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Cheat sheet
B2 exam skills: cheat sheet
The summary, key terms and the trap to avoid for every lesson, in order. Print it, or read it, cover it, and say it back.
- DELF B2 writing: 1 hour, one text of at least 250 words (B1 asks for at least 160). Each paper is marked out of 25.
- Our practice method: about 10 minutes to plan, about 40 to write, about 10 to check.
- Plan: introduction with a thesis, two or three arguments with examples, a counter-argument with concession, a conclusion.
- Concession: certes… mais…, bien que + subjunctive, même si + indicative, néanmoins.
- Consequence: par conséquent, c'est pourquoi, donc, si bien que.
- In a formal letter, keep to vous, a neutral register and a polite opening and closing.
- une thèse
- a thesis, the position you defend
- un argument
- an argument
- un contre-argument
- a counter-argument
- une concession
- a concession, admitting a point
- certes… mais…
- admittedly… but…
- bien que + subjonctif
- although
- néanmoins
- nevertheless
- par conséquent
- as a result
- c'est pourquoi
- that is why
- les grandes enseignes
- big chain stores
- le repos dominical
- Sunday rest
Watch out: Using the indicative after bien que: wrong: bien qu'elle est pratique. Say bien qu'elle soit pratique: bien que and quoique always take the subjunctive, while même si takes the indicative (même si elle est pratique).
- DELF B2 speaking: 20 minutes after 30 minutes' preparation, in two parts: monologue suivi and exercice en interaction (B1: 15 minutes, three parts).
- Our practice method for a talk: issue, plan, arguments with examples, a limit, a conclusion.
- Our practice method for a debate: agree, concede, object, ask for clarification, keep the floor.
- Use notes as a map, not a script, so you can react to what you hear.
- Object politely with a reason: Je ne suis pas convaincu(e), parce que…
- un monologue suivi
- a sustained talk on your own (part 1)
- un exercice en interaction
- an interaction exercise (part 2)
- Je commencerai par…
- I will begin with…
- Je vous rejoins
- I agree with you
- C'est vrai, mais…
- that is true, but…
- Qu'entendez-vous par là ?
- what do you mean by that?
- Pourriez-vous préciser ?
- could you be more specific?
- Si vous me permettez
- if you will allow me
- être favorable à
- to be in favour of
- à condition de + infinitif
- provided that you…
Watch out: Reading out a script, or reciting arguments as a list with no links between them. The result sounds like a lecture, and it falls apart as soon as the other person says something unexpected. Use your notes as a map, and link your arguments with premièrement, de plus, néanmoins.
- DELF B2 reading: 1 hour, 2 exercises. Each paper is marked out of 25.
- Skim the structure first: title, opening lines, the first sentence of each paragraph, the end.
- Find the thesis and its nuance: the writer's view is often at the end, in a few words like pourtant or il serait trop simple.
- Track who says what: selon, affirme, reconnaît and the conditional keep a claim at a distance.
- Separate fact from opinion, and deduce unknown words from the context.
- Our timing method: skim each text first, answer in order, mark and return to hard questions.
- un bilan
- an overall assessment, a result
- affirmer
- to state, to claim
- prétendre
- to claim (with doubt)
- reconnaître
- to admit
- selon / d'après
- according to
- toutefois
- however, nevertheless
- ce n'est pas tant… que…
- it is not so much… as…
- un emplacement
- a space, a spot
- séduire
- to appeal to
- un engin
- a vehicle, a machine
- reste à savoir si…
- it remains to be seen whether…
Watch out: Reading the first quoted voice as the writer's view. The mayor speaks first and with the most confidence, but the journalist's own thesis comes at the end, in the part with no quotation marks. Another trap is treating a selon… claim as a fact: a writer who is sure of a fact usually states it without attributing it.
- DELF B2 listening: 30 minutes, 2 exercises. Each paper is marked out of 25.
- Predict first: read the questions and guess the topic words and positions.
- Take notes in symbols: one line per speaker, with + − ±, = ≠ and →.
- Positions have nuance: listen for pas sans conditions, mais, dans une certaine mesure.
- Attitude lives in tone and word choice: c'est un joli mot, mais… is polite scepticism.
- Check at the end: has anyone changed position or agreed on a step?
- la gratuité
- being free of charge
- un tarif
- a fare, a price
- un contribuable
- a taxpayer
- un adjoint au maire
- a deputy mayor
- une aide ciblée
- targeted help
- en l'occurrence
- in this case
- à terme
- in the long run
- là, je vous arrête
- hold on, let me stop you there
- justement
- precisely, as it happens
Watch out: Taking the first answer as the whole position. Marc answers « Oui » but adds mais pas sans conditions: if you note only « Oui », you will miss the nuance the questions will ask about. And the reverse: hearing je comprends and writing « agrees », when the speaker goes on to disagree.