The Exchange Email That Overpromises
You are writing a 60-word email in French to your host sister Camille in Lyon. Your teacher's brief: introduce yourself, say how old you are, mention one hobby, ask one question about her school, and close politely. You draft: 'Bonjour Camille, je m'appelle Alex, j'ai seize ans. J'adore le foot et je joue chaque samedi. Tu aimes l'école? À bientôt, Alex.' You count 24 words. A classmate says shorter is safer because errors are penalised per word, so you should keep it short. Your teacher's rubric instead rewards range of structures and a polite opening and closing, and marks down missing required elements. You have 15 minutes left and know you can add two more sentences without new grammar risk.
1. Should you submit the 24-word draft or expand it? Justify using the rubric logic and the brief.
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Expand, but only with structures you control. The brief lists five required elements; the draft covers self-introduction, age, hobby and one question, but the greeting 'Bonjour' is acceptable while the closing 'À bientôt, Alex' is polite but thin, and there is no reference to the reader beyond the question. More importantly, a 60-word task answered in 24 words signals limited range: the rubric rewards variety (for example a negative, a frequency expression, a second question), and missing required elements costs more than a few small errors. Errors are not penalised 'per word' in a way that makes brevity rational; accuracy and range are judged together. So add roughly 30-35 words: one sentence on how often you write/study, one negative ('Je n'aime pas...'), and a second question about her subjects. Keep sentences short and checked.
2. Write the expanded version (about 55-60 words) and note two grammar points you deliberately included.
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Model: 'Bonjour Camille, je m'appelle Alex et j'ai seize ans. J'habite à Sydney avec ma famille. J'adore le foot et je joue chaque samedi avec mes amis, mais je n'aime pas le tennis. À l'école, j'étudie le français depuis deux ans. Et toi, quelles matières tu préfères? Tu aimes l'école? Écris-moi bientôt. Amitiés, Alex.' (about 58 words). Deliberate grammar: (1) a negative construction 'je n'aime pas' with correct ne...pas placement; (2) a question using 'quelles matières' with feminine plural agreement, plus a second yes/no question with inversion-free intonation. Also note 'depuis deux ans' with the present tense, a structure the rubric rewards. The closing 'Amitiés' is polite and appropriate for a peer.