Order of attack: read the questions first, then skim the passage for gist before scanning section by section — see U11-T2 (Reading Strategies) for the full method, plus the word-attack skills (cognates, word families) that unlock unknown vocabulary.
📋 Once You've Found the Right Section
| Step | What to do | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find the French evidence before writing English | Prevents guessing from English assumptions — if you cannot point to the line, you cannot answer it |
| 2 | Check tense and negatives before committing | AQA regularly contrasts past/present/future and uses ne...pas/jamais/plus to flip meaning |
📋 AQA Paper 3 Question Types — What Each One Requires
| Question type | What it tests | Key strategy |
|---|---|---|
| True / False / Not Given | Whether a statement matches, contradicts, or is absent from the text | "Not Given" means the text does not address it at all — neither confirms nor denies. Do NOT infer; the text must say it explicitly |
| Box matching (person → opinion) | Matching names to statements | Find each name in the text, read only that person's section. Do not carry over details from one person to another |
| Short answer in English | Specific detail extracted from the text | Find the French evidence first, then translate. A precise phrase is enough — do not pad. Avoid copying French words untranslated |
| Grid / table completion | Filling cells with names, times, quantities, opinions | Each row maps to one section of the passage in order. Read column headers carefully — they tell you the exact detail type |
| Translation extract (FR → EN) | Accurate rendering of a marked paragraph | See U11-T3 for the full translation process. Translate meaning, not word-for-word. Never leave a blank |
📋 True / False / Not Given — The Hardest Question Type
Marie adore faire du vélo le week-end, mais elle n'a jamais essayé le VTT.
Marie loves cycling at the weekend, but she has never tried mountain biking.
- Statement: "Marie enjoys cycling." → TRUE — the text explicitly says adore faire du vélo.
- Statement: "Marie goes cycling every day." → NOT GIVEN — the text says le week-end (at the weekend) but makes no claim about frequency otherwise. The text does not contradict OR confirm "every day".
- Statement: "Marie has tried mountain biking." → FALSE — elle n'a jamais essayé le VTT directly contradicts this.
⭐ NOT GIVEN is Not "I Cannot Find It"
"Not Given" means the text is silent on the point — it neither confirms nor denies the statement. It is NOT the answer you choose when you are unsure. If the text mentions the topic but does not support the statement, that is FALSE. Only choose "Not Given" when the topic itself is not addressed.
📋 Distinguishing Opinion from Fact
| Signal type | French phrases | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Explicit opinion marker | à mon avis, je pense que, je crois que, selon moi, il me semble que | The writer is stating a personal view — not a fact |
| Impersonal opinion | on dit que, on croit que, il paraît que, il semble que | A general/reported view — not necessarily the writer's own position |
| Factual statement | Numbers, dates, statistics; declarative sentences with no marker; selon une étude | Stated as objective fact — can be verified in principle |
| Evaluative adjective (opinion signal) | excellent, affreux, remarquable, incroyable, décevant, passionnant | Even without an explicit "I think", evaluative vocabulary signals attitude |
Selon une étude récente, 70% des jeunes Français utilisent les réseaux sociaux chaque jour. À mon avis, c'est vraiment préoccupant pour leur santé mentale.
According to a recent study, 70% of young French people use social media every day. In my opinion, this is truly worrying for their mental health.
- "70% of young French people use social media every day" = FACT — attributed to a study, stated as an objective statistic.
- "This is truly worrying for their mental health" = OPINION — signalled by à mon avis AND the evaluative adjective préoccupant. Even if the writer did not say à mon avis, préoccupant alone would reveal attitude.
📋 Inference Questions — Working Out Meaning from Context
Inference questions appear at Higher tier and ask you to read between the lines. The answer is not stated directly — you must work it out from the evidence available. For contrast markers (pourtant, cependant, malgré) and evaluative vocabulary (malheureusement, hélas) — see U11-T2 (Reading Strategies). Here are two more patterns AQA uses to signal a writer's attitude:
| Strategy | What to look for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Rhetorical questions | Questions the writer answers themselves | "Qui peut vraiment ignorer ce problème?" — the writer implies nobody should ignore it |
| Repeated emphasis | vraiment, absolument, tellement, sans aucun doute | Intensifiers signal that the writer feels strongly |
Elle a passé dix ans à construire son entreprise. Pourtant, malgré tous ses efforts, elle a dû tout abandonner à cause d'une décision injuste.
She spent ten years building her business. Yet, despite all her efforts, she had to give everything up because of an unfair decision.
- Inference: How does the writer feel about the outcome? → Sympathetic/critical of the injustice. Evidence: pourtant (signals contrast — effort did not lead to reward), malgré tous ses efforts (emphasises what she invested), injuste (evaluative — explicitly labels the decision as unfair). All three signals converge on the same attitude.
📋 Attitude and Feeling Words — Higher Tier Priority List
| French | English | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| préoccupant(e) | worrying / concerning | negative — expresses concern |
| décevant(e) | disappointing | negative — expectation not met |
| bouleversant(e) | deeply moving / overwhelming | strong emotion — positive or negative by context |
| épanouissant(e) | fulfilling / enriching | positive — sense of personal growth |
| réconfortant(e) | comforting / reassuring | positive — sense of comfort |
| troublant(e) | disturbing / unsettling | negative — sense of unease |
| rassurant(e) | reassuring | positive — sense of relief |
⭐ How AQA Tests Attitude at Higher Tier
A typical Higher question: "What is the writer's attitude towards X? Give two details from the text to support your answer." You need to identify the attitude AND quote the precise evidence. Naming the attitude without text evidence = 0. Text evidence without correctly naming the attitude = 0. Both together = full marks.
This deep dive covers Once You've Found the Right Section within Reading comprehension: True/False/Not Given, opinion and matching for GCSE French. Revise Reading comprehension: True/False/Not Given, opinion and matching in Reading and Translation into English for GCSE French with 10 exam-style questions and 20 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 2 of 5 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for Reading comprehension: True/False/Not Given, opinion and matching
Lis ce texte. Je m'appelle Léa. J'ai deux frères et une sœur. Mon père est médecin et travaille à l'hôpital du lundi au vendredi. Answer the following question in English. What is Léa's father's job?
Lis ce texte. Je m'appelle Thomas. Le week-end, je joue au football avec mes amis le samedi matin. Le dimanche, je vais au cinéma avec ma famille. J'adore regarder des films d'action. Answer the following question in English. What does Thomas do at the weekend? Give TWO details.