Reading in the Polish exam - task types and strategies

Reading comprehension often costs points not because the candidate does not know any words, but because they read everything at the same speed and look for a translation of every word. In the exam, you need to read a notice differently from a press article, and differently again from a literary excerpt. You also need to distinguish literal information from the author's intention and additional meaning, that is, meaning suggested beyond the simple meaning of the sentence.

What you need to be able to do at B1, B2 and C1

At B1 level, texts are shorter and usually concern everyday life, work, school, offices, travel, shopping, health or interests. The standard requires understanding the main idea, the communicative intention and specific information. Signs, notices, advertisements, simple forms, press items, letters, e-mails and short literary excerpts may appear.

At B2 level, texts are authentic and may have a more difficult structure. You still need to understand the main idea and details, but sentences are often longer, vocabulary is less basic, and logical connections are less obvious. Press texts include commentaries, interviews and articles. Practical texts may include instructions, product descriptions, forms and notices.

At C1 level, long and complex texts in different styles are added. You need to understand not only the content, but also irony, allusion, humour, hidden evaluation and the author's position. Reviews, polemics, speeches, popular science lectures, columns and essays appear. This is the level at which one word can change the tone of an entire paragraph.

The most common task types and how to approach them

Reading tasks usually test several skills at once. First establish exactly what the instruction is asking for. You work differently when you have to find one piece of information than when you have to reconstruct the logic of the whole text.

When matching titles, do not choose a title on the basis of one key word. The title must fit the whole excerpt. If a paragraph begins with a problem but ends with a solution, the title should cover both elements.

When filling gaps with sentences, look at pronouns (zaimki), conjunctions (spójniki) and verbs (czasowniki). The sentence after the gap often contains a word such as "dlatego", "jednak", "taki", "ten", "ona", "wtedy". These words show what is missing earlier. If you have trouble with such linking words, it is worth reviewing Conjunctions (spójniki) and complex sentences (zdania złożone).

When filling gaps with paragraphs, check the topic, chronology and repetitions. A paragraph cannot appear just anywhere. It usually continues the previous thought or introduces a new stage in the argument.

When ordering excerpts, look for the beginning and the end. The beginning often presents the topic without references such as "ten problem" or "w takiej sytuacji". The middle contains the development. The end often gives a conclusion, summary or evaluation.

When identifying the author's intention, ask: why was this text written? The author may be informing, warning, encouraging, criticising, joking, justifying a decision or expressing distance. At C1, it is also important whether the author says something directly or only suggests an evaluation.

Strategies for Working with a Text

First, read the instruction. This sounds obvious, but many mistakes come from the fact that the exam taker reads the text and only then discovers what they were supposed to look for. If the question concerns intention, do not underline only dates and names. If the question concerns a detail, do not waste time interpreting the whole article.

The second step is quick global reading. Read the title, the first paragraph, the last paragraph, and the first sentences of the middle paragraphs. Establish the topic, tone, and purpose of the text. Only then start solving the tasks.

The third step is selective reading, that is, looking for specific information. If the question concerns opening hours, a price, a condition for participation, or an application deadline, do not read it like a literary text. Look for numbers, names, dates, and verbs expressing obligation and prohibition.

The fourth step is checking your answer. Check whether the answer you chose follows from the text, not from your knowledge of the world. In the exam, the correct answer must agree with the text. Even if in real life "it is usually different", do not add facts that are not there.

Watch out for negations (przeczenia) and restrictions. The sentences "nie wszyscy pracownicy muszą złożyć wniosek" and "żaden pracownik nie musi złożyć wniosku" mean different things. If you often miss such differences, review Negation and the genitive of negation (dopełniacz negacji).

In longer sentences, word order (szyk), that is, the order of the parts of the sentence, is important. In Polish, the most important information often comes at the end. The section Syntax and word order (składnia i szyk wyrazów) helps with this.

Examples of Signals in the Text

The sentences below show how small elements help you understand the meaning of a text.

1. "Proszę przesłać formularz najpóźniej do piątku" means an obligation and a deadline, not a loose request.
2. "Oferta jest ważna do wyczerpania zapasów" means that the promotion may end earlier.
3. "Mimo wcześniejszych zapowiedzi spotkanie nie odbędzie się w sali 12" tells you to look for the new meeting place.
4. "Autor pozornie chwali decyzję, ale pisze, że była "wyjątkowo odważna jak na kogoś, kto nic nie ryzykuje"" suggests irony.
5. "W przeciwieństwie do poprzedniego programu ten projekt obejmuje także osoby samozatrudnione" shows a change and a comparison.
6. "Nie należy mylić rejestracji z potwierdzeniem udziału" means that two different actions have to be completed.
7. "Dopiero po otrzymaniu decyzji można podpisać umowę" shows the order of actions.
8. "Tekst zaczyna się od osobistej historii, ale kończy apelem do władz miasta" indicates that the purpose is not only to tell a story, but also to put social pressure on someone.

Typical mistakes made by Ukrainian-, Russian-, and English-speaking people

Ukrainian speakers

• *"Aktualny problem" always means "ważny problem". Correct: "aktualny problem" means above all "obecny, bieżący problem" (a present, current problem). The mistake comes from its similarity to the Ukrainian "актуальний", which often means "ważny, palący" (important, urgent).
• *If an announcement contains "proszę", the action is voluntary. Correct: in Polish official texts, "proszę złożyć dokumenty" often means a requirement. This is an interpretive calque from the everyday, polite use of a request.
• *"Ewentualnie" means "w końcu". Correct: "ewentualnie" means "może, w razie potrzeby, opcjonalnie" (maybe, if necessary, optionally). This is a false friend caused by contact with the English "eventually" and similar associations in language learning.

Russian speakers

• *"Pensja" in a text about retirees means "emerytura". Correct: in Polish, "pensja" is pay for work, and "emerytura" is a benefit received after the end of one's working life. The mistake comes from its similarity to the Russian "пенсия".
• *"Zakład" in an article always means "завод". Correct: "zakład" can mean a company, but also zakład fryzjerski, zakład pracy, or zakład in the sense of "umowa o wynik". This is a false friend and a too-quick translation of one word.
• *If the author uses a diminutive, they are always being nice. Correct: a diminutive can be affectionate, neutral, ironic, or dismissive. At C1, you need to check the tone of the whole paragraph. The mistake comes from transferring a simple association between form and emotion.

English speakers

• *"Actually" can be translated as "aktualnie" in every text. Correct: "actually" often means "właściwie, tak naprawdę" (in fact, really), while "aktualnie" means "obecnie" (currently). This is a classic false friend: the similar form does not carry the English meaning into Polish.
• *"Eventually" means "ewentualnie". Correct: "eventually" means "w końcu, ostatecznie" (in the end, finally), while "ewentualnie" means "może, opcjonalnie" (maybe, optionally). The mistake comes from the similar form of the word, not from a real match in meaning.
• *The order of sentences in a paragraph can be determined only by topic. Correct: you also need to look at pronouns, conjunctions, tense, and logical sequence. In English, sentences are often shorter and relationships are more often signaled directly, so long Polish sentences require more careful analysis.

If the mistakes come from literal translation from your native language, the section Typical mistakes: interference from the native language will be useful.

What it looks like in the exam

Reading comprehension is a separate module of the written part of the exam. The written part has four modules: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, grammatical accuracy, and writing. Then comes the oral part.

According to the sample papers from March 2020, at B1 level the reading module has 5 tasks, lasts 40 minutes, and gives a maximum of 30 points. At B2 and C1 levels, the reading module has 5 tasks, lasts 60 minutes, and gives a maximum of 40 points.

The passing threshold is calculated separately for each module. At B1, you must get at least 50 percent in the reading module. At B2 and C1, you must get at least 60 percent in the module. Points from other modules do not save weak reading. If someone writes an excellent text and passes grammar well, but does not reach the reading threshold, the exam is failed.

The thresholds described apply to exams until 31 December 2026. Regulation Dz.U. 2025 poz. 217 is repealed as of 1 January 2027, and a new implementing regulation has not yet been issued. The thresholds that will apply after 1 January 2027 are not known.

At B1, the tasks mainly test the main idea, intention, details, and simple arguments. At B2, the text becomes more complex. At C1, indirect intentions, irony, allusion, implied opinions, and colloquial and idiomatic expressions are especially important. In press and opinion texts, it is also useful to recognize whether the author is reporting facts or commenting on them. Knowledge of reported speech (mowa zależna) helps with this, because texts often quote other people's statements indirectly.

What to review before the exam

Before the exam, it is worth reviewing:

• conjunctions of contrast, cause, result, and condition: "jednak", "mimo że", "ponieważ", "dlatego", "jeśli";
• pronouns referring back to earlier content: "ten", "taki", "który", "wspomniany";
• words that limit meaning: "tylko", "wyłącznie", "nie wszyscy", "co najmniej", "najpóźniej";
• typical vocabulary for notices, offices, work, education, and health;
• the difference between a fact, an opinion, an evaluation, and irony;
• false friends, especially "aktualnie", "ewentualnie", "pensja", "zakład";
• work order: instruction, quick scan of the text, solving the task, checking the answers.

The best training is not translating the whole text word by word, but answering specific questions: who is writing, to whom, why, about what, with what attitude, and on the basis of which sentences this can be proved.