FRENCH · Common Test for University Admissions (大学入学共通テスト)
FRENCH/11
French Written Paper
French · 2023 · Variant 1
Relative difficulty
Analysis source: National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Analysis aligned to the official syllabus and assessment design.
3.0 / 5
200
80 min
Pronouns, agreement, tense sequence and practical-text comprehension are the most valuable areas because they affect both grammar items and passage meaning.
Cohort performance
Session statistics from official examination reports
Total marks
200
Duration
80 min
Session difficulty
3.0 / 5
Calculator policy
Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Key examiner messages
Top priorities from the principal examiner before you revise
フランス語 assesses written French comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The R7 foreign-language written paper emphasizes practical reading, contextual grammar and understanding meaning across con…
The DNC foreign-language structure gives French 80 minutes and 200 marks for the written paper.
Pronoun reference is a recurring comprehension mechanism; a wrong antecedent changes the whole sentence.
For passé composé with avoir, past participle agreement occurs when a direct object precedes the verb; with être, agreement follows the subject.
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
Question difficulty map
How candidates performed on each question in this series
No data available in official reports
Assessment objectives
Skill and AO weighting from official examiner commentary
Skill weighting
Cognitive skills emphasised in official test design.
Reading comprehension
Weight: 43100%Grammar application
Weight: 3172%Vocabulary inference
Weight: 1637%Contextual and register
Weight: 1023%
Method marks watchlist
Where working, steps, or method marks were commonly lost
No data available in official reports
Recurring mistakes across years
Themes examiners flag in multiple recent sessions for this subject
Pronouns: Translating le, la, les, lui, leur, y or en without identifying the antecedent. — Find the noun phrase before the pronoun and c…
Tense: Confusing imparfait background with passé composé event sequence. — Ask whether the action is ongoing/background or completed/even…
Negation: Missing ne...que and reading it as ordinary negation. — Translate ne...que as only and verify the sentence meaning.
Agreement: Ignoring adjective or participle endings that identify the referent. — Use endings to resolve ambiguous nouns in the sentence.
Vocabulary: Trusting false cognates such as actuellement or attendre. — Confirm meaning from sentence context and common false-friend lists.
Question choice intelligence
Mean scores and popularity for optional questions (HKDSE electives)
No data available in official reports
Level exemplars
What candidate scripts at each grade level looked like
No data available in official reports
Grade & admission context
How marks relate to grade thresholds and entry standards
Official body
National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Grading system
Foreign-language papers (excluding English) are scored 0–200 raw; universities apply deviation values
Scale band
0–200 raw
Scale band
Deviation value
Scale band
University cut-off
Deep insights
What top candidates did
Techniques and approaches examiners rewarded in this series
Track pronoun references
French object, y and en pronouns often determine meaning. Identify what each pronoun replaces before reading options.
Check agreement quietly
Gender, number and past-participle agreement provide clues to subjects and objects. Mark endings that identify the referent.
Use tense for timeline
Passé composé, imparfait, futur and conditionnel distinguish completed action, background, future intention and hypothetical meaning.
Read negatives fully
Look for ne...pas, ne...jamais, ne...plus and ne...que. Missing the second part can invert the answer.
Scan practical details
For ads, emails, timetables and instructions, circle dates, prices, locations, conditions and required actions.
Learn connectors
Donc, pourtant, cependant, parce que, puisque and bien que show logic. They are often the key to inference questions.
Command word playbook
How to match each command word to the expected response style
No data available in official reports
Time traps
Sections where candidates spent disproportionate time relative to marks
No data available in official reports
Syllabus traceability
Topics linked to questions and mark weighting in this session
Reading comprehension and practical communication
Official topic weighting
Grammar: tense, agreement, pronouns and syntax
Official topic weighting
Vocabulary, expressions and morphology
Official topic weighting
Culture, register and discourse
Official topic weighting
MCQ trap analytics
Commonly chosen wrong options from examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Topic heatmap across years
Mark concentration by topic and exam year for this subject
Mark intensity
Reading comprehension and practical communication
Grammar: tense, agreement, pronouns and syntax
Vocabulary, expressions and morphology
Culture, register and discourse
Difficulty trend
How session difficulty has shifted across recent years
Paper comparison
Marks and duration breakdown across papers in this session
French Written Paper: Reading passages, dialogues, practical texts, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
Marks you can still earn
Where valid approaches outside the mark scheme may still gain credit
No data available in official reports
Practise what examiners flagged
Target weak topics from this report inside the Revui app
Reading comprehension and practical communication
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiGrammar: tense, agreement, pronouns and syntax
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiVocabulary, expressions and morphology
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiCulture, register and discourse
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiSelf-diagnostic checklist
Key actions before you sit this paper — copy and tick off as you revise
- 1Message
フランス語 assesses written French comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The R7 foreign-language written paper emphasizes practical reading, contextual grammar and understanding meaning across con…
- 2Message
The DNC foreign-language structure gives French 80 minutes and 200 marks for the written paper.
- 3Message
Pronoun reference is a recurring comprehension mechanism; a wrong antecedent changes the whole sentence.
- 4Message
For passé composé with avoir, past participle agreement occurs when a direct object precedes the verb; with être, agreement follows the subject.
- 5Message
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
- 6Pitfall
Pronouns: Translating le, la, les, lui, leur, y or en without identifying the antecedent. — Find the noun phrase before the pronoun and c…
- 7Pitfall
Tense: Confusing imparfait background with passé composé event sequence. — Ask whether the action is ongoing/background or completed/even…
- 8Pitfall
Negation: Missing ne...que and reading it as ordinary negation. — Translate ne...que as only and verify the sentence meaning.
- 9Pitfall
Agreement: Ignoring adjective or participle endings that identify the referent. — Use endings to resolve ambiguous nouns in the sentence.
- 10Pitfall
Vocabulary: Trusting false cognates such as actuellement or attendre. — Confirm meaning from sentence context and common false-friend lists.
- 11Strength
Track pronoun references: French object, y and en pronouns often determine meaning. Identify what each pronoun replaces before
- 12Strength
Check agreement quietly: Gender, number and past-participle agreement provide clues to subjects and objects. Mark endings tha
- 13Strength
Use tense for timeline: Passé composé, imparfait, futur and conditionnel distinguish completed action, background, future in
Teacher briefing pack
One-page session summary for tutors and classroom review
2023 2023
French
フランス語 assesses written French comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The R7 foreign-language written paper emphasizes practical reading, contextual grammar and understanding meaning across connec
フランス語 assesses written French comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The R7 foreign-language written paper emphasizes practical reading, contextual grammar and understanding meaning across con…
The DNC foreign-language structure gives French 80 minutes and 200 marks for the written paper.
Pronoun reference is a recurring comprehension mechanism; a wrong antecedent changes the whole sentence.
Pronouns: Translating le, la, les, lui, leur, y or en without identifying the antecedent. — Find the noun phrase before the pronoun and c…
Tense: Confusing imparfait background with passé composé event sequence. — Ask whether the action is ongoing/background or completed/even…
- Total marks
- 200
- Duration
- 80 min
- Session difficulty
- 3.0 / 5
- Calculator policy
- Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Session analysis
フランス語 assesses written French comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The R7 foreign-language written paper emphasizes practical reading, contextual grammar and understanding meaning across connected texts. National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC) emphasises pronouns, agreement, tense sequence and practical-text comprehension are the most valuable areas because they affect both grammar items and passage meaning.. Priority revision: Reading comprehension and practical communication, Grammar: tense, agreement, pronouns and syntax, Vocabulary, expressions and morphology, Culture, register and discourse. French object, y and en pronouns often determine meaning. Identify what each pronoun replaces before reading options.
Updated 2026-07-03
Paper breakdown
French Written Paper: Reading passages, dialogues, practical texts, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
Top chapters
Exam structure insights
Marks by syllabus topic
Revision priority from official test-design weighting.
Mark accessibility
Estimated difficulty spread based on official design.
Pronouns, agreement, tense sequence and practical-text comprehension are the mos
Paper structure
Official paper breakdown for this subject.
French Written Paper
200·10·100%
Official syllabus scope
フランス語 assesses written French comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The R7 foreign-language written paper emphasizes practical reading, contextual grammar and understanding meaning across connected texts.
Difficulty verdict
Rated 3/5 for January sessions. Pronouns, agreement, tense sequence and practical-text comprehension are the most valuable areas because they affect both grammar items and passage meaning.
What examiners measure
1. Understand French practical texts, dialogues and passages for main idea and detail. 2. Apply grammar including tense, agreement, pronouns, negation and prepositions in context. 3. Infer vocabulary and phrase meaning from morphology and surrounding information. 4. Recognize communicative intent, register and cultural context. 5. Use efficient reading strategies in the 80-minute, 200-point written paper.
Where the marks are
Highest-weight syllabus areas: Reading comprehension and practical communication; Grammar: tense, agreement, pronouns and syntax; Vocabulary, expressions and morphology; Culture, register and discourse.
Examiner notes & key calculations
- The DNC foreign-language structure gives French 80 minutes and 200 marks for the written paper.
- Pronoun reference is a recurring comprehension mechanism; a wrong antecedent changes the whole sentence.
- For passé composé with avoir, past participle agreement occurs when a direct object precedes the verb; with être, agreement follows the subject.
- Subjunctive recognition may appear through common triggers of necessity, emotion, doubt or conjunctions.
- Practical text questions frequently depend on exceptions and conditions, not the headline message.
- Connectors reveal argument direction; however/although equivalents often introduce the tested contrast.
- When a passage is long, summarize each paragraph in Japanese or simple French before matching options.
- Paper 1: French Written Paper · 200 marks · 80 min · Reading passages, dialogues, practical texts, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks.
Exam tips
Paper format
- Duration
- 80 min
- Total marks
- 200
- Weighting
- 100%
- Question types
- Reading passages, dialogues, practical texts, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
- French object, y and en pronouns often determine meaning. Identify what each pronoun replaces before reading options.
- Gender, number and past-participle agreement provide clues to subjects and objects. Mark endings that identify the referent.
- Passé composé, imparfait, futur and conditionnel distinguish completed action, background, future intention and hypothetical meaning.
Common mistakes
Pronouns
Translating le, la, les, lui, leur, y or en without identifying the antecedent.
How to avoid: Find the noun phrase before the pronoun and check gender/number or preposition.
Tense
Confusing imparfait background with passé composé event sequence.
How to avoid: Ask whether the action is ongoing/background or completed/event-like.
Negation
Missing ne...que and reading it as ordinary negation.
How to avoid: Translate ne...que as only and verify the sentence meaning.
Analysis is paraphrased for study purposes. Always verify against the official examiner report and mark scheme.