How to prepare for the inburgering reading exam (Lezen)

Step 1: find out where you stand

Start with one full practice session under exam conditions, because it gives you one honest score to plan from.

Set a timer for 65 minutes and answer 25 multiple-choice questions. Do not use a dictionary, because you will not have one in the exam, and work on a computer if you can. The real inburgering reading exam is on screen, and pacing on a screen feels different from reading on paper.

DUO's free A2 practice exams (oefenexamens) are the best material for this first check. You find them on inburgeren.nl. Treat the session like the real thing: a quiet room, no phone, no translating and no break halfway.

Then review every text, not only every question, and write down which kind of text slowed you down: a letter from the gemeente (municipality), a shop notice, a timetable, a short message or a brochure. Also note why you lost each mark:

• you did not understand the Dutch
• you looked in the wrong part of the text
• you chose a true fact that answered a different question

That last mistake costs the most marks on Lezen.

Step 2: know the score you need

You pass A2 Lezen with 19 of the 25 questions correct. DUO states that mark on your result letter and in Mijn Inburgering, not on its website. That is why some prep sites still quote 18.

DUO's practice exam does not say pass or fail. It shows a chance band instead:

Use the bands to decide what to do next:

• Below 17: build accuracy before speed. Repeat the same text types until the trap answers stop working on you.
• 17 to 22: turn near-misses into marks. Read the question first, find the exact fact, and check that your option answers this question.
• 23 or higher: work on consistency, not volume. One more full paper close to exam day confirms your score is stable.

Every question counts the same and a wrong answer costs nothing, so never leave a question empty. If you are unsure, remove the options that clearly do not fit, choose the best one and move on.

Step 3: practise scanning before slow reading

The fastest gains on Lezen come from three habits: read the question first, scan for one fact, and reject options that are true in the text but answer something else.

Many learners start with long vocabulary lists, but that is not the best first move, because the texts in the A2 reading exam use practical, everyday Dutch. Most wrong options are not strange words but real facts from the same text: the wrong day, the wrong person, the wrong amount or a side detail instead of the main point.

1. Start with scan texts. Notices, adverts, opening hours and timetables. Read the question, decide what you need (a time, date, price, place, person or action), then look only for that.
2. Move to letters and e-mails. These often carry 2 to 4 questions, and careless reading costs more marks there. Go back to the text for each question instead of answering from memory.
3. Add purpose questions. These ask why someone wrote the text or what someone must do next. A true sentence can still be the wrong answer if it is only a detail.

If time is short, skip broad vocabulary lists, slow rereading of every line and long notes in English.

Step 4: a six-week plan for busy evenings

Use a short plan that fits around work, and give each week one clear job.

Weeks 1 and 2: build your baseline. Do one full 65-minute session at the start. Label every error: wrong fact, wrong person, wrong time or number, missed purpose, or a word you did not know. On two other evenings, practise scan texts only. On one evening, practise letters and messages with purpose questions.

Weeks 3 and 4: control the clock. Switch to timed sets and read the question first every time. Once a week, do half a paper under time pressure and note where the minutes go. You have a little over two and a half minutes per question, and there is no time limit per text.

Weeks 5 and 6: mix the text types. Combine a note from a neighbour, an e-mail from work, a message from the huisarts (GP), a timetable and a school letter. The real exam mixes them too, and training on one type makes you slow when the layout changes. Keep one evening a week for error review only.

Only two evenings a week? Keep the order and cut the volume: one timed set and one review session, and drop vocabulary lists first. Never drop the error review, because that is where your score moves.

Where the marks go on Lezen

Most lost marks come from three mistakes.

A true fact that answers a different question. The wrong options use real details from the text. You see a familiar date, amount or name and click too early. Match the option to the exact task: what the person must do, why the writer sent the message, or when something starts.

Mixing up times, numbers and people. A text may mention two days, two prices or several people. Take Hoe laat begint de les? (What time does the lesson start?). If the text gives one time for registration and one for the lesson, only the lesson time is correct.

Answering the nicest sentence instead of the whole message. When the question is Waarom schrijft Ahmed deze brief? (Why does Ahmed write this letter?), answer with the main point. A polite reminder is not an invitation, even if it mentions a party.

The last week and exam day

The last week is for calm repetition, not for a new method, so do one last full timed paper early in the week and then use short mixed sets and review. If one text type is still weak, practise it once more.

The day before, check the time and place of your exam. Prepare a valid ID, such as a passport or residence permit, because without it you cannot take the exam. Come alone, because other people must wait outside.

On exam morning, do not cram word lists but read a few short Dutch notices to warm up. In the exam, take the easy marks first, watch the clock and answer every question. Your result arrives by letter within 8 weeks.

For the full exam format, read how the reading exam works. For more practice, try our Lezen example questions and the timed reading exercises.