Here’s a scenario I see in every mock test I mark. A candidate reads a text, understands it completely, correctly identifies a statement as false, writes Faux, and scores zero for that question.
The instruction said: « Justifiez votre réponse en citant un passage du texte. Half the marks were for the quotation. They understood the French in the text but lost marks on the instructions. If you’d rather have this drilled than merely explained, our online DELF classes that drill the exam wording run every task in the real phrasing from the first week.
Nobody teaches this. Textbooks focus on grammar and vocabulary, courses focus on the four skills, and the consignes, the task instructions, are treated as background noise. They aren’t. They’re a small, closed vocabulary that decides a surprising number of marks, and you can learn the whole set in an afternoon. Our page on common DELF exam errors covers broader habits; this one focuses on the wording itself.
Why Do DELF Instructions Cost Candidates Marks?
Because the instructions are part of the task, and examiners mark against them. The first criterion on every writing and speaking grid is compliance with the instructions. A response that shows good French but ignores part of the prompt loses marks before the content is even assessed.
Three things make the consignes disproportionately dangerous.
They’re in French. At A1 and A2 especially, a candidate may not fully understand the instruction even though they’d understand the same words in a conversation, because exam phrasing is compressed and formal.
They’re compound. Many instructions ask for two things in one sentence. Vous présenterez la situation, puis vous donnerez votre avis is two tasks. Do one, and you’ve completed half a paper.
They’re consistent. The same verbs recur across every session and every level, which means learning them once pays off in every paper you ever sit for. This is the highest-return vocabulary list for DELF preparation, and almost no one studies it.
Which Instruction Words Appear in DELF Reading and Listening?
The receptive papers use a small set of verbs: cochez, répondez, relevez, citez, justifiez, associez, complétez and entourez. Each specifies a different physical action, and doing the wrong one can invalidate an otherwise correct answer.
| Consigne | What it means | What you must produce |
|---|---|---|
| Cochez la bonne réponse | Tick the correct answer | One tick, unless told otherwise |
| Plusieurs réponses possibles | Several answers possible | More than one tick, and missing some loses marks |
| Une seule réponse possible | Only one answer | Exactly one tick; two ticks scores zero |
| Répondez aux questions | Answer the questions | A short written answer, not a tick |
| Relevez | Pick out, extract | Words taken directly from the text or audio |
| Citez | Quote | The exact words, usually with quotation marks |
| Justifiez votre réponse | Justify your answer | Evidence, not just an assertion |
| En citant un passage du texte | By quoting a passage | A direct quotation from the source |
| Associez / Reliez | Match / link | Pairs joined, usually by letter or line |
| Complétez | Complete | Fill the gap, respecting the grammar around it |
| Entourez | Circle | Circle rather than tick or underline |
| Dans l’ordre du texte | In text order | Sequence matters and is marked |
The two that cause the most damage are “relevez” and “justifiez“.
Relevez means to take the words from the source. Paraphrasing scores zero because the task is testing whether you located the information, not whether you can rephrase it.
Justifiez means to give evidence. A candidate who writes Vrai and stops has answered half the question. A candidate who writes Vrai plus a quoted line has answered all of it.
For how these appear in practice, our guides to the DELF A2 reading tasks and the DELF B2 reading paper structure show the instructions in context at each end of the ladder.
These instruction words do not change at the advanced levels. A DALF C1 paper uses the same verbs, so learning the set once serves you from A1 through C2. What changes is the complexity of the task attached to them, as our guide to the advanced DALF levels explains.
What Do the Writing Paper Instructions Actually Require?
The writing paper uses instructions that define the text type, the reader, the register, and the length. Words like rédigez, vous écrivez à, dans un texte construit and environ 250 mots are not decoration. Each one carries marks on the grid.
The ones that matter most:
Rédigez means write a complete, structured text. It’s not the same as répondez, which invites a short answer. When you see “rédigez,” the examiner expects an opening, a development, and a conclusion.
« Vous écrivez à… ” tells you the reader, and therefore the register. Vous écrivez à votre ami » is informal, using tu and a casual sign-off. Vous écrivez au maire de votre ville, formellement, avec vous et Madame, Monsieur. Getting this backward costs marks under compliance even if the French is flawless.
Dans un texte construit et cohérent is an explicit instruction to structure and connect. It means the examiner is looking for paragraphs and connectors, not one undivided block.
Environ 160 mots / 250 mots minimum. Environ means around, and a modest overshoot is fine. Minimum means the floor is real. Writing under the required length loses marks mechanically, and the deduction applies before quality is judged.
Vous présenterez… puis vous… signals a two-part task. Both parts are marked. Candidates who run out of time on part two lose those marks entirely, which is why planning the split before you start writing matters more than writing quickly.
Vous donnerez votre avis / vous exprimerez votre point de vue” requires an actual position. Listing advantages and disadvantages without landing anywhere fails this instruction, and it’s one of the most common reasons a technically correct essay scores in the low teens.
Votre propos, qui apparaît au niveau B2, nécessite une nuance. An absolute position scores lower than a qualified one here because nuance is the competence being tested. Our DELF B2 syllabus checklist covers the language you need to do that.
Instructions are one of several things worth rehearsing before the day itself. Our guide to the rules inside the exam hall covers the rest of what changes on the morning of the exam.
Which Instructions Control the Speaking Exam?
The oral uses instructions that define the task type and your role: présentez, dégagez le thème, exprimez votre opinion, jouez la scène et défendez votre point de vue. Each sets up a different performance, and misreading one wastes your preparation time.
Dégagez le thème du document means to identify and state the main issue briefly. It is not a summary. Candidates who retell the whole article in detail run out of time before they reach their own argument, which is where the marks are.
Présentez votre point de vue de manière structurée : cela requiert une argumentation, pas seulement une opinion. The examiner is listening for an introduction, developed points, and a conclusion.
Vous défendrez votre point de vue signals the debate phase at B2. Being challenged is the design of the task, not a sign you’re failing. A candidate who abandons their position at the first objection scores lower than one who holds it with a new argument.
Jouez la scène / vous jouez le rôle de… » is a role-play activity at the A1, A2, and B1 levels. It requires interaction: asking as well as answering, reacting rather than reciting. Candidates who deliver a prepared monologue during a role-play fail to meet the interaction criterion entirely.
Vous n’êtes pas obligé de partager cette opinion appears with drawn topics and is genuinely liberating once understood. You may argue a position you personally disagree with. The exam marks how you argue, not what you believe.
Which Consignes Trap Candidates Most Often?
Four in particular: justifiez without a quotation, une seule réponse answered twice, register reversed in a letter, and a two-part writing task completed in one part. Each is entirely avoidable, and each costs marks unrelated to your French.
Run through these before every mock:
The justification trap. Any question containing “justifiez” or “en citant” has marks attached to the evidence. Always write the quotation, even when the true or false answer feels obvious.
The single-answer trap. Une seule réponse possible means one tick. Hedging by ticking two options scores zero rather than half. Commit.
The register trap. Read vous écrivez à… before you plan anything. Decide on tu or vous in the first ten seconds and hold it consistently, including in the sign-off, where slips are most visible.
The two-part trap. Underline every verb in the instruction before writing. If there are two, split your available minutes between them before you start, not when you notice the clock.
A fifth, smaller one: ne recopiez pas le texte. Some tasks explicitly forbid copying from the source, which is the opposite of relevez. Read which one you’ve been given.
How Should You Train for the DELF Consignes?
Build a one-page glossary of instruction words, read every practice task twice before answering, and underline the verbs. Ten minutes of this habit per practice paper eliminates an entire category of error.
The routine that works:
Before every practice paper. Read the instructions, underline each verb, and note in the margin how many separate things are being asked. Only then start.
During the exam. Spend the first 30 seconds of each task on the instructions rather than the content. It feels like wasted time, and it isn’t.
After marking. Separate your lost marks into two piles: French errors and instruction errors. Most candidates are shocked by how large the second pile is, and it’s the pile that disappears fastest.
Weekly. Add any new consignments you meet to your glossary. The full working set is around 30 expressions, which is at most a fortnight of casual revision.
Learners preparing at A2, for whom comprehension of instruction is most challenging relative to their language level, benefit most from this early. Our DELF A2 exam preparation online runs tasks in the real phrasing from the first session rather than translating them into English, which is how the habit builds. Working professionals who prefer to study in the evenings usually take it through online French lessons in small live groups.
Once instruction errors stop, your section scores start reflecting your actual French. You can use our tool to see what that means for both pass conditions and to check your DELF section scores.
Reading the Task Before You Answer It
The consignes are a closed vocabulary of roughly 30 expressions; they repeat across every session and level, and they carry marks on every grid. Justifiez means evidence. Relevez means the source’s own words. Vous écrivez « set your register ». A two-verb instruction is a two-part task.
Learn the list once, and it pays out in every DELF paper you ever sit. It’s the cheapest set of marks available to any candidate.
If you want your practice papers marked for instruction compliance and language, call or WhatsApp us at +91 7011164582, or visit our Sector 18 Noida center.