Reading Comprehension: the Official CEFR Descriptors from B1 to B2
Reading comprehension covers situations where the reader understands a written text — an article, correspondence, a report, a literary text. It is a receptive skill: it is measured by what the reader manages to extract from a text, at their own pace, without the time constraints of speech.
At B1, the reader understands straightforward factual texts, written in everyday language, on familiar subjects. At B2, they read reports and articles in which the writer adopts a particular stance or viewpoint, and pick up on the nuances of contemporary prose. This page reproduces every official descriptor for this activity at B1, B1+ and B2, scale by scale.
The official descriptors, scale by scale
6 Companion Volume scales cover reading comprehension between B1 and B2. For each one, the B1 and B2 descriptors are shown side by side; where the CEFR publishes B1+ descriptors, they appear in the amber transition band.
Reading for information and argument
B1 — independent user
Can recognise significant points in straightforward news articles on familiar subjects.
Can understand most factual information that they are likely to come across on familiar subjects of interest, provided they have sufficient time for rereading.
Can understand the main points in descriptive notes such as those on museum exhibits and explanatory boards in exhibitions.
B2 — independent user
Can understand articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in which particular stances or viewpoints are adopted.
Can recognise when a text provides factual information and when it seeks to convince readers of something.
Can recognise different structures in discursive text: contrasting arguments, problem–solution presentation and cause–effect relationships.
B1+ — transition zone
Can understand straightforward, factual texts on subjects relating to their interests or studies.
Can understand short texts on subjects that are familiar or of current interest, in which people give their points of view (e.g. critical contributions to an online discussion forum or readers’ letters to the editor).
Can identify the main conclusions in clearly signalled argumentative texts.
Can recognise the line of argument in the treatment of the issue presented, though not necessarily in detail.
Reading for orientation
B1 — independent user
Can find and understand relevant information in everyday material, such as letters, brochures and short official documents.
Can pick out important information about preparation and usage on the labels on foodstuff and medicine.
Can assess whether an article, report or review is on the required topic.
Can understand the important information in simple, clearly drafted adverts in newspapers or magazines, provided there are not too many abbreviations.
B2 — independent user
Can scan quickly through long and complex texts, locating relevant details.
Can quickly identify the content and relevance of news items, articles and reports on a wide range of professional topics, deciding whether closer study is worthwhile.
B1+ — transition zone
Can scan longer texts in order to locate desired information, and gather information from different parts of a text, or from different texts in order to fulfil a specific task.
Can scan through straightforward, factual texts in magazines, brochures or on the web, identify what they are about and decide whether they contain information that might be of practical use.
Reading as a leisure activity
B1 — independent user
Can understand descriptions of places, events, explicitly expressed feelings and perspectives in narratives, guides and magazine articles that employ high frequency everyday language.
Can understand a travel diary mainly describing the events of a journey and the experiences and discoveries of the writer.
Can follow the plot of stories, simple novels and comics with a clear linear storyline and high frequency everyday language, given regular use of a dictionary.
B2 — independent user
Can read for pleasure with a large degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts (e.g. magazines, more straightforward novels, history books, biographies, travelogues, guides, lyrics, poems), using appropriate reference sources selectively.
Can read novels with a strong, narrative plot and that use straightforward, unelaborated language, provided they can take their time and use a dictionary.
B1+ — transition zone
Can read newspaper/magazine accounts of films, books, concerts, etc. produced for a wider audience and understand the main points.
Can understand simple poems and song lyrics provided these employ straightforward language and style.
Reading correspondence
B1 — independent user
Can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters well enough to correspond regularly with a pen friend.
Can understand straightforward personal letters, e-mails or postings giving a relatively detailed account of events and experiences.
Can understand standard formal correspondence and online postings in their area of professional interest.
B2 — independent user
Can read correspondence relating to their field of interest and readily grasp the essential meaning.
Can understand what is said in a personal e-mail or posting even where some colloquial language is used.
B1+ — transition zone
Can understand formal correspondence on less familiar subjects well enough to redirect it to someone else.
Reading instructions
B1 — independent user
Can understand clearly expressed, straightforward instructions for a piece of equipment.
Can follow simple instructions given on packaging (e.g. cooking instructions).
Can understand most short safety instructions, (e.g. on public transport or in manuals for the use of electrical equipment).
B2 — independent user
Can understand lengthy, complex instructions in their field, including details on conditions and warnings, provided they can reread difficult sections.
B1+ — transition zone
Can understand instructions and procedures in the form of a continuous text, for instance in a manual, provided they are familiar with the type of process or product concerned.
Overall reading comprehension
B1 — independent user
Can read straightforward factual texts on subjects related to their field of interest with a satisfactory level of comprehension.
B2 — independent user
Can read with a large degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes, and using appropriate reference sources selectively. Has a broad active reading vocabulary, but may experience some difficulty with low-frequency idioms.
The Examiner's Perspective
Réda Haiat — CEFR Assessment Expert · 22 Years of Experience
In reading, the boundary comes down to autonomy from the text. A B1 reader understands texts that cooperate with them: visible structure, everyday vocabulary, familiar topic, explicit intent. A B2 reader handles texts that don't help them out — specialised articles outside their field, literary prose, professional correspondence where the substance sits between the lines.
The shift shows up in the relationship to detail. At B1, reading is global: you grasp the subject, the general drift, the main points. At B2, the descriptors call for picking up on nuance, identifying an argumentative stance, telling fact from opinion — which requires selective, critical reading, not just comprehension. The reader no longer just takes the text in — they interrogate it.
B1+ reads correctly but slowly when the text pushes back. They understand, provided they can re-read. It's an understanding that comes at a cost: it uses up all the attention available, leaving little left over for analysis. B2 reads at a workable pace and keeps enough spare capacity to judge what they're reading.
What I listen for at the boundary
- Does the reader understand a non-cooperative text, or do they depend on explicit structure?
- Do they pick up on nuance and stance, or only factual content?
- Do they distinguish what's stated from what's implied, fact from interpretation?
- Do they read at a workable pace, or does understanding require several passes?
- Do they hold up outside their familiar territory, or does their autonomy stop at known subjects?
Frequently asked questions
How many official descriptors cover reading comprehension between B1 and B2?
38 official descriptors cover this zone: 17 at B1, 10 at B1+ and 11 at B2, spread across 6 scales. All of them are reproduced on this page.
What does the B1+ level mean?
B1+ is a CEFR "plus level": it describes a strong B1 competence, beyond the B1 threshold but not yet meeting the B2 criteria. The Companion Volume publishes specific descriptors for these intermediate bands — that is the transition zone shown between the B1 and B2 columns.
Can I reuse these descriptors?
Yes. The CEFR descriptors are published by the Council of Europe under the CC BY 4.0 licence: you may reproduce and adapt them, including commercially, provided you credit the Council of Europe. That is exactly what this page does.
Going further
Sources
- Council of Europe — CEFR Companion Volume (2020): https://rm.coe.int/cefr-companion-volume-with-new-descriptors-2018/1680787989
- The CEFR on the Council of Europe website: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/