TCF / TEF Reading: Format and Tasks

Both tests give you 60 minutes. TCF Canada sets 39 questions, one document and one question at a time, rising from A1 to C2. TEF Canada sets 40 questions in five parts, from leaflets and gapped sentences to press articles.

At a Glance

	TCF Canada	TEF Canada
Questions	39	40
Time	60 min	60 min
Answer options	4 (A-D), one correct	4, one correct
Order	Progressive difficulty, A1 to C2	Five parts; free navigation and review
Score	100-699, weighted by difficulty	0-699, 1 point per correct answer before conversion

TCF Canada Reading

Each item is a document followed by one question with four options. The official instruction is simply "Lisez le document. Choisissez la bonne réponse." No time per question is published.

FEI lists the documents the section uses, roughly in order of difficulty:

familiar names, words and very simple sentences in messages and friendly or administrative letters;
everyday documents: small ads, leaflets, menus, timetables;
personal letters about people, facts or events;
texts in everyday language about daily life or work;
articles and reports in which the writer takes a position;
long factual or literary texts and specialised articles;
abstract or complex extracts from books and specialised articles.

FEI's own examples are a notice of a lawyer's office hours, a formal letter asking for an insurance certificate, a friendly note, and a press extract with statistics on childcare in Paris.

TEF Canada Reading

Questions	Part	What you do
1-7	A. Everyday documents	Seven documents (leaflets, ads, flyers, survey results), one question each.
8-17	B. Gapped sentences and texts	Six short sentences, then two short texts, each with a missing word or phrase to choose.
18-22	C. Speed reading of texts and graphs	Four series of four short texts and one series of four graphs: pick the one that matches a given piece of information.
23-32	D. Administrative and professional documents	Five documents (emails, notes, rules, conditions), two questions each, including tone and implied meaning.
33-40	E. Press articles	Four articles of about 250 words, two questions each.

You can move freely between questions and change answers until time runs out. The split of part B into six sentences and two texts with two gaps each, and of part C into four text series and one graph series, matches CCI's sample and instructions; CCI does not state the per-question split.

Since December 2023 the section no longer includes re-ordering texts or synonym-sentence questions; it has more texts, gapped sentences, and speed reading of short texts and graphs.

How to Approach It

TCF: the early items are quick. Bank the time for the C1-C2 texts at the end, which are long and abstract.
TEF part C rewards scanning, not reading: find the detail that the question names (a time, a condition, a trend) and check it in each text.
TEF part D asks about tone ("the author regrets, mocks, denounces..."). Look for evaluative words and irony, not just facts.
In both tests a wrong answer scores the same as a blank one, so answer every question.

Practice documents with explained answers are on the reading samples page.

Practise TCF / TEF online

Every section of TCF Canada and TEF Canada is in the TestSucceed app. The tasks are timed like the real exam and marked instantly, and your writing and speaking are assessed by AI trained by our French exam experts. Start with TCF / TEF practice or sit a full TCF / TEF mock test.

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

French test expert and educator at TestSucceed. He prepares candidates for TCF Canada and TEF Canada and follows how each section is timed and marked. See all TestSucceed preparation materials.