What Paper 2 Reading is: Paper 2 is the receptive-skills paper (Listening + Reading), worth 50% of your SL grade. The Reading section (compréhension écrite) gives you 3 written texts of increasing difficulty — articles, blogs, interviews, drawn from the themes — and it's marked objectively against an answer key.
The rubric you'll meet at the top is: « Répondez à toutes les questions. Chaque question vaut [1 point], sauf indication contraire. » Crucially — unlike Listening — the text stays in front of you, so you can re-read it. The answer is always in the text: you locate it, you don't recall it.
- la compréhension écrite
- reading comprehension
- le texte
- the text (article, blog, interview…)
- « Choisissez la bonne réponse »
- the multiple-choice instruction (choose the right answer)
- vrai / faux + justifier
- true/false + justify with words from the text
- le vocabulaire en contexte
- vocabulary in context — what a word means here
- les mots de référence
- reference words (e.g. « le », « cela » — what do they point to?)
The answer is in the text: In Reading the answer is always somewhere in the text — your job is to locate it, not to recall it. You never need outside knowledge, and because the text stays visible you can always go back and check the exact line.
The reading section at a glance: Here is everything the Reading section asks of you on one page: how many texts, how many marks, how long, and the question types you'll meet. Notice the one big advantage — you can re-read, so you locate the answer instead of recalling it.
| Aspect | Compréhension écrite (NM/SL) |
|---|---|
| Ce que ça évalue | comprendre des textes écrits |
| Textes | 3, de difficulté croissante, basés sur les thèmes |
| Points | environ 40 |
| Durée | environ une heure |
| La consigne en haut | « Répondez à toutes les questions. Chaque question vaut [1 point], sauf indication contraire. » |
| Peux-tu relire ? | oui, le texte reste devant toi |
| Types de question | choix multiple · vrai/faux + justifier · choisir les N affirmations vraies · relier · compléter avec des mots du texte · trouver les mots qui signifient · à qui/à quoi se rapportent les mots soulignés · réponse courte |
Re-reading is your advantage: Unlike Listening — where the audio plays and is gone — in Reading the text never disappears. If you're unsure, go back to the exact line. There is no reason to answer from memory.
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A reliable reading routine: Don't read word-by-word from the start and hope. Use a routine: get the gist, read the question, then scan the text for the line that answers it. Because you can re-read, this is fast and reliable.
Find the answer in the text — 5 steps
1
Survole (skim)
Read the whole text once for the general idea. Don't stop on every unknown word.
2
Lis la question (read the question)
Read the question carefully and underline its key words (qui ? quoi ? quand ?).
3
Scanne (scan)
Run your eyes over the text for those key words or their synonyms — where is this answered?
4
Localise (locate)
Find the exact line that proves the answer. Re-read it — the text is still in front of you.
5
Réponds (answer)
Answer from the text. Where asked « avec tes propres mots », paraphrase that line rather than copy it whole.
Survole → Lis la question → Scanne → Localise → Réponds
Question before text-hunting: Always read the question before you go hunting in the text. It tells you exactly what one detail to look for — so you scan with a purpose instead of re-reading everything.
This is how Paper 2 Reading works: Here is a short text — the kind Paper 2 (Reading) gives you, with the rubric at the top. The text stays in front of you, so you don't memorise it: you locate the answer. Read it once for the gist (tap Voir la traduction if you get stuck), then we'll take a few questions of different types through the routine together.
Une nouvelle bibliothèque: Le lycée Jules-Verne a ouvert une nouvelle bibliothèque dans le centre-ville. Elle est ouverte du lundi au samedi, de neuf heures du matin à huit heures du soir. En plus des livres, elle propose des ordinateurs gratuits et une salle d'étude silencieuse.
Pour utiliser la bibliothèque, il faut une carte. Les élèves du lycée l'obtiennent gratuitement ; les autres habitants paient cinq euros par an. La directrice explique que l'objectif est que toute la communauté lise davantage et que les jeunes aient un endroit calme pour faire leurs devoirs.
- ouvrir / a ouvert
- to open / has opened
- la carte
- the (membership) card
- gratuit / gratuitement
- free (of charge) / for free
- les habitants
- the (local) residents / inhabitants
- l'objectif
- the aim / goal
Finding the answer — three question types
Trois types de question, pas à pas
- Choix multiple — « Choisissez la bonne réponse : la bibliothèque est ouverte… (A) tous les jours (B) du lundi au samedi (C) seulement le week-end. » Localise : « Elle est ouverte du lundi au samedi ». Réponds : B.
- Vrai/faux + justifier — « L'affirmation « Les élèves du lycée paient pour la carte » est soit vraie, soit fausse. Cochez la bonne réponse et justifiez par des mots du texte. » Réponds : Faux — justification : « Les élèves du lycée l'obtiennent gratuitement ». You need BOTH the decision AND the quote.
- Réponse courte / selon le texte — « Selon la directrice, quel est l'objectif de la bibliothèque ? » Localise la dernière phrase et paraphrase : que toute la communauté lise davantage et que les jeunes aient un endroit calme pour étudier.
Locate, don't recall: For a « selon le texte » (according to the text) question, find the exact line that proves your answer and re-read it — never answer from memory or general knowledge. For vrai/faux you need both the decision and the justifying quote.
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Where marks are lost: Most Reading marks are lost not to hard French but to careless technique: answering from memory, falling for a word that merely looks familiar, copying a whole paragraph instead of the part that answers the question, or giving the vrai/faux decision without the quote. Compare the two columns.
Bonnes pratiques
- Locate the exact line that proves your answer.
- Use the text's own evidence (the words are right there).
- Answer the precise question that was asked.
- For vrai/faux, give BOTH the decision and the justifying quote.
- Watch for paraphrase and synonyms — the answer may not use the same words.
Erreurs typiques
- Answer from memory or guess without checking the text.
- Rely on a word that merely looks familiar (a faux ami or a distractor).
- Copy a whole paragraph instead of the relevant part.
- Give the vrai/faux decision but forget the justifying quote.
- Match only identical words and miss the synonym that holds the answer.
Beware the look-alike word: Wrong options are often built from a word that appears in the text but doesn't answer the question. Always check the whole line in context — a single familiar word is not proof.