Producing Written French: Texts and Language Use
What this domain tests
You write short texts - a message, email, postcard, blog entry, notice or short article - of roughly 60–120 words, plus sentence-level language exercises (verb forms, agreements, word order). Marks reward communication of the required points, range of language, and accuracy.
Core concepts to control
- Text conventions: greeting and sign-off (Salut Léa, / À bientôt for a friend; Madame, Monsieur, / Cordialement for a formal email), subject line, paragraphs.
- Tense control: present for now, passé composé for completed events (j'ai visité, nous avons mangé), imparfait for background and habits (quand j'étais petit, je jouais), near future (je vais partir) and simple future (je partirai).
- Agreement: adjective with noun (des amies françaises), past participle with être (elle est partie) and with a preceding direct object (les photos que j'ai prises).
- Word order: object pronouns before the verb (je le vois), negation around the verb (je ne le vois pas), y and en positions.
- Connectors for range: d'abord, ensuite, cependant, parce que, donc, enfin.
Traps in writing tasks
- Missing a bullet point from the prompt - plan the required content before writing.
- English syntax: Je suis d'accord (not Je suis agree); J'ai 17 ans (not Je suis 17); Il me plaît (not Il plaît moi).
- Accents and spelling that change meaning: a/à, ou/où, ça/sa, é/è.
- Over-ambitious sentences that collapse. Short accurate sentences score better than long broken ones.
- Wrong register - tu in a formal email.
Worked example
Prompt: write an email to a French friend describing last weekend. Model sentence: Samedi, je suis allé(e) au marché avec ma sœur, et nous avons acheté des fraises. Note the passé composé with être (agreement) and with avoir (no agreement with the subject). Rule of thumb: plan three bullet points, write one clear sentence per idea, then re-read once only for verbs and accents.