Reading comprehension
Texts of every kind, from adverts to blogs to literary extracts: the gist, the details and what is implied, answered in English.
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Reading comprehension, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the reading paper works
Both boards set reading as Paper 3, in the same shape: 45 minutes at Foundation and an hour at Higher, for 50 marks. Section A (40 marks) is comprehension: texts of every kind, from notices and adverts to emails, websites, articles and literary extracts, with questions in English answered in English or by ticking, choosing or matching. Section B (10 marks) is the translation into English. No dictionary is allowed.
Read the question first, then hunt in the text
The questions tell you what to look for, so read them before the text. Pick out the key word in each (when, why, which two) and scan the text for it. The answers usually come in the same order as the text.
Use cognates, but watch for false friends
Many words look like their English meaning: la musique, le restaurant, important. Some only look alike: la librairie is a bookshop, le collège is a secondary school, actuellement means currently and large means wide. When a lookalike does not fit the sense of the sentence, think again.
Work out a new word from one you know
Both boards include a few words from outside the vocabulary list, which you work out from their context. Word families help: impoli is the opposite of poli, lentement comes from lent, lavable from laver and réservation from réserver. At Higher, -eur names the person who does the action: a vendeur sells.
Read every word that can change the meaning
Negatives (ne ... pas, ne ... jamais, ne ... plus), time words (avant, maintenant, l'année prochaine) and verb forms all decide what a sentence says. Avant, je jouais au foot, mais maintenant je préfère nager means they used to play football but now prefer swimming.
Weigh positive, negative and mixed opinions
Some questions ask whether a view is positive, negative or both. Weigh the whole sentence: l'hôtel était joli, mais la nourriture était horrible is a mixed view. Mais, cependant, par contre and le problème, c'est que often mark the turn.
Spot what is implied as well as what is stated
Some questions ask what a writer means without saying it outright. J'arrive toujours en retard parce que mon frère passe une heure dans la salle de bains never says the brother is annoying, but it suggests it. Find the words that support your answer, and add nothing the text does not give.
Answer in English, precisely and in full
Write enough to show you have understood, with every detail the question asks for. If a question has two parts, such as what and why, answer both. A phrase copied in French does not show understanding, so put the detail into clear English.
Reading comprehension key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Gist
- The general idea of a text. Skim the whole text first to get it before you look for details.
- Skimming
- Reading quickly for the gist, without stopping on every word.
- Scanning
- Running your eye over a text to find one particular detail, such as a time, a price or a name.
- Cognate
- A word that looks like its English meaning and means the same, such as la famille or intéressant.
- False friend
- A word that looks like an English word but means something else: la librairie is a bookshop and large means wide.
- Inference
- Working out something a text suggests but does not say, or the meaning of an unknown word from the words around it.
- Word family
- Words built from the same root, such as lent and lentement, or possible and impossible. Knowing one helps you read the others.
- Mixed opinion
- A view that is partly positive and partly negative, often joined by mais or cependant.
- ne ... plusHigher only
- No longer, or not any more: je ne joue plus au basket means I do not play basketball any more, so a habit has stopped.
Common mistakes in Reading comprehension
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Answering in French, or copying a phrase from the text, where English is asked.
Questions in English need answers in English, and a copied French phrase does not show you have understood it. Put the detail you found into clear English.
Trusting a word that looks like English, such as reading la librairie as the library.
Check that a lookalike fits the sense of the sentence. If it does not, it may be a false friend: la librairie is a bookshop, and a library is la bibliothèque.
Missing a negative or a time word and giving the opposite answer.
Underline ne ... pas, ne ... jamais, ne ... plus and time words such as avant and maintenant as you read. They decide whether something happens, happened or has stopped.
Choosing the first option that shares a word with the text.
Distractors often reuse a word from the text in another sense. Read the whole sentence around the match and choose the option that fits its full meaning.
Leaving a question blank because one word in the text is unfamiliar.
Read around the word, look for a part you know, and make a sensible guess. The rest of the sentence often gives the answer without it.