Reading and Responding: Comprehension of Written French
Core concepts
Written texts include articles, blogs, letters, advertisements, notices and short literary extracts. You must identify the type of text, its audience, its purpose (informer, convaincre, divertir, avertir) and its tone. Key textual signals: headlines and subheadings, connectives (cependant, en effet, ainsi, donc), quotation marks for reported speech, and typography such as bold or exclamation marks.
Reading efficiently
Skim first for gist and layout, then scan for the specific information each question demands. Underline the words in the text that answer the question and reuse them in your response. Distinguish fact from opinion: les chercheurs affirment que signals fact; selon moi signals opinion. For vocabulary-in-context questions, use the surrounding sentence, not a dictionary meaning in isolation.
Traps
False friends are heavily tested: actuellement (currently), éventuellement (possibly), sensible (sensitive), librairie (bookshop), location (rental), journée (day as duration). Watch pronominal verbs that change meaning: il s'agit de (it is about), se rendre compte (to realise). Do not copy long chunks of the text as your answer; paraphrase and answer the question asked. If asked for evidence, quote briefly in French with quotation marks.
Rule of thumb
For each question, locate the relevant paragraph, find the sentence containing the answer, then write a response that answers the question in your own words. Three steps: locate, interpret, reformulate.