What DELF A2 reading tests
The A2 reading section certifies you can extract information from short, familiar texts — a schedule, a friend’s email, a shop notice, a short blog post. Questions test what is literally stated, not inference or interpretation.
Texts sit within the CEFR A2 topic set: personal life, work, travel, food, health, city life. Vocabulary stays within the ~1500 most-frequent French words. Reading speed matters — 30 minutes for ~500 words plus 20 questions is tight if you re-read every text twice.
Format & the four exercises
| Exercise | Text type | Approx. words | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short practical text (schedule, form, ad) | 80–120 | 4–5 |
| 2 | Personal email or message from a friend | 100–150 | 5–6 |
| 3 | Blog or forum entry (personal experience) | 120–180 | 5–6 |
| 4 | Short informational article | 100–150 | 4–5 |
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How the 25 marks split
Marks are distributed roughly evenly across the exercises, with each question worth 1 or 2 points depending on complexity. Question types you will see: multiple-choice (usually 3 options), true/false with justification quoted from the text, and short-answer ‘quelle information…’ questions where you write a word or phrase.
The true/false-with-justification questions are the biggest trap. Getting true/false right earns no marks unless the justification is a correctly quoted phrase from the text. Guessing without quoting scores zero.
The scanning tactic that saves 10 minutes
The high-return method at A2 is to read the questions before the text, not the reverse. Scan the four questions in 30 seconds, then read the text once with those specific answers in mind. This turns a 30-minute paper into a 20-minute paper and leaves the balance for the harder exercises.
For true/false-with-justification, mark the source phrase in the text with an underline as you read. Do not write the justification in your own words — you must quote a phrase verbatim, and the examiner marks by exact string match to acceptable answers.
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Common mistakes
- Reading each text twice before looking at the questions. Costs 8–10 minutes across the paper.
- Paraphrasing the justification in true/false questions. Only verbatim quotes earn the mark.
- Skipping the shortest exercise. Exercise 1 questions are the easiest marks in the paper — 4–5 quick wins.
- Guessing multiple-choice without eliminating. A2 MCQs always have one distractor that is obviously wrong; eliminate first, then choose.
- Running out of time on Exercise 4. Time-box each exercise at 7 minutes and move on even if incomplete.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is DELF A2 reading?
30 minutes for the whole paper — 3–4 short texts totalling about 500 words and roughly 20 questions. Most candidates who pass in one attempt finish with 3–4 minutes to review.
What text types appear in DELF A2 reading?
Four recurring types: a practical text (schedule, form, ad), a personal email, a personal blog or forum post, and a short informational article. Topics stay within everyday themes — work, travel, food, city life, health.
Do I need to write full sentences in DELF A2 reading answers?
No — short-answer questions accept a word, phrase or quoted expression from the text. True/false questions require a verbatim justification quoted from the text; paraphrasing scores zero.
How can I improve DELF A2 reading speed?
Practice reading French news at A2 level — TV5Monde’s ‘Apprendre le français’ A2 archive and RFI’s ‘Journal en français facile’ transcripts. Ten minutes a day for 8 weeks reliably drops reading time by 20–30% on exam day.
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