Revising works well when you check one thing at a time, using the same list every time. A short checklist turns “it looks fine” into a set of questions you can answer. This is the last step of developing an original written response.
It uses everything from the earlier lessons: the plan, the connectors and the reasons.
What goes on the checklist?
Six questions cover most of what costs marks in a short response:
- Task: did I answer every point, for the right reader?
- Time: is each verb in the tense its time word asks for?
- Agreement: do articles, adjectives and verbs match their nouns and subjects?
- Links: are there connectors, or only a row of short sentences?
- Reasons: does each opinion have a reason that adds something?
- Spelling: accents, apostrophes and word endings.
Read the draft once for each question. It feels slow at first, but with practice the pass becomes quick.
Worked example
Draft: Salut Hugo, Le week-end dernier je vais au cinéma avec mon amis. Nous avons vu un film drôle. J’aime le film parce que les acteurs sont amusant. Le week-end prochain, je vais visiter mes grands-parents.
Pass 1, task: the task asked about last weekend, next weekend and an opinion. All three are present. No change.
Pass 2, time: Le week-end dernier needs the past. Change je vais to je suis allé. Also, J’aime le film judges a film already seen, so J’ai aimé le film.
Pass 3, agreement: mon amis has a plural noun, so use mes amis. Acteurs is plural, so amusants.
Pass 4, links: the draft has parce que and a clear order. No change.
Pass 5, reasons: the reason adds new information. No change.
Pass 6, vocabulary and spelling: visiter is used for places. For people, use rendre visite à.
Revised:
Salut Hugo, le week-end dernier, je suis allé au cinéma avec mes amis. Nous avons vu un film drôle. J’ai aimé le film parce que les acteurs sont amusants. Le week-end prochain, je vais rendre visite à mes grands-parents.
Five corrections, each found by a different question. A single quick read would probably have caught one or two.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to replace a correct, safe sentence with a fancier one you are not sure about.
Mistaken revision: Je suis allé au cinéma changed to J’ai été me rendre au cinéma.
The new version is not correct French, so the revision added an error instead of removing one.
The correction is to leave correct French alone. Revise only when a checklist question shows a real problem, and fix it with a structure you already control.
Check yourself
Try these on paper, then open each answer.
1. Find and correct three errors: Ma sœur est très gentil. Elle aime les chat. Hier, elle va au marché.
Show answer
Ma sœur est très gentille. Elle aime les chats. Hier, elle est allée au marché. The adjective agrees with sœur, chats takes a plural s, and hier needs the passé composé with allée, because the subject is feminine.
2. A draft is a row of sentences beginning with Je. Which checklist question will help, and what is one fix?
Show answer
Question 4, links. Join two sentences with a connector, for example: Je me lève à six heures, puis je prends le bus.
3. Why is it more reliable to read once per checklist item than once for everything?
Show answer
Your attention can follow only a few things at once. Tense, agreement and spelling need different kinds of attention, so separate passes let you notice what a single read lets slip.
Where this leads next
You have now covered the whole writing cycle. Put it together with the integrated practice set, where each answer shows which lesson to review. For agreement errors, return to sentence foundations and agreement.
A checklist is most useful when it fits your own habits. In online one-to-one French tuition, a teacher can look at several of your drafts and help you see which checks matter most for you.