How to Revise for the French Baccalauréat (Bac)

October 2026  ·  11 min read

The French baccalauréat is not one exam in June any more. Since the reform that took effect with the 2021 session, the bac général and bac technologique combine marks earned across première and terminale with a set of final exams, each with its own format and weight. Revision is a two-year project, not a June sprint.

This guide is for international and bilingual students in the French system. French exam terms stay in French, because those are the words on your convocation, bulletins and sujets.

How does the reformed French bac work?

Your final bac grade is out of 20 and comes from two blocks. Under the reform, roughly 40% comes from contrôle continu and 60% from épreuves terminales (final exams). The exact coefficients and dates have been adjusted more than once since 2021, so treat the outline below as the shape of the exam and confirm the current figures for your session on the Ministère de l'Éducation nationale website or with your lycée.

• Contrôle continu: your averages in the bulletins scolaires of première and terminale for the tronc commun subjects (such as histoire-géographie, langues vivantes A and B, enseignement scientifique, EPS and enseignement moral et civique), plus the spécialité you drop at the end of première.
• Épreuve anticipée de français: taken at the end of première, with an écrit (4 hours: commentaire or dissertation in the voie générale) and an oral based on the texts studied in class.
• Philosophie: a 4-hour written exam in terminale. You choose one of three sujets: two dissertation questions or one explication de texte.
• Two épreuves de spécialité: written exams (with a practical component in some subjects, such as the sciences) on the two spécialités you keep in terminale. These carry the largest coefficients of any single exams.
• Grand oral: a 20-minute oral at the end of terminale, after 20 minutes of preparation, built around a question linked to one or both of your spécialités.

A new épreuve anticipée de mathématiques for première students has also been introduced in recent sessions. If you are in première now, ask your teachers how it is organised and weighted for your year.

To pass, you need an overall average of 10/20. Between 8 and 10, you can sit the second group of exams (the oral de rattrapage) in two subjects. Mentions are awarded at 12 (assez bien), 14 (bien) and 16 (très bien). If you also follow a bilingual or international track, check whether it adds exams or changes how particular subjects are assessed.

Which parts of the bac should I prioritise?

Prioritise by weight and by how much your result can still move. The two spécialités carry the biggest single coefficients, so they deserve the largest share of your exam revision. Philosophie and the Grand oral come next among the terminale exams. The épreuve anticipée de français matters in première, and once it is done, its mark is locked in.

Do not neglect contrôle continu. Because it is built from your bulletins over two years, it cannot be rescued in May. Steady work in every tronc commun subject throughout the year protects a large share of your final grade, and your bulletins also feed into Parcoursup applications for higher education.

How do I make fiches de révision that actually work?

Fiches de révision are short revision cards, one per chapter or notion. They work best when built during the year, not in May.

1. One fiche per notion or chapter. Keep it to one side of an A5 or A4 card. If it does not fit, split it.
2. Only what you must recall. Definitions, formulas, key dates, quotations, the steps of a method (for example, the structure of a dissertation).
3. Write questions on the back. Turn each fiche into a quiz: "Define conscience", "State the derivative of ln(x)", "Three causes of the Cold War".
4. Test, do not reread. Cover the front, answer from memory, then check. Rereading feels productive but is far weaker than active recall.
5. Space your reviews. Revisit each fiche a day later, a week later, then a few weeks later. Put the ones you get wrong in a "to review" pile.

How should I use annales du bac?

Annales are past bac papers. Fiches help you remember content; annales teach you to use it under exam conditions.

• Check the format first. Papers from before the reform, or from before later changes, may not match today's exams. Use recent sujets and your teachers' bac blanc papers as your main source.
• Move to strict timing. From around March, sit full papers in the real time: 4 hours for philosophie, the full duration for each spécialité.
• Mark against the corrigé. Compare your answer with the marking guidance or a model answer, and note exactly where you lost marks.
• Keep an error log. Record each mistake by type (method, content, timing, misreading the question), then turn the pattern into new fiches.

How do I revise for bac philosophie?

Philosophie is the exam that worries international students most, because the dissertation is a very French form of writing. The good news is that it rewards method as much as knowledge.

First, learn the notions on the programme for your voie and make a fiche for each, with two or three key arguments, a definition or two, and a few references to authors you have studied in class. Second, master the method. A dissertation needs an introduction that analyses the terms of the question and sets out a problématique, a structured development (usually two or three parts that genuinely progress), and a conclusion that answers the question. The explication de texte asks you to explain an author's argument line by line, identifying the thesis and how it is built.

Practise both forms, then decide which suits you, and do at least a few full 4-hour attempts before June.

How do I revise for the épreuves de spécialité?

Treat each spécialité as a subject in its own right, with its own fiche set and its own run of annales. In scientific spécialités such as mathématiques, physique-chimie or SVT, exam marks come from working problems through, not from recognising them, so most of your revision should be exercises. Redo class exercises without looking at the solution, then work through annales and check every step.

In humanities spécialités such as HGGSP, SES or HLP, combine fiches of key content with timed practice of your paper's written formats. Check the programme officiel so you know which chapters are examined.

If maths is one of your spécialités, little and often works best: a few exercises every day keep methods fresh far better than a weekend marathon. For a broader take on revising heavy, content-led courses, see our guides on how to revise for A-Levels and IB Diploma study tips; the techniques transfer well to the spécialités.

How do I prepare for the Grand oral?

The Grand oral lasts 20 minutes, after 20 minutes of preparation. You arrive with two questions you have prepared during terminale, each linked to your spécialités, and the jury chooses one. The oral then has three parts: about 5 minutes presenting your question standing and without reading notes, about 10 minutes of discussion with the jury, and about 5 minutes on how the question connects to your plans after the bac.

• Write a clear five-minute answer. Introduce why the question matters, give a structured answer, then conclude. Learn the structure, not a word-for-word script.
• Rehearse out loud, standing, timed. Practise in front of family or friends and ask them to interrupt with questions.
• Revise the wider spécialité. The jury's questions can move beyond your exact topic.
• Prepare your projet d'orientation. Be ready to explain honestly how the question links to what you want to study or do next.

Bilingual students sometimes speak French fluently but less formally than the jury expects. Rehearse connecting phrases such as "dans un premier temps" and "pour conclure".

How do I revise for the épreuve anticipée de français?

This is a première exam, so if you are in première now, it should sit at the centre of your revision plan. For the écrit, practise both the commentaire and the dissertation sur œuvre on the set works, under the full 4-hour timing. For the oral, revise every text on your descriptif (the list of texts studied in class): you will explain one of them and answer a grammar question, then present a work you have chosen and discuss it with the examiner.

Make a fiche for each text with its context, structure, key quotations and the main lines of your explication. Students whose French is strong but not their first language can build vocabulary for literary analysis alongside, and our French CEFR levels guide explains what each level of written and spoken French involves.

What does a bac revision plan look like?

Here is a terminale plan you can adapt. The exact dates of the épreuves de spécialité, philosophie and the Grand oral are set each year, so check the official calendar for your session and shift the phases to match.

In première, use the same shape but put the épreuve anticipée de français (and any anticipated maths test) where the spécialités sit in this table, while laying the foundations of your fiches for terminale.

A final bac revision checklist

• I have checked the current coefficients and the official calendar for my session.
• I know the format and timing of every épreuve terminale I will sit.
• I have a fiche set for every subject, written in French, and I test myself from it.
• I have sat at least a few full, timed annales for philosophie and each spécialité.
• I keep an error log and turn recurring mistakes into new fiches.
• I have rehearsed both Grand oral questions out loud, standing, with questions from a listener.
• My bulletins in tronc commun subjects are steady, because contrôle continu cannot be rescued in May.

If you want structured, timed practice for the maths side of the bac, Derstina's exam-prep paths include interactive lessons and timed mock exams you can fit into a daily routine alongside your fiches.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I start revising for the bac?

Start light, steady revision in September of terminale and build up from there. Keep fiches from the first week of term, sit your bac blanc seriously in winter, and shift to full annales under timed conditions from around March. For the épreuve anticipée de français, the same rule applies one year earlier, in première.

How is the reformed French bac graded?

The final grade is out of 20. Under the reform, contrôle continu (your report-card averages across première and terminale) accounts for 40% and the final exams for 60%, the largest of which are the two spécialités, philosophie, the Grand oral and the épreuve anticipée de français. You need 10/20 to pass, and between 8 and 10 you can take the oral de rattrapage. Coefficients have changed since the reform, so check the current figures for your session.

What are fiches de révision and how should I use them?

Fiches de révision are short revision cards, usually one per chapter or per notion, that condense definitions, key formulas, dates, quotations and method steps. Make them as you go during the year rather than in May, keep them to one side of a page, and test yourself from them instead of rereading.

Where can I find annales du bac?

Annales are past bac papers, and you can find many of them, with marking guidance, on official education sites and in published revision books sold in French bookshops. Always check that a paper matches the current exam format, because papers from before the reform, or from before later changes, may test things differently.

How do I prepare for the Grand oral?

Prepare your two questions early with your spécialité teachers, then write a clear five-minute answer for each that you can deliver standing, without reading notes. Rehearse out loud in front of other people, time yourself, and practise answering follow-up questions on the wider spécialité, not just your question. Also prepare a short, honest account of how the question connects to your plans after the bac, as part of the oral covers your orientation project.

Can international or bilingual students revise for the bac in English?

You can use English for planning, understanding hard concepts and organising your notes, but you must practise producing answers in French, because the exams are written and spoken in French. Make your fiches in French with an English gloss for tricky terms, and practise philosophie dissertations and the Grand oral entirely in French. If you are on a bilingual or international track, check whether it adds extra exams or changes how some subjects are assessed.