six questions between them.

Exercise 4 carries 7 points, the biggest block on the paper. You get one document and five items. The first is a vrai ou faux question, a true or false, and the other four are multiple choice. That true or false item asks for the box only. You don't have to copy a phrase from the text to prove your answer.

Exercise	What's in front of you	Items	Points
1	Six short texts and six people	6 matches	6
2	One document	6 multiple choice	6
3	Three documents	6 multiple choice	6
4	One document	1 true or false, then 4 multiple choice	7

Two more numbers change how you work. Each item prints its own value next to it, and those values run between 0.5 and 2.5 points. So a five-item exercise is not five equal chances, and it's worth a glance before you start.

The paper also has a floor. You pass DELF A2 with 50 points out of 100 across the four papers. But if you score under 5 out of 25 on any single paper, you fail the whole diploma. Reading is the easiest place to clear that floor, because the document stays in front of you and you can go back.

Point d'étape 1/4

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Q1How long does the DELF A2 reading paper last, and how many points is it worth?

• A30 minutes, 25 points
• B25 minutes, 25 points
• C45 minutes, 25 points
• D30 minutes, 20 points

Q2Which reading exercise carries the most points, and how many?

• AL'exercice 1, avec 7 points
• BL'exercice 4, avec 7 points
• CL'exercice 4, avec 8 points
• DLes quatre exercices valent 6 points chacun

Q3Which reading exercise splits its six questions across three separate documents?

• AL'exercice 1, celui des six textes courts
• BL'exercice 2, qui donne un seul document
• CL'exercice 3, qui vaut 6 points
• DL'exercice 4, qui donne un document plus long

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The document was written for you

One general instruction covers the whole paper, and it's printed once at the top. Read it there and you won't need it again. That's different from the listening paper, where every exercise explains itself again and the clock keeps running.

Then each exercise opens with two or three lines that place you in a situation. That short text is the consigne, the task instruction. It might tell you that you're looking for a weekend activity, or that a French friend has sent you this message.

Take those lines seriously, because they change what you notice. A neutral reader comes out of a document with the topic. The addressee comes out with the piece of information they needed.

Here's how concrete that is. Say the consigne tells you you're free on Saturday morning and your budget is small. Two things now guide your eye: the days of the week and the prices. You'll spot them in a text you would otherwise read word by word.

Three facts come out of those lines in seconds. You're in France, you're with friends, and the frame is the weekend. So a course that runs Tuesday at ten in the morning is out before you've finished reading it.

The paper draws on four kinds of document, and it helps to sort them by how directly they speak to you. A personal message is addressed to you by name: an email from a friend, an invitation, a short letter. An instruction document tells you what to do: a notice, a safety rule, a set of steps. A practical document addresses nobody in particular: a menu, an advert, a timetable. You enter it looking for one thing. A short article informs a general reader, and you come out of it with the main point.

Two of those four write to you and two don't. The consigne puts you in the scene either way, and answering from inside that scene is the habit this paper rewards.

Point d'étape 2/4

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Q1The task line of an exercise places you in a situation. How should you then read the document?

• AComme un lecteur neutre qui cherche le thème général
• BComme la personne à qui le document est destiné
• CComme un professeur qui corrige les fautes du texte
• DComme un traducteur qui cherche chaque mot inconnu

Q2Where do you find the general instruction for the reading paper?

• AUne seule fois, en haut de la première page, pour les quatre exercices
• BAu début de chaque exercice, donc quatre fois
• CÀ la fin de l'épreuve, avec les réponses
• DElle est lue à voix haute par l'examinateur

Q3The task line says you're free on Saturday morning and your budget is small. What do your eyes look for in the adverts?

• ALes jours de la semaine et les prix
• BLe nom de l'auteur de chaque annonce
• CLes verbes conjugués à l'imparfait
• DLe nombre de mots de chaque annonce

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Let the questions aim your reading

The questions of an exercise follow the order of the document. The answer to question 2 sits below the answer to question 1, and so on down the page. That one fact turns the question set into a map of the text.

So read all the questions for an exercise before you read the document. It costs you about a minute. Then a single pass through the document, marking answers as they arrive, is usually enough.

The first question is often a general one about the document as a whole. What kind of text is this, who wrote it, what is it for. The questions after it go into detail. Answer the general one from your first impression, and don't go hunting for it.

Every detail question names its target with its question word. Two of them ask about people, and they are not the same. Qui wants the person doing something, while à qui wants the person being addressed. Then quoi wants a thing, quand wants a moment, and où wants a place. Combien wants a number, comment wants a manner, and pourquoi wants a reason.

Two habits save you time here. You never need to understand every word of a document, only enough to answer what is asked. And when one question resists, leave it and move on. Come back at the end, because the rest of the document often hands it to you.

One last thing before you give the paper back. Fill every box. A wrong tick and an empty box both score zero, so a guess costs you nothing.

Point d'étape 3/4

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Q1In what order do the questions of a reading exercise arrive?

• ADans l'ordre des informations du document
• BDe la plus facile à la plus difficile
• CDans un ordre choisi au hasard
• DEn commençant toujours par la fin du texte

Q2A question opens with the words à qui. What kind of answer does it want?

• ALa personne à qui le document est adressé
• BLa personne qui a écrit le document
• CLe lieu du rendez-vous
• DLa raison du message

Q3You're stuck on question 3 of an exercise. What's the move?

• AVous passez à la suite et vous y revenez à la fin
• BVous relisez tout le document depuis le début
• CVous laissez la case vide et vous n'y revenez plus
• DVous cherchez le sens de chaque mot inconnu du paragraphe

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Where your thirty minutes go

Nothing obliges you to answer in printed order. The four exercises are independent of each other, and the examiner marking your paper sees only your boxes.

So start with two minutes of preview. Turn all the pages, look at the four exercises and at the point values, and decide where you'll begin. Starting with the exercise you read most comfortably puts points in the bank early, and it settles your nerves for the rest.

Exercise 4 is the one to protect. It's worth 7 points, it's the longest document, and it sits last on the paper. Candidates who work straight down the pages reach it with four minutes left. Give it eight minutes of real attention, wherever you decide to place it in your order.

Exercise 1 rewards speed instead. You're matching six short texts to six people, so reading each one in full is effort you won't be paid for.

Minutes	What you're doing
0 to 2	Preview the four exercises and choose your order
2 to 7	Exercise 1, skimming for the six matches
7 to 13	Exercise 2, questions first, then the document
13 to 19	Exercise 3, three documents, six items
19 to 27	Exercise 4, the seven-point block
27 to 30	Fill every empty box and check

Treat those minutes as a plan and not as a rule. Move them around once you've timed yourself on two or three practice papers. The last three minutes are the part that shouldn't move, because every empty box is a point you gave away for free.

Point d'étape 4/4

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Q1Must you answer the four reading exercises in the printed order?

• ANon, regardez toute l'épreuve, puis commencez par l'exercice le plus facile pour vous
• BOui, le correcteur suit l'ordre de votre copie
• COui, chaque exercice prépare le suivant
• DNon, commencez toujours par le dernier exercice

Q2Which exercise should never be left for the final minutes?

• AL'exercice 4, qui vaut 7 points
• BL'exercice 1, qui vaut 6 points
• CL'exercice 2, qui vaut 6 points
• DL'exercice 3, qui vaut 6 points

Q3What do you do with the last three minutes of the reading paper?

• AVous remplissez chaque case vide et vous vérifiez vos réponses
• BVous relisez en entier le document le plus long
• CVous comptez les points que vous pensez avoir
• DVous traduisez les mots que vous n'avez pas compris

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