French reading: answer from the text, in the text's words
The French reading paper — compréhension des écrits — uses real documents: notices, articles, administrative prose, forum posts. A frequent instruction is to justify your answer with a quotation from the text, which is a different task from choosing an option and needs a different habit.
What appears at each level
| Level | Documents | Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| A1–A2 | Notices, timetables, short messages, adverts | Match, true/false, find the detail |
| B1 | Articles, forum posts, practical documents | Multiple choice, short answers, justify from the text |
| B2 | Opinion pieces, reports, longer articles | Attitude, implication, structure |
| C1 | Dense argued and academic prose | Inference, tone, synthesis across documents |
Administrative French — the language of forms, rules and official notices — appears from B1 upward and is a genuine vocabulary set of its own. It is worth studying deliberately.
Justifier means quote
Where a question says *justifiez votre réponse*, an answer without a quotation is incomplete even when the judgement is right. Copy the relevant phrase from the text — not a paraphrase of it.
- Quote the minimum that proves the point.
- Copy it exactly, including accents.
- Do not add your own explanation unless asked.
- Where both a true/false and a justification are wanted, give both — one without the other scores partly or not at all.
Every Compréhension des écrits question type
French Compréhension des écrits — FAQs
2 questions
Quote the part of the text that proves your answer. A correct judgement without the quotation is marked as incomplete.
No. At B2 and above you will not, and the questions do not require it.
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.