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French · Practice

Practice: developing an original written response

You have read the lessons, and now you want to see whether the planning and checking habits hold when the page is blank.

This set practises the four skills from the module: planning around the task, connecting sentences, explaining opinions and revising with a checklist. The French stays in French; the explanations are in English.

Work through the questions in order, from easy to harder. Try each one on paper before you open the answer. Mark yourself on the checklist items, not on matching our wording.

Questions

1. Read the task. Vous écrivez à un ami français. Décrivez où vous êtes allé(e) l’été dernier, dites ce que vous avez fait et expliquez si vous voulez y retourner. List the points you must cover and the tense for each.

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There are three points. (a) Where you went last summer: past tense, je suis allé(e) à…. (b) What you did: past tense, j’ai visité…, j’ai mangé…. (c) Whether you want to go back, with a reason: je voudrais retourner… parce que…, a wish in the present or conditional.

A one-line plan: lieu (passé) / activités (passé) / retour + raison (je voudrais).

2. Join two sentences. Link with parce que: Je n’aime pas le bus. Il est toujours en retard.

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Je n’aime pas le bus parce qu’il est toujours en retard.

Que contracts with il to give qu’il. The reason adds new information: the bus is late.

3. Choose the linker. Fill the gap with mais, et or parce que: J’aime le football, ___ je n’aime pas le rugby.

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mais. The two ideas contrast, so mais (but) fits. Et would suggest two similar ideas, and parce que would claim the second explains the first.

4. Order the steps. Rewrite these in a clear order using d’abord, ensuite and enfin: J’ai fait mes devoirs. J’ai mangé un sandwich. Je suis rentré(e) du collège.

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D’abord, je suis rentré(e) du collège. Ensuite, j’ai mangé un sandwich. Enfin, j’ai fait mes devoirs.

Put the events in the order they happened, then add one linker per step. Do not use more than three, or the paragraph sounds mechanical.

5. Plan from a task. Parlez de votre collège idéal : décrivez les bâtiments, donnez votre opinion sur les cours et dites ce que vous voudriez changer. Write the plan.

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Three points, each with a tense or structure:

  • Buildings: present, il y a, c’est grand.
  • Opinion on lessons: à mon avis…, parce que…
  • What to change: je voudrais…, on pourrait…

Plan: bâtiments (présent) / cours (opinion + raison) / changer (je voudrais).

6. Correct the tense. Hier, je vais au cinéma avec ma cousine. The time word is hier. Correct the sentence.

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Hier, je suis allé(e) au cinéma avec ma cousine.

Hier signals the past, so use the passé composé. Aller takes être, so the participle agrees with the subject: allé for a boy, allée for a girl.

7. Strengthen the reason. Improve: Je pense que le sport est bien parce que c’est bien.

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The reason repeats the opinion. Replace it with new information.

Je pense que le sport est important parce qu’il donne de l’énergie. Par exemple, je suis plus calme après un match.

Test: remove the opinion; the reason must still make sense on its own.

8. Write a paragraph. Topic: les réseaux sociaux. Write three or four sentences: an opinion, a reason with parce que, and an example.

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One possible answer:

À mon avis, les réseaux sociaux sont utiles parce qu’on reste en contact avec ses amis. Par exemple, je parle avec ma cousine qui habite loin. En plus, on partage des photos facilement.

Yours will differ. Check: opinion phrase, a reason that is new information, an example, and correct agreements.

9. Revise a draft. Find and correct three errors: Je habite à Kuala Lumpur. Ma sœur il s’appelle Mina. Elle est intelligent.

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J’habite à Kuala Lumpur. Ma sœur s’appelle Mina. Elle est intelligente.

  • Je becomes j’ before a vowel or silent h.
  • A pronoun repeating the noun (Ma sœur il) is not needed; the verb is s’appelle.
  • Intelligente takes a final -e because elle refers to a girl.

10. Check coverage. Task: Parlez de votre week-end dernier, de ce que vous allez faire ce week-end et de votre activité préférée. Draft: Le week-end dernier, j’ai joué au badminton. Mon activité préférée est la natation parce que c’est relaxant. What is missing?

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The draft covers two of three points. The plan for this weekend is missing. Add a future point, for example: Ce week-end, je vais faire mes devoirs et regarder un film.

This is the coverage check from the revision checklist: tick each task point against the draft before you submit it.

If you got these wrong

Error typeQuestionsGo back to
Missed a point, wrong tense in the plan1, 5, 10Plan a response around the task
Linker or order problems2, 3, 4Connect short sentences
Reason repeats the opinion7, 8Explain an opinion with a relevant reason
Agreement, tense or elision slips6, 9Revise with a self-review checklist

For recurring agreement or verb errors, revisit sentence building and agreement. The full route is on the module page.

Short, regular writing practice usually works better than one long session. A teacher in online one-to-one French tuition can mark your paragraphs with you and set the next small task.

Questions people ask

Should I write full answers or only plan them?

Do both over time. For questions 1 and 5, a plan on paper is enough. For the paragraph questions, write the French first, then open the answer and compare. Your sentences will differ from ours, and that is fine if every point is covered and the grammar is accurate.

Can I use a dictionary while practising?

For learning, yes: look up a word you need and note it down. Then try a second round without help, which is closer to real conditions. Check with your teacher or exam centre what is allowed in the real assessment.

What if my answer is correct but different from the model?

That is normal in writing. Check it against the task: does it cover every point, use the right tense, give a relevant reason and contain correct agreements? If so, your version works.

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Your next step

If the same kind of error keeps coming back in your own French writing, a one-to-one teacher can mark a short paragraph with you and show where the habit slips.

Paid one-hour trial at your assigned teacher’s confirmed rate, starting from RM80. Other fees, schedules and ongoing arrangements are confirmed directly with your teacher after the trial class.

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