Writing in French (Constructed Response)
The Writing in French constructed-response domain assesses presentational writing in French: formal correspondence, narratives, opinion pieces, summaries, or proposals. Responses are scored on task completion, organization, grammatical accuracy, vocabulary range, register, and mechanics, including accents. You must show control across sentences, not just produce a list of correct phrases.
Core rules and concepts
- Plan by function. Decide whether the task requires requesting, complaining, narrating, comparing, persuading, or recommending, and allocate a paragraph to each required point.
- Match register. Formal writing uses Madame, Monsieur, je vous écris afin de, conditional politeness (je vous serais reconnaissant de), and a conventional closing. Informal writing may use tu and contractions.
- Build cohesion. Use tout d’abord, de plus, en revanche, par conséquent, toutefois, and en définitive to show relationships.
- Control agreement and tense. Check subject-verb agreement, noun-adjective agreement, auxiliary choice (avoir/être), past participle agreement, and sequence of tenses.
- Proofread accents and spelling. a/à, ou/où, ce/se, and accented endings can change meaning or cost accuracy points.
Worked example
Task: write a formal email to a landlord requesting repairs. A strong opening is: « Objet : demande de réparation dans l’appartement. Madame, Monsieur, Je vous écris afin de vous signaler que le robinet de la cuisine fuit depuis plusieurs jours. » For the request: « Je vous serais reconnaissant de bien vouloir faire intervenir un plombier dans les meilleurs délais. » Closing: « Dans l’attente de votre réponse, je vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées. » Reasoning: the subject line is precise, the problem is stated factually, the request uses conditional politeness, and the closing matches formal correspondence. Each sentence performs a clear function.
Traps that cost marks
- Translating English syntax word for word instead of using French structures.
- Mixing tu and vous or using informal closings in a formal email.
- Forgetting the stated recipient, purpose, or required details.
- Writing long, uncontrolled sentences that create agreement errors.
- Omitting accents or confusing a/à and ou/où.