Writing Practice: Structured Writing, Free-Time Activities

The cheapest range is time

A writing answer is not marked only on whether the French is correct. Two things decide most of the difference between a middling answer and a good one, and neither is vocabulary. The first is coverage: the task gives you things to write about, and the commonest way to lose marks is to write well about two of the three. The second is range, which means showing that you can do more than one thing with the language. That sounds expensive and it is not, because the cheapest range available to you is time. If you can only write in the present, you can say what you do. If you can also say what you used to do, the same hobby gives you twice as much to write and your answer shows two tenses instead of one. Compare je lis les journaux with je lisais les journaux. Same words, one extra idea, and an answer that reads as an account rather than a list.

What the imperfect does

The past tense you need here is the imperfect, and for this topic you need it for one job only: saying what you used to do regularly.

Present into past

Which one is a past habit

Which sentence says that something was a regular habit in the past?

• je faisais les courses
• je fais les courses
• nous faisons les courses
• je vais faire les courses

Two answers, same task

Both students were asked to write about their free time, mentioning what they enjoy, what they used to do, and their opinion. Both wrote correct French.

Finish the past habit

To say I used to read the newspapers, write je _____ les journaux. To say I used to do the food shopping, write je _____ les courses. To say I used to play, write je _____. For we used to play, write nous _____. All four end in the imperfect, and the giveaway is the ending _____.

Answer every bullet

This is the cheapest mark in the whole paper and it is lost constantly. A writing task tells you what to include, usually as a short list. Every one of those points is worth marks, and a beautiful paragraph about the first two will not earn the marks attached to the third. So before you write anything, count the bullets, and write the number down. Then plan one idea for each, in order. When you finish, go back and check each bullet against your answer with your finger. If you have run short of time, an ordinary sentence answering the last bullet is worth more than another polished sentence on a bullet you have already covered. And if you genuinely cannot think of anything for one of them, write something simple and true rather than nothing at all.

Plan before you write

Put the stages of answering a writing task in the order that protects your marks.

• Count the bullets and note how many things must be covered
• Jot one idea for each bullet, in the order they are given
• Decide where you can use a second tense, such as a past habit
• Write the answer, keeping to the ideas you planned
• Check each bullet against your answer before you move on

Build a past-habit sentence

Assemble a sentence saying that you used to read the newspapers with your group of friends.

The bullet nobody answered

A task asked students to mention what they enjoy doing, what they used to do, and what they think of it. Four students each wrote one sentence. Select the ONE sentence that answers none of those three bullets.

• Je joue avec mon groupe.
• Je jouais avec mon groupe.
• Mon groupe a une place.
• Je trouve cela facile.

A model answer, annotated

The task: write about your free time, mentioning what you enjoy doing, what you used to do, and your opinion. Here is an answer with the reasoning shown. Je joue avec mon groupe. That answers the first bullet in the present. Avant, je lisais les journaux et je faisais les courses avec ma partie de la famille. That answers the second bullet, and it is where the marks for range are, because the two verbs are in the imperfect. Je trouve cela facile, mais mon groupe est difficile. That answers the third bullet with an opinion and adds a contrast, which is more than a bare adjective. Three sentences, three bullets, two tenses, and every noun taken from the vocabulary for this topic. Notice what is not happening. Nothing is long, nothing is ambitious beyond the tenses, and no word is used that the student could not spell with confidence. A short accurate answer that covers everything beats a longer one that covers two thirds of the task.

What makes it stronger

A student has written a correct answer entirely in the present tense that covers every bullet. Select the TWO changes that would most improve it.

• Adding a sentence about what they used to do, in the imperfect
• Adding a short opinion with a reason rather than a bare adjective
• Making every sentence considerably longer
• Adding several words the student is not confident how to spell

Decisions while writing

You are answering a writing task on free-time activities. Take the decisions in order.

• You have read the task. What do you do before writing your first sentence?
• One bullet asks about the past. Which tense do you reach for?
• You want to name a hobby but cannot remember the French word. What do you do?
• Two minutes left. You have covered two bullets well and not touched the third.

Write your own answer

Write in FRENCH about your free time. English bullets, French answer, as in the exam. Use only words you can spell with confidence, and check every bullet before you finish.

• Say what you enjoy doing in your free time, in the present tense
• Say what you used to do, using the imperfect at least twice
• Say who you did it with
• Give an opinion about one of the activities, with a reason
• Say whether you found it easy or difficult