Reading under time pressure is not a contest to translate every sentence. It is a decision task: find the information the question requires, connect it to evidence and choose the answer that is best supported. A strong method protects your attention so that unfamiliar vocabulary does not control the whole passage.

Scan before you read deeply

Start with the document shape. Is it an email, advertisement, notice, opinion, review or practical instruction? Look at the title, sender, date, headings, numbers and repeated words. Ask what the writer wants the reader to do or understand. This first map takes seconds and gives later details a place to land.

Then read the question carefully. Circle the relationship it asks for: purpose, detail, attitude, cause, consequence, comparison or implied meaning. Two questions may use the same paragraph but require different evidence. Knowing the target stops you from treating every sentence as equally important.

Map the passage in your own words

After each paragraph, write a two- or three-word label in the margin: problem, example, objection, result, invitation. Do not copy a sentence. Your label should describe the job of the paragraph. When a question refers to a detail, you can return to the relevant map point instead of rereading the entire passage.

Pay special attention to contrast and cause markers: cependant, pourtant, en revanche, donc, puisque and en raison de. These words often reveal the relationship the question is testing. A paragraph may begin with an expectation and end by overturning it.

Eliminate before you select

When options look similar, prove them wrong one by one. Eliminate an answer that introduces information absent from the text, reverses a cause and effect, exaggerates the writer’s claim or answers a different question. An option can sound perfectly natural in French and still be wrong. Your evidence must come from the passage.

Be careful with extreme words such as toujours, jamais, seulement and tous. If the passage says that something is common, an answer saying it is universal is too strong. Also distinguish a topic from a purpose. A text about transport may actually be asking readers to complete a survey, not to compare vehicles.

Handle unknown vocabulary

First decide whether the word is essential. If the sentence still supports the answer without it, keep moving. If it is central, inspect its neighbours: examples, opposites, punctuation and word families often reveal enough. Guess the role before the exact meaning. Is it a person, action, reason, evaluation or result? This reduces panic and preserves time.

Practise with a review table

After a practice set, record the question type, your answer, the evidence you used and the reason the correct option wins. Mark whether the error came from vocabulary, a missed connector, careless reading or weak elimination. The same wrong answer often reveals a method problem rather than a language gap.

Use the scan–map–eliminate routine until it feels ordinary. Accuracy comes first; then introduce a gentle time limit. Good reading speed is not frantic speed. It is the result of knowing what to ignore, where to look and why an answer is supported.

Review the reasoning, not only the score

For every wrong answer, write the exact line or relationship that should have ruled it out. If you cannot find evidence, the issue may be careless selection or an incomplete map. If the evidence was visible but the vocabulary blocked you, save the word with the sentence around it. If two options both seemed possible, identify the small word—often a contrast, limitation or time marker—that separates them.

Practise one document type repeatedly, then mix types. Repetition teaches the method; variety tests whether you actually own it. The aim is a calm sequence of decisions, not a lucky streak on one familiar format.

Make evidence visible

When reviewing, quote a short fragment or describe the exact relationship that supports the answer. “It sounded right” is not evidence. If the correct option depends on a contrast, write both sides of that contrast. If it depends on a date or condition, copy that detail into your notes. This habit trains the same attention you need under timed conditions and turns each missed question into a small reading lesson.

With a little repetition, the margin becomes mental: purpose first, evidence second, elimination last.

Keep a time margin

A method should leave a small margin for an awkward question. If every second is spent reading, one difficult item can damage the entire section. Set a checkpoint: after a few questions, ask whether you are still moving at the intended pace. If not, make a reasoned choice, note the question if the format allows it and continue. A calm return to the passage is more valuable than a minute lost in frustration.

Review timing separately from accuracy. A correct answer that took three times longer than the rest is useful evidence for your next drill.