This exam tips covers Exam Tips & Common Errors within Reading strategies: skim, scan and trap-check for GCSE French. Revise Reading strategies: skim, scan and trap-check in Reading and Translation into English for GCSE French with 10 exam-style questions and 15 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 4 of 4 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- Do not answer AQA reading questions from what "makes sense in English" — always find the French source.
- For grid/table tasks: read the column headers carefully before scanning — they tell you exactly what detail to hunt for.
- If a multiple-choice option uses an exact word from the text, it may be a distractor — AQA often includes a word from the text in the wrong answer to catch students who scan rather than read.
- For short answers in English: you do not need a full sentence — a precise phrase is enough. Do not pad.
- Unfamiliar verbs: try removing the ending and looking for a noun or adjective root you know (grandir → grand → to grow; rougir → rouge → to go red / blush).
❌ Common error: Reading Il a raison and translating it as "He has reason."
✓ Correct: Avoir raison is an idiomatic expression — it does not translate literally. The correct English is "He is right." This is one of the avoir expressions that must be learned as a fixed phrase.
Why it costs marks: On a short-answer or translation question, "He has reason" is not acceptable English and shows the examiner that the idiomatic meaning was not understood. The AO2 mark is lost.
Practice questions for Reading strategies: skim, scan and trap-check
What is the purpose of skimming a French reading text before answering questions?
You need to find what time a French event starts. Which reading strategy should you use?