Writing in French for Purpose and Audience

Writing well in French

In the French writing exam you are given a task, and how well you do depends not only on getting the French right but on writing it for the reader and the job. Before you write, you decide two things: what the writing is for, and who will read it. Those two choices shape everything else: whether you address the reader as tu or vous, which words and structures you reach for, and how formal you are. Top marks come from showing range: using more than one tense, joining your ideas with connectives, and giving opinions with reasons. This module shows how to write in French for a purpose and an audience, how to plan a piece, and how accuracy, including accents, lifts your work.

French writing words

Learn these five terms before you plan a piece of French writing.

Match each French connective to its meaning

Tu against vous

French has two words for you, and choosing the right one shows the reader you understand register.

Which connective helps?

You want to give a reason in your writing, such as why you like a place. Which French connective helps most?

• parce que
• et
• mais
• aussi

Show off your range

A short, correct piece of French earns a safe mark, but the higher marks go to writing that shows range. Use more than one tense, so you write about what you did, what you do and what you will do. Give opinions and back them up with a reason. Join your ideas with connectives instead of writing a list of short, separate sentences. For example, a sentence like Je suis content parce que je parle francais packs in an opinion, a reason and correct verbs all at once. Above all, adapt to who you are writing to and why, and check your accents and your agreements at the end, because accuracy is what turns good ideas into a good mark.

Pick the true facts about writing in French

Select every statement about writing in French that is true.

• Using a range of tenses improves your writing
• Vous is the polite or plural form of you
• Connectives such as parce que join ideas together
• Accents never matter in French writing
• You should write the same way to a friend and to a stranger

Order how to plan a piece of French writing

Put the steps of planning a piece of French writing in a sensible order.

• Read the task and note the purpose and audience
• Decide whether to use tu or vous
• Plan the points and the tenses you will use
• Write, joining ideas with connectives
• Check the spelling, accents and agreement

Complete the writing facts

The reason you are writing is your _____. Whether you use tu or vous depends on the _____. A joining word such as parce que is a _____. Writing about the past, present or future means changing the _____.

A postcard and a job application

Imagine writing a cheerful postcard to a close friend from your holiday, and then, in the same week, a careful application for a summer job. You would never write the two the same way. The postcard is short, warm and relaxed; the application is polite, tidy and formal. The same person is writing, yet the two pieces come out completely different, because who will read them and why is different in each case. Writing in French works in exactly the same way. Before you write a word, you settle who you are writing to and what for, and you let that decide how formal you are, which words you reach for, and how you sign off. Everything you put down should suit the reader in front of you.

Tap the ways to improve French writing

Tap every item below that would improve a piece of French writing.

• using a range of tenses
• joining ideas with connectives
• giving and justifying opinions
• writing every sentence the same length

The French writing run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Choose how to write it

Read each situation and choose the best answer.

• You are writing to a French adult you have never met before. Which form of you do you use?
• You want a top mark for your written French. What should you include?
• You have finished a piece of writing in French. What should you check?

Build a French writing point

Choose the word for each gap to complete one accurate point about writing in French.

Explain how to write well in French

A friend has to write a short piece in French for an exam and does not know how to get a good mark. Explain clearly how to write in French for a purpose and an audience.

• Explain what purpose and audience mean for writing
• Explain when to use tu and when to use vous
• Explain how connectives improve your writing
• Explain why using a range of tenses helps
• Explain why accuracy, including accents, matters