Read the text once, then work question by question
The official instructions are clear: for Texts 1 to 5 you must read the whole text to answer the questions. So start each text with one steady read for the main line. Notice the bold subheadings and where the writer gives an opinion, a reason or an exception. Do not stop at every hard word; you can look it up later if a question needs it.
Then work question by question. On screen you see the question number, a pointer line to the text and the options. Find the keyword in the question, such as a name, a subheading, a reason or a contrast. Go back to that paragraph in the booklet and read it closely.
Use your pen on the booklet. Underline the key word in the question and mark the paragraph it points at. That gives you a trail when you want to check a doubtful answer later.
Form a rough answer in your own head before you read the options. This blocks a common trap: an option that repeats words from the text but answers a different question.
For more background on the texts and the screen, see how Staatsexamen NT2 Lezen works.
Pacing 35 questions in 110 minutes
You have 110 minutes for 6 texts, with 5 to 7 questions per text. Plan about 15 minutes for each of Texts 1 to 5 and about 25 for Text 6, the longest. That leaves ten minutes for checking at the end.
Keep each question under control:
- If one close reread of the paragraph gives the answer, choose it and continue.
- If it is still unclear after a second look, pick your best option, flag the question and move on.
- Check OVERZICHT after each text, not after every question.
The official practice player shows no clock, so train with your own timer. Use a dictionary only when a question really depends on one word. Looking up words costs time.
When the answer sits in two paragraphs
At B1 level the point is often hidden in a contrast, a condition, a reason or an exception. Slow down at words such as hoewel, terwijl, echter, bovendien, mits and tenzij. They tell you whether the writer adds, limits, opposes or sets a condition.
Many wrong options copy a true detail from one paragraph but miss the next paragraph that narrows or reverses it. If one paragraph gives the rule and the next gives the exception, the right option keeps both. Draw a short arrow between the two paragraphs, or write contrast or condition in the margin.
Questions about the purpose of the whole text, such as Wat is het doel van deze tekst?, need the full argument. Then a wider reread is worth the extra minute.
Never leave a blank
Each correct answer gives 1 point, and an empty answer gives nothing. If you cannot find the answer, guess and move on.
Make the guess a smart one. Wrong options in this exam often:
- give a true detail that does not answer the question;
- make a small point sound like the point of the whole text;
- turn vaak (often) or kan (can) into a fixed rule;
- swap cause and effect, or condition and result.
Remove those first, then choose the best option left. Do not change an answer because you think there have been too many B answers already; real papers do not spread the letters evenly.
Use the flag only when a quick check later could change your answer. If half the paper is flagged, the flag stops helping.
Text 6 and the last ten minutes
Text 6 is a search task. It is usually a regulation, terms or an information page. The instructions tell you to read each question first and then look up the answer. Do not read it from top to bottom.
Each Text 6 question starts with a person and a situation. Underline the condition that matters, such as a date, a course type or an exception. Then scan the booklet for matching words. When two options both look possible, the right one usually matches that narrow condition exactly.
In the last ten minutes, open OVERZICHT and answer every question that is still open. Then return only to flagged questions where one quick look in the booklet can settle the answer.
A worked example for Text 6
Take this question: Lara volgt een opleiding secretaresse bij Rosarius Opleidingen. Ze wil het examen maken. Wanneer kan dat? (Lara is training as a secretary at Rosarius Opleidingen. She wants to take the exam. When can she do that?)
First underline what makes Lara's case different: her course type and her school. Then scan the booklet for those words, such as opleiding or the name of the exam, and read the lines around them. The right option gives the date or condition that fits Lara exactly. An option that is true for other students but not for her is a trap.
A simple practice plan
Spread the routine over a few sessions instead of one long evening:
- Session 1: read one text from a published past exam with a timer set to 15 minutes. Answer the questions and check them.
- Session 2: do Text 6 only, question first, in 25 minutes.
- Session 3: do a complete paper in 110 minutes, in one go, with the text booklet on paper.
- After each session: list the questions you got wrong and write down which trap caught you. Was it a true detail that did not answer the question, a contrast you skipped, or a rule made absolute?
On exam day
In the exam room you get a pen and scrap paper from the exam leader. You may use only the Van Dale Pocketwoordenboek NT2. Digital dictionaries and translation apps are not allowed, so do not plan to rely on them.
Practise the exam routine for nt2 lezen
Train the routine before exam day. The official Facet practice environment uses the real exam player; print its text booklet and read from paper. Published past exams are on the Staatsexamens NT2 site.
For timed practice with lezen B1 texts, try our B1 reading practice.