how to memorise a french essay

Write an essay in French

Beyond the fact that writing an essay in French can be a good practice to improve your writing, you may also be asked to write one during your schooling. So, it is important to study the topic of French essay writing and get some useful tips..

» Tips and tricks for your French essay » The structure of a French essay » Sample French Essay

Tips and tricks for your French essay

When writing a French essay for school, you should always use a structured approach and good French skills to present your arguments in a focused way. Beyond French skills, there are also important formal requirements for a successful French essay. We will come back to this in detail later. First, you will find some useful tips and tricks that will help you write more compelling and better French essays in the future.

Have a clear thesis and structure
Do sufficient research and use reliable sources
Use examples and arguments to support your thesis
Avoid plagiarism and cite correctly
Always check structure, grammar and spelling

When you write your essay at school or university, you need to make sure that the general structure of your essay, the presentation of the arguments and, above all, your French language skills play a role in the mark you will get. This is why you should definitely take a closer look at the structure of an essay as well as the most important grammar rules and formulations for French essays.

The structure of a French essay

In an essay, you deal at length and in detail with a usually given topic. When you write an essay in French, you must follow a certain structure. Below we show you what this structure looks like and give you some tips for writing the most important parts of your essay.

The Introduction

The introduction prepares the main body of your essay. You think of a meaningful title for your essay, you describe your thesis or your question, you give general information on the subject and you prepare your argument by giving an overview of your most important arguments.

Below are examples and phrases that you can use to write the introduction to your essay in French.

The title should be meaningful, concise and reflect the content of the essay.

Introductory paragraph

The first paragraph of your French essay should briefly introduce the topic and engage the reader. Here are some examples to help you write your essay:

Proposal or question

The central proposition or question of your French essay should be a clear and concise definition of the purpose of the essay. Use these examples to get a clearer idea of how to write theses in French:

Overview of Arguments and Structure

At the end of your introduction, describe the structure of the main part of your essay (your outline) and outline your argument. Here are some French expressions that will certainly help you write your essay:

The body of your essay

The main part of your French essay deals with the given topic in detail. The subject is studied from all angles. The main body of your essay follows a thread of argument and discusses in detail the main arguments of your thesis previously made in the introduction.

In the body of the text, you should discuss the subject of your essay in clear and concise language. To achieve this, we give you some wording aids as well as vocabulary and phrases that you can use to write your essay in French.

Formulation tools:

French vocabulary for essays.

In the conclusion of your French essay, you address the thesis of your essay, summarize the main points of your discussion in the main body, and draw a conclusion. On the basis of the arguments and the resulting conclusions, you formulate in the conclusion of your dissertation final thoughts and suggestions for the future. It is important that you do not add new information or new arguments. This should only be done in the body of your text.

Here are some wording guides to help you write your essay in French:

Sample French Essay

Les avantages des voyages linguistiques

Malgré les difficultés potentielles, les voyages linguistiques offrent aux apprenants une occasion unique d'améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques et de découvrir de nouvelles cultures, ce qui en fait un investissement précieux pour leur développement personnel et académique.

Les séjours linguistiques sont des voyages organisés dans le but d'améliorer les compétences linguistiques des participants. Ces voyages peuvent se dérouler dans le pays ou à l'étranger et durer d'un week-end à plusieurs semaines. L'un des principaux avantages des séjours linguistiques est l'immersion. Entourés de locuteurs natifs, les apprenants sont contraints de pratiquer et d'améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques dans des situations réelles.Il s'agit d'une méthode d'apprentissage beaucoup plus efficace que le simple fait d'étudier une langue dans une salle de classe.

Un autre avantage des séjours linguistiques est l'expérience culturelle. Voyager dans un nouveau pays permet aux apprenants de découvrir de nouvelles coutumes, traditions et modes de vie, et de se familiariser avec l'histoire et la culture du pays. Cela enrichit non seulement l'expérience d'apprentissage de la langue, mais contribue également à élargir les horizons et à accroître la sensibilisation culturelle.

Cependant, les séjours linguistiques peuvent également présenter des inconvénients. Par exemple, le coût du voyage et de l'hébergement peut être élevé, en particulier pour les séjours de longue durée. En outre, les apprenants peuvent être confrontés à la barrière de la langue ou à un choc culturel, ce qui peut être difficile à surmonter. Le coût et les difficultés potentielles des séjours linguistiques peuvent sembler décourageants, mais ils offrent des avantages précieux en termes d'épanouissement personnel et scolaire.

Les compétences linguistiques et les connaissances culturelles acquises peuvent déboucher sur de nouvelles opportunités d'emploi et améliorer la communication dans un cadre professionnel. Les bourses et les aides financières rendent les séjours linguistiques plus accessibles. Le fait d'être confronté à une barrière linguistique ou à un choc culturel peut également être l'occasion d'un développement personnel. Ces avantages l'emportent largement sur les inconvénients et font des séjours linguistiques un investissement qui en vaut la peine.

En conclusion, malgré les difficultés potentielles, les séjours linguistiques offrent aux apprenants une occasion unique d'améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques et de découvrir de nouvelles cultures, ce qui en fait un investissement précieux pour le développement personnel et académique. Qu'il s'agisse d'un débutant ou d'un apprenant avancé, un voyage linguistique est une expérience à ne pas manquer.

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French Writing Practice

French writing exercises by level.

Practise your French writing skills with our ever-growing collection of interactive French writing exercises for every CEFR level from A0 to C1! If you're unsure about your current proficiency, try our test to get your French level before diving into the exercises.

All writing exercises are made by our qualified native French teachers to help you improve your writing skills and confidence.

Kwizbot will give you a series of prompts to translate to French. He’ll show you where you make mistakes as you go along and will suggest related lessons for you.

Boost your French writing skills by adding the lessons you find most interesting to your Notebook and practising them later.

Click on any exercise to get started.

A1: Beginner French writing exercises

A Christmas feast Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Sébastien is in charge of Christmas Eve Dinner this year.
A French lunch menu Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Here's the typical lunch menu of a French coffee shop.
A French woman Employment Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Élodie tells us about her everyday life as a lawyer specialising in women's rights.
A day in my cat Max's life Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Article Article contracté Juliette tells about her cat's daily routine.
A day in the city of Le Mans Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Audrey had a nice time visiting Le Mans, in northwestern France.
A dream Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Geoffrey tells us about one of his dreams.
A love story Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Cécile and Andrew meet in a bar.
A rainy afternoon Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Soizic and Armelle meet up on a rainy day in Brest.
A romantic Valentine Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Henri tells us about his special plans for Valentine's Day.
A winter meal Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Bernard has his perfect comfort meal for cold nights.
Actress Anne Dorval Famous People Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Claire tells us about her favourite actress, French-Canadian Anne Dorval.
Anne's Easter loot Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Anne lists all the treats she found during her Easter egg hunt.
Annoying Things Family & Relationships Adjectif Adverbe Article Philippe and Julien share some of the things that really annoy them.
Arnaud and Ophélie describe themselves Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Arnaud and Ophélie describe themselves physically.
At midnight Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Sébastien's family celebrates Christmas on the evening of the 24th.
At the beach Free Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Article Article défini Conversation at the beach between an ice cream vendor and a customer.
At the beach Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Tom is telling us about his day at the beach.
At the bookshop Employment Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe François needs help choosing a book.
At the gift shop Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Mike and Linda pick some souvenirs in a Montmartre gift shop.
At the newsagent's Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adverbe Article Sophie is buying a few items at a French newsagent's.
At the sporting goods store Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Alain is buying tennis equipment for his son.
Baby at the beach Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Baby enjoys being at the beach with his family.
Back to School Family & Relationships Language & Education Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Mathieu tells us about going back to school tomorrow.
Ball Sports Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Vincent and Leila discuss their favourite ball sports.
Beyoncé Family & Relationships Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe The famous singer introduces herself.
Board games Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Jonathan is playing board games with his family.
Booking a hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Pierre wants to book a room in a hotel.
Can I come? Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Marie chats with her roommate's friend Damien.
Cleaning with my family Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Jonathan and his family are cleaning the house today!
Corsica is beautiful! Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Julien explains why he thinks Corsica is so beautiful.
Do you like the French language? Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Noémie and Léo have opposite opinions on the French language!
Do you like theme parks? Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Louis and Zoé give their opposite opinions on theme parks.
Driving in the city Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adverbe Forme négative Sophie and Christophe talk about driving in city centres [US: downtown].
Easter decorations Free Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Alice and her sister Zoé are decorating their house for Easter.
Easter preparations Celebrations & Important Dates Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Today, Daniel and his pupils are getting ready for Easter.
Exchanging a scarf Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Article Christine is returning a scarf to the shop
Father of two Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Léon talks about his two beloved children.
Filling in a form Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Olivier answers questions from a form.
Food shopping for a picnic Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Daniel and Aline are buying food for a picnic.
Gardening with Jacqueline Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Julia always loves to take care of her aunt's garden with her.
Going on a diet Family & Relationships Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marie has a plan to lose weight this year.
Going shopping Family & Relationships Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Annie and Nicolas discuss her upcoming trip to the shop.
Hanukkah with my family Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Rachelle celebrates Hanukkah with her family every year.
Hello! I'm Mario! Famous People Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif The famous plumber introduces himself.
Hello, my name is France! Politics, History & Economics Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif The country France introduces itself.
Helping my neighbourhood Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Noémie likes helping her neighbours after school.
Helping the planet Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe François does his best to help the planet in his everyday life.
How to stay healthy Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Matthieu tells us about his healthy habits.
How to vote at a polling station in France? Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Learn how to vote in a French election.
I hate the rain! Sports & Leisure Adverbe Article défini Article indéfini Annie stays in on rainy days
Load more …

A2: Lower Intermediate French writing exercises

A Creole picnic Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif During a visit to La Réunion, Julie and Léo went for a typical Creole meal.
A family of dog lovers Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Anthony had many dogs growing up, but Pip was special.
A few days in Dordogne Free Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Monique tells Patrick about her coming holiday [US: vacation].
A football accident Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Anthony had his friend Bruno over to play...
A great party for Mum [US:Mom]! Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Manon and her sister Aline treated their mother for Mother's Day.
A nice train journey Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Lucie and her boyfriend Marc went to the countryside by train this weekend.
A noisy hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Bertrand complains to the hotel reception about noises during the night.
A romantic trip to Paris Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Anna took her boyfriend on a romantic trip to Paris.
A romantic weekend away Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Aline and her boyfriend went away for a relaxing weekend.
Afternoon ice cream Free Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Lucie and Greg feel like an ice cream this afternoon.
An Easter egg hunt Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Discover where Julien and his siblings found their Easter eggs!
Arriving at the hotel Employment Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Aline checks into her Parisian hotel.
At my best friend's wedding Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Patrick gives a toast at Stéphane's wedding.
At rapper Soprano's concert Music Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Romain was thrilled to finally see his idol Soprano live!
At the Chinese restaurant Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article James is ordering food in a Chinese restaurant.
At the New Year's Eve House Party Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Mathieu welcomes his guest at his New Year's Eve house party.
At the allergist's Employment Technology & Science Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Pierre went to the allergist to get a diagnosis.
At the bar Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Au bar Patricia and Samuel discuss what drinks they want to order.
At the bureau de change Employment Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Patrick needs to change some dollars upon arriving in Paris.
At the dermatologist's Employment Technology & Science Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Manon needs help with her eczema.
At the farmers' market Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Stéphane enjoys a visit to his local farmers' market.
At the grocery store Employment Family & Relationships Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Julie and Frank need some things from the grocery store.
At the medieval market in Orléans Art & Design Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Flora and Sami enjoy Orléans's medieval market.
At the mountain restaurant Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Gérard and Sylvie stop for lunch after their mountain hike.
At the post office Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Christophe has a few errands to run at the post office.
At the shoe store Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Christine is looking for a pair of shoes with the help of a nice sales assistant.
Bastille Day in the South of France Celebrations & Important Dates Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Bernard tells us about celebrating Bastille Day last summer.
Bedtime stories Family & Relationships Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Florian remembers the bedtime ritual he had with his daughter.
Breakfast in the sun Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sabrina surprised Thomas with a nice breakfast on the balcony.
Calling the hotel's room service Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Valérie calls room service from her hotel room.
Chocolate mousse cooking tips! Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe André gives us some tips to make the perfect chocolate mousse.
Conversation on the plane Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Pascal and Julie get acquainted on a flight to Montpellier.
Cooking as a family Family & Relationships Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Yesterday, Antoine and his family made tartiflette together.
Dividing the restaurant bill Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Isabelle and her friends are splitting the bill at the restaurant.
Do you have a favourite male singer? Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Simone and Amélie are talking about their favourite French-speaking male singers.
Do you have any dirty clothes? Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Bastien and his mother debate the need for a dirty laundry basket.
Driving in France Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Here are a few things to be aware of when driving in France!
Fireworks Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Juliette went to watch New Year's fireworks yesterday.
Fishing with Dad Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Benjamin went fishing with his father last Sunday.
Getting to know each other Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe New colleagues Julien and Olivier get to know each other over a coffee.
Giving up tobacco Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Amélie has stopped smoking and she's so happy about it!
Holiday [US: Vacation] by the sea Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Édouard remembers his childhood seaside holidays [US: vacations] in the south of France.
I love autumn! Family & Relationships Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Jacqueline tells us what she loves to do in the fall.
I love my grandmother! Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Lucas tells us about his lovely grandmother.
I prefer going skiing Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Pierre tells us why he prefers going skiing rather than beach holidays.
In a taxi Family & Relationships Article Article contracté Article partitif Magalie needs her taxi to take her for a few errands.
In the changing rooms Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Mélanie is trying on a dress... and testing Pierre's patience!
Instagram love Family & Relationships Technology & Science Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Julien and Sandra became famous thanks to their Instagram account.
Instructions for a test Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Teacher Marc read out the instructions for today's French test.
Jojo is such a joker! Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Thomas talks about his school friend Jojo, who loves a joke.

B1: Intermediate French writing exercises

A French April Fool's Celebrations & Important Dates Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Cécile and her sons are making the traditional French fish for April Fool's day.
A Horror Story Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe On a dark October night, Emma received a disturbing call...
A childhood passion Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Vincent and his brother loved video games growing up.
A clichéd break-up Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif François uses all the clichéd breakup lines to leave his girlfriend Sophie.
A family day at the park Family & Relationships Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Benoît will spend this Saturday at the park with his daughter Mia.
A game of hide and seek Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Article Linda and Christian are watching from afar a game of hide and seek between the children.
A good work routine Employment Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marc plans to improve his work routine.
A greener future Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Julien is seeing a future where people are more eco-conscious.
A special Monday Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Anna is looking forward to a lazy Easter Monday!
A strange encounter Family & Relationships Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Yoann had the strangest encounter in the Broceliande forest!
A trip to the cinema Film & TV Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Antoine and his daughter Emma are planning a trip to the movies.
A weather forecast Technology & Science Adjectif Adverbe Article Find out what tomorrow's weather will be like.
A weekend in Montpellier Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Élise and Lucas plan their weekend in the southern French city.
An amazing New Year's Eve meal Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Henriette is planning a dazzling meal for New Year!
An annoying cat allergy Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Éloïse suffers from an annoying cat allergy.
An incredibly caring boy Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Lydia's son, Olivier, is such a caring person.
An old scary tradition Celebrations & Important Dates Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Yoann recalls celebrating the old Celtic tradition of Samhain with his Gran.
Animal emergency Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Julien's cat is stuck in the tree!
Around the world by motorcycle Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Joël would love to travel the world on his motorcycle.
Artist Chéri Chérin Art & Design Famous People Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Learn about the amazing Congolese artist Chéri Chérin.
Asking about a hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Catherine has a few questions about the hotel room she's booked.
At the amusement park Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Thomas will go to the amusement park with his friend Samia for their birthday this year.
At the doctor's Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Robert goes to the doctor for a consultation.
At the till Employment Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Peter is at the till [US: cash register] of a French supermarket.
Becoming a model Art & Design Employment Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Enjoy some useful tips on becoming a model.
Birthday makeover Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini "New year, new me" Julia thought on her 20th birthday.
Busy Schedule Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Isabelle recaps what everyone will have to do on Saturday!
Camping at home Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Gabriel and Rose are making plans for the weekend.
Cathy's future holiday [US: vacation] in Montpellier Free Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Learn about Cathy's plan to spend her holiday [US: vacation] in Montpellier.
Christmas in the mountains Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Antoine will spend Christmas at his dad's house in the Alps, if he can get there!
Christmas specialities Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Paul tells us about some traditional French Christmas dishes.
Conversation between the election's two rounds Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marc explains the French presidential election process to his friend Alice.
Corsican polyphonic singing Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Music Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Do you know about this bewitchingly melodic tradition from Corsica?
Cycling in Nantes Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Isabelle agrees with Nantes's status as France's "cycling capital".
Dalida Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Learn about Dalida, an iconic French-speaking singer.
Dealing with your emotions Sports & Leisure Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Here's a guide to keeping calm.
Discussing a ski weekend Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Laurent and his friend Matt are planning their ski weekend.
Dreaming of Paris Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Grégory imagines his ideal Valentine's Day's proposal.
Easter baking class Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Flora and Yvan enjoy decorating their Easter chocolate bunnies.
Family holiday car trip Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif possessif Adverbe Concordance des Temps Let the squabbles begin!
Flying anxiety Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Jean-Luc has a plan to deal with his fear of flying.
Following the GPS Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Technology & Science Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Follow this GPS's instructions to reach your destination.
Getting ready for autumn Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Article Rosalie won't get caught out by the arrival of autumn this year.
Giving up smoking Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe François tells us how he managed to stop smoking.
Going back in time Family & Relationships Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Marine asks Amanda, Bruno and Sébastien what they would do if they could go back in time.
Going to the bank Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Flora and her father need to go to the bank.
How to share household chores equally Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Follow Céline's tips to share household chores more equally.
I love swimming! Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Thomas tells us about his love for swimming and his hope to one day dive from up high!
I miss French food! Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Hélène tells Betty how she's coping with missing French food abroad.
I want to help! Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Suzanne wishes she had more time to help others.

B2: Upper Intermediate French writing exercises

"Amélie": my favourite film! Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Lisa explains why "Amélie" is her favourite film.
A History of French TV Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Learn some interesting facts about the beginnings of French TV.
A busy weekend ahead Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Olivier sums up his busy schedule for the weekend.
A day in the countryside Free Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Marie spent last weekend in the countryside with her daughters.
A great Advent calendar Celebrations & Important Dates Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Find out how to make a unique Advent calendar.
A great passion for reading Literature, Poetry, Theatre Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Florence talks about her grandmother's passion for books.
A nice morning surprise Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Lucie will serve a delicious breakfast in bed to her fiancée on their anniversary.
A nice table "à la française" Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Jacqueline explains the intricacies of setting the table the French way.
A nightmare journey Free Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Josiane and Robert explain why they're an hour late to their friends' place.
A perfect interview Employment Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Léo's just had the best job interview of his life!
A slippery drive Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Richard struggled to get to work this morning: everything was frozen!
At the football [US: soccer] game Celebrations & Important Dates Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Henri took his dad to a football [US:soccer] game for Father's Day.
At the neighbours' house Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Véronique and Bruno are at their neighbours' house for an aperitif.
Bad Movie Review Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Bernadette delivers a scathing movie review.
Barbara Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Laëtitia talks about her passion for fascinating French singer Barbara.
Bayonne, France's chocolate capital Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Learn why Bayonne is considered the French capital of chocolate.
Brasserie La Coupole Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Vincent always eats here when he's in Paris.
British National Museums Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini National museums are free in the UK, as Paul happily found out.
Building a snowman Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Martine and Bastien enjoyed building a snowman.
Camping with your dog Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Patrick gives us some advice on taking your dog camping with you.
Catherine Ségurane: a local heroine Famous People Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Toni, a tourist guide from Nice talks about local legend Catherine Ségurane.
City vs dog poop Family & Relationships Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alain and Pauline discuss the city's measures to fight against dog waste.
Composting is awesome! Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Elsa explains composting to her friend Pierre.
Congratulations on your degree! Family & Relationships Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Thomas's aunt and uncle send him an email to congratulate him on getting his Master degree.
Conversation between friends Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Friends Simon and Isabelle are catching up.
Couples' annoying habits Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Article Olivier gets so annoyed by the way couples behave sometimes!
Easter, a family celebration Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini François and his family celebrate the religious holiday of Easter.
Family Reunion Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini At a family reunion, Lea sees her aunt Patricia for the first time in years.
Finding the perfect anniversary gift Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Jean-Paul is listing his gift ideas for his wife on their anniversary.
Food shopping in farm shops Food & Drink Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Find out the advantages and disadvantages of food shopping in a farm shop.
French Easter specialties Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Discover some of France's regional Easter specialties.
French-style lemon tart recipe Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Follow the recipe to make a delicious lemon tart.
Garip Ay's amazing paintings Art & Design Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Jean-Pierre tells us about the work of this fascinating Turkish artist.
Getting ready for the holiday [US: vacation] Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Article Article contracté Bastien and Alicia are getting ready for tomorrow's departure.
Giving back Celebrations & Important Dates Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Especially during the holiday season, it's good to give back to those less fortunate than us...
Going lily-of-the-valley picking Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Jean-Pierre's family goes to pick lily-of-the-valley every year.
Heatwave Politics, History & Economics Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini A weather forecast on one of the hottest days of the year.
High cost of cigarette packaging change Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Learn about the cost of the new policy on cigarette packaging in France.
I can't find my shirt! Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Claire and Julien are almost ready to go out...except for Julien's missing shirt!
In a clothes store Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Patrick complains to the sales assistant about a defective item.
In the return taxi Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Aline talks about her trip with the taxi driver on her way back to the airport.
Long time no see! Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Marina and her cousin Tom catch up after quite a while.
Louise Bourgeois Art & Design Famous People Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marie-Claire tells us about her favourite French artist.
Mice invasion Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Lisa and Paul are discussing options to get rid of Lisa's mice.
Moving house chores Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sophie had so many chores to do before moving into her new apartment.
My car is a real beater! Sports & Leisure Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Yann's car has so many problems!
My chosen family Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Magalie found her own loving family.
My dream invention Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sonia asks Sylvie what invention she'd dream to see becoming a reality.
My exotic Christmas Celebrations & Important Dates Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Aline is remembering spending last Christmas in Marrakech, Morocco.
My first Easter memory Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alexandre remembers the first time he went egg hunting.

C1: Advanced French writing exercises

3 Culinary delights from French-speaking countries Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Find out about three dishes from French-speaking countries.
A bad matchmaker Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Sophie tells us about her failed attempt at matchmaking.
A couple's ups and downs Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Hélène explains how she and her partner managed to navigate out of a rough patch.
A difficult sibling relationship Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Yvan has always had a fraught relationship with his sister.
A dreadful teenager Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Philippe recalls his bad behaviour as a teenage boy.
A ghost story Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Hugo is visiting his mother on All Saints' Day.
A hard time at work Employment Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Érica went through a rough time at work.
A horrible storm! Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Julien remembers spending a horrible night due to a violent storm.
A last minute request Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Isabelle's colleague keeps making her miserable...
A long-standing friendship Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Carole tells us about her long-standing relationship with her friend Aline.
A lovely car Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Find out about Michel's beloved 2CV car.
A lovely encounter Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif On her daily walk, Audrey met a furry little friend in need of help...
A special Christmas in Switzerland Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Damien recalls a wonderful family Christmas holiday in Switzerland.
A sudden reappearance Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif After years of disappearance, Olivia's friend is back.
Advice for new pet owners Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Laurent asks people for their advice on welcoming a new pet at home.
Alice and the Caterpillar (Alice in Wonderland) Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alice meets the mysterious Caterpillar in this adapted excerpt from "Alice in Wonderland"
An animal tale Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini By a lovely winter morning, Henri the hare meets poorly Lili the rabbit.
An incredible trip on the Canal du Midi Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Patrice recalls his trip along the Canal du Midi.
An upcycling tutorial Art & Design Sports & Leisure Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Find out a few ideas for your upcycling projets.
Anna's birthday party Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Clément discusses the organisation of his daughter's birthday party with his friend Charlotte.
At Uncle Robert's 70th birthday Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Laura catches up with her cousin Charlotte at a family event.
At the psychiatrist's Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Mme Dupont is talking to her psychiatrist.
At the ski resort Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Paul needs to get ski gear for himself and his family.
Back to School shopping Family & Relationships Language & Education Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Viviane and Christian try and get everything on their children's school supply list.
Bathroom chat Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Bruno and Sonia are having a chat in the bathroom.
Brest during World War II Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Alex is talking about WWII in Brest with his granddad.
Californian dream Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Olivia finally followed her dream to move to California.
Camping in the woods Free Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Nathalie enjoys camping in the middle of the woods.
Coco Chanel Famous People Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Learn about this extraordinary woman who became a fashion icon.
Complaining about a hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Gérard complains to the receptionist about the state of his hotel room.
Coping with the heatwave Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Emma asks how Simon and his pregnant girlfriend Christelle coped with the extreme heat.
Drôme provençale, a little piece of heaven Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Politics, History & Economics Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Vincent tells us about this beautiful region in the South of France.
Engagement dinner's speech Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe The bride's father thanks the guests for attending and announces the evening programme.
Engagement surprise Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Louise enjoys an unexpected visit at her engagement party.
Finding love at a yoga retreat Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Seniors Germaine and Pierrot didn't expect to fall in love at a yoga retreat.
Fireside memories Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Manuelle has warm memories of family times by the fireside.
First day back to school Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sabrina tells us what she'll do on her children's first day back to school.
French Mobile Phone Habits Politics, History & Economics Technology & Science Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini We're taking a look at the importance of mobile phones in French people's lives.
Gardening weekend Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Jean-Pierre had a busy weekend taking care of his garden.
Gastronomical review Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Discover a mouthwatering review of a French restaurant.
Gluten-free living Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alexandre tells us how he dealt with his newly discovered gluten allergy.
Gustave Moreau Museum Art & Design Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Claire tells us about her fascination for 19th-century symbolist painter Gustave Moreau.
Holidaying in July Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini July is a hard time to organise holiday [US: vacation] for, as Martine and Sam found out!
How to show your love? Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marianne and her partner Adèle are making some changes to show their appreciation for each other more.
In the lives of the writers of French romance novels Employment Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Discover what the life of a French writer of romance novels looks like.
Jean-Marc Vallée Famous People Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Nathan and Florence discuss the late Quebecois director Jean-Marc Vallée.
Johnny Hallyday, a French icon Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Paul and his mum talk about her favourite French singer, Johnny Hallyday.
La Petite France in Strasbourg Art & Design Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Discover this unique area of Strasbourg, a UNESCO site and tourists' favourite.
Last-minute hesitations Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif François is torn between his love for Marianne and his duty to the Duchess who he's about to marry.
Letter to Santa Celebrations & Important Dates Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Timothée writes to Santa, hoping he's been good enough this year...

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Learn How to Write in French Easily

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By OptiLingo • 9 minute read

Improve Your Written French Today

Whether you want to pen a love letter or submit an essay in France, you need to know how to write in French. Luckily, learning how to write in French is fairly straightforward. Since French uses the Latin Alphabet, you’re already ahead of the game. Improve your writing in French fast with these easy steps.

The Basics of French Writing for Beginners

When it comes to French writing, it’s a little different than speaking French. But, if you know how to read French well, you shouldn’t have a lot of problems.

Before you read the 8 easy steps of learning to write in French, there’s one important factor in mastering French writing: practice. The only way you can truly improve your French writing skills is with a lot of practice . Make sure you write a little bit in French every day. Soon, you’ll find that writing in French is like second nature.

1. Watch Out for French Spelling

One of the biggest obstacles that throws French learners off is spelling. Unfortunately, those silent letters that you don’t pronounce are very much there in writing. Be careful how you spell certain complicated words. You need to master all parts of French grammar to write French correctly.

2. Genders Influence Grammar in French

You may already know that nouns have genders in French. They can either be masculine or feminine. And depending on the gender, different parts of a French sentence need to be conjugated.

articles : French articles need to be conjugated to reflect the gender and the number of the noun. These can be ‘le’, ‘la’, ‘l”, and ‘les’ for definite articles, and ‘un’ and ‘une’ for indefinite articles.
pronouns : Pronouns in French are the words that replace the name of the subject in a sentence. ‘He’, ‘she’, and ‘them’ are some examples of pronouns in English. In French, you need to use different forms of pronouns depending on the gender of the subject.
adjectives : When you’re describing a noun, you use an adjective. And since the noun is the only reason the adjective’s there in the sentence, you need to make the adjective fit the noun in French. There are various ways to conjugate French adjectives depending on the gender and the number of the noun, so make sure you brush up on that knowledge before you write in French.

French writing has a lot of conjugations from genders

3. Careful with French Accent Marks

French accent marks also don’t do us any favors. While they’re extremely useful when it comes to French pronunciation, their writing isn’t as straightforward. Try to associate the sound with the written French word. There are only 5 accent marks in French. One is the cedilla (ç), which only works with the letter “c”, and another is the acute accent (é), which only sits on top of the letter “e”. So in practice, there are only 3 different kinds of accents you should look out for in French.

4. Follow the French Sentence Structures

English and French sentence structures are similar in many ways. Both follow the SVO (subject-verb-object) structure, which makes writing in French much easier. And just like in English, the French sentence structure is also flexible. You can switch the words around to emphasize a part of a sentence, but still have the same meaning.

Tomorrow , I’m going to work. Demain je vais travailler. I’m going to work tomorrow . Je vais travailler demain .

The most important part of the first sentence is the time the speaker goes to work. The second sentence focuses on the subject, the speaker instead. Still, both sentences convey the same meaning of going to work.

If you want to ask a question in French, you can do so by putting a question word at the beginning of the sentence. Common question words are:

How Comment
What Que / Qu’est-ce que queue
What kind Quel genre
When Quand
Why Pourquoi

You can also ask a question by switching the order of the verb and the pronoun around, and connecting them with a hyphen:

Do you speak English? Parlez-vous anglais ?

It’s important to remember these basic rules of French sentence structure before you start writing in French. If you want to learn how to write in French effectively, practice these 4 steps a lot.

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How to Write in French for Intermediate Students

If you’re an intermediate French learner you’re familiar with basic French grammar, and you’re confident in writing in French. But, there’s always room to improve. Once you know the basic steps of how to write in French, it’s time to make your writing even better. You can start paying attention to style, flow, and structure. The tips below will benefit your French writing practice.

5. Try Nominalization

This useful technique will make your sentences better. Nominalization means that you make nouns in the sentence more dominant. While in English, the dominant words are verbs, in French, you can write with the focus of the noun instead, making them more meaningful. Here’s an example to demonstrate.

Normal sentence: The ice cream is cold. – La glace est froide.
Nominalized sentence: The ice cream is cold. – La glace, c’est droid.

6. Use French Conjunctions

Conjunctions are the tools to write complex French sentences. Without them, you’re limited to simple and boring sentence structures. As an intermediate student, you can start connecting two equal or unequal sentences to make an even more interesting phrase. Here are the different kinds of French conjunctions you can use to write better in French:

Coordinating Conjunctions:

You use these kinds of conjunctions to connect two equal sentences. The most common coordinating conjunctions in French are:

Subordinating Conjunctions:

If one of the sentences in unequal or dependent on the other, you need to use subordinating conjunctions. These connectors often show causality. The most common conjunctions in French for this category are:

7. Style and Flow

Now that you wield the power of conjunctions, you have to be careful with it. As fun as it is to write long and complicated sentences in French, it doesn’t sound good. Make sure you use appropriate sentence lengths as you’re writing in French.

Aim for shorter sentences. Make them explain your point well. But, feel free to mix the flow up with the occasional longer sentences. That’s how you write in French with a nice and smooth flow. And that’s how you perfect your French writing too. It will be a pleasure to read your work.

Writing in French for Advanced Learners

Once you mastered all of the French writing rules, you’re officially an advanced French learner. But, there may still be room to improve your French writing. If you’re looking to kick your projects up a notch, you can learn how to write essays and dissertations in French. These pointers will be useful if you ever attend school or university in France, or you want to take a language exam.

8. Get Familiar with French Essay Structure

When you’re writing an essay, you have to structure it for readability. If you want to learn how French high schoolers are taught to write their essays, this is the structure they follow: thèse-antithèse-synthèse (thesis-antithesis-synthesis). Learn how to write French essays using a traditional French essay structure.

Introduction : You begin your essay by having an introduction, which is a context for argument.
Thesis : In this section, you present and defend the statement of your thesis. You need to write everything that supports the topic of your essay.
Antithesis : The antithesis follows the thesis. This is where you state conflicting evidence and explain other potential substitutes for your essay. Including an antithesis doesn’t mean that you disagree with your original thesis. You just need to show that you thought of all possibilities before arriving to your conclusion.
Synthesis : This is your conclusion. This is where you summarize your arguments, and explain why you still stand by your original thesis despite the antithesis.

Advanced French learners can always improve their writing skills

9. Use Introduction and Conclusion Vocabulary

Certain words can encourage sentence flow by introducing or concluding some parts of your work.

tout d’abord (firstly)
premièrement (firstly)
deuxièmement (secondly)
ensuite (then)
enfin (finally)
finalement (finally)
pour conclure (to conclude)

You can use these words when introducing a new idea to your dissertation or essay. These words will signal the readers that they are encountering a new part or thought of your writing process.

10. Writing a Dissertation in French

This is the form of writing you encounter in French higher education. It’s a very complex form of French writing, only the most advanced and fluent French learners should attempt it. It’s also a longer piece of academic writing. It may take you weeks to complete research and write your French dissertation.

The French dissertation is similar to essay structure. But, there’s one main difference: your thesis isn’t a statement, but rather a question. It’s your job in the dissertation to take the reader through your thought process and research to answer your question. This logic is known as “ Cartesian logic .” It comes from Descartes , who was a well known French philosopher.

History of Written French

French was used in Strasbourg Oaths, and it first appeared in writing in 842 AD. Before then, Latin was the only language used for literature in Europe. However, in the 10th and 11th centuries, French appeared in some religious writings and documents but was not used up to the late 12th century or early 13th century. The first greatest French Literature work, the Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland), was published around the year 1200.

Writing in French Alone Won’t Make You Fluent

You need to learn how to write in French to be proficient in the language. But, it won’t make you fluent. The only way to become fluent is to practice speaking French. While it’s crucial to develop every area of your French knowledge, if you want to be fluent in French, you need a reliable language learning method like OptiLingo.

OptiLingo is an app that gets you speaking, not typing a language. It gives you the most common French words and phrases, so you’re guaranteed to learn the most useful vocabulary. Don’t waste time trying to learn French you’ll never use. Complement your French writing practice with fun speaking exercises when you download OptiLingo !

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French Accent Marks – Master Typing French Symbols

Everything About French Adjectives

Learn about French indirect object pronouns

Me, Te, or Lui? Learn Indirect Object Pronouns in French

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Published on October 6th, 2023 | by Adrian Lomezzo

How to Write an Essay in French Without Giving Yourself Away as a Foreigner

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-quote-on-a-paper-5425603/

Bienvenue! Do you dream of unleashing your inner French literary genius, but worry that your writing might inadvertently reveal your foreign roots? Fret not, mes amis, as we have the ultimate guide to help you master the art of essay writing en Français!

Within these pages, we’ll navigate the intricate waters of linguistic nuances, cultural subtleties, and grammatical finesse, allowing you to exude the aura of a native French speaker effortlessly. Many students like you have embarked on this journey, seeking academic assistance from platforms like https://paperwritten.com/ to conquer their writing pursuits.

From crafting a compelling introduction to fashioning impeccable conclusions, we’ll unveil the secrets that will leave your professors applauding your newfound linguistic prowess. So, bid adieu to those awkward linguistic giveaways and embrace the sheer elegance of French expression – all while keeping your foreign identity beautifully concealed! Let’s embark on this adventure together and unlock the true essence of writing like a native French virtuoso.

1. Mastering French Grammar and Vocabulary: Building a Strong Foundation

To create a compelling French essay, it’s essential to lay a solid groundwork. Ensure that your French grammar is accurate and that you possess a rich vocabulary. Avoid relying on online translators, as they may yield awkward or incorrect sentences. Instead, embrace reputable dictionaries and language resources to enhance your language skills effectively.

2. Mimic Sentence Structures: The Art of Authentic Expression

To truly immerse yourself in the French language, observe and mimic the sentence structures used by native speakers. Analyzing essays written by experienced writers can prove invaluable in grasping the authentic style required to compose a captivating essay.

3. Use Transition Words: Crafting a Smooth Flow of Ideas

In French essays, the use of transition words and phrases plays a pivotal role in connecting ideas seamlessly. Incorporate expressions like “de plus,” “en outre,” “en conclusion,” “tout d’abord,” and “par conséquent” to add coherence and elegance to your writing.

4. Embrace French Idioms and Expressions: Unveiling Cultural Fluency

Demonstrate a deeper understanding of the French language and culture by incorporating idioms and expressions where appropriate. However, remember to use them sparingly to avoid overwhelming your essay.

5. Pay Attention to Formality: Striking the Right Tone

Tailor the formality of your writing to suit the context of your essay. Whether you are crafting an academic piece or a more personal creation, be mindful of your choice of vocabulary and sentence structures to match the required tone.

6. Research Cultural References: The Power of In-depth Knowledge

If your essay touches upon French culture, history, or literature, extensive research is key. Delve into your subjects to avoid mistakes and showcase your genuine interest in the matter at hand.

7. Avoid Direct Translations: Let French Be French

To avoid awkward phrasing, strive to think in French rather than translating directly from your native language. This will lead to a more natural and eloquent essay.

8. Practice Writing Regularly: The Path to Proficiency

Mastering the art of French writing requires regular practice. Embrace writing in French frequently to grow more comfortable with the language and refine your unique writing style.

9. Read French Literature: A Gateway to Inspiration

Explore the world of French literature to expose yourself to diverse writing styles. This practice will deepen your understanding of the language and immerse you further in French culture and history.

10. Connect with French Culture: Bridges of Cultural Resonance

Incorporate cultural references that resonate with French readers, such as art, cuisine, festivals, historical figures, or social customs. Authenticity is key, so avoid relying on stereotypes.

11. Use a French Thesaurus: Expanding Your Linguistic Palette

Discovering new contextually appropriate words can elevate your writing. Embrace a French thesaurus to find synonyms that may not be apparent through direct translations.

12. Master French Punctuation: The Finishing Touch

Take care to use correct French punctuation marks, such as guillemets (« ») for quotes and proper accent marks. These subtle details add a professional touch to your essay.

13. Practice French Rhetorical Devices: Crafting Eloquent Prose

Experiment with rhetorical devices like parallelism, repetition, and antithesis to lend depth and sophistication to your writing.

14. Pay Attention to Word Order: Unlocking French Sentence Structure

French boasts a unique sentence structure distinct from English. Dive into the intricacies of subject-verb-object order and grasp the art of organizing sentences to sidestep common foreign mistakes. Embracing this essential aspect will elevate your writing to a truly native level.

15. Use French Idiomatic Expressions: Infuse Cultural Flair

Enrich your prose with the colorful tapestry of French idioms, reflecting the vibrant essence of the culture. Yet, a word of caution – wield them with finesse, for the strategic placement of an idiom can imbue your essay with unparalleled flair and authenticity.

16. Master Pronouns and Agreement: The Dance of Language

The dance of pronouns, nouns, and adjectives requires your keen attention. Like a skilled performer, ensure their seamless alignment to avoid inadvertently revealing your non-native status. Mastering this harmony is key to writing like a true Francophone.

17. Understand Subtle Connotations: Unveiling Linguistic Shades

Delve into the labyrinth of French words, where subtle connotations diverge from their English counterparts. Familiarize yourself with these delicate nuances, for it is in their mastery that your writing shall find refinement.

18. Study Formal and Informal Registers: Tailoring Language to Purpose

Akin to selecting the perfect outfit for each occasion, comprehend the art of using formal and informal language. Consider your essay’s purpose and audience, and with this knowledge, enhance your authenticity, seamlessly aligning with the appropriate linguistic register.

19. Practice Dialogue Writing: Conversing with Eloquence

Embark on the journey of dialogue writing to enrich your linguistic repertoire. As you hone your conversational skills, watch as authenticity gracefully weaves itself into your written work, enchanting readers with its charm.

20. Seek Feedback: A Second Set of Eyes

To refine your essay further, seek the guidance of a native French speaker or language tutor from the best cheap essay writing services . Their valuable feedback can uncover any language or cultural mistakes you may have made, allowing you to make necessary improvements.

Equip yourself with these priceless tips and set forth on your quest to master the art of French writing. Embrace the language’s allure, immerse in its rich culture, and watch your words flow with grace and poise. À la plume! Let the pen become your ally in crafting captivating prose that echoes with authenticity and charm.

Header Photo Credit by George Milton: https://www.pexels.com/photo/smiling-woman-in-eyeglasses-with-books-7034478/

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Adrian Lomezzo is a content writer and likes to write about technology and education. He understands the concern of parents due to the evolving technology and researches deeply in that area. When he is not researching, he buries himself in books along with his favorite cup of hot chocolate.

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DELF writing exam: how to prepare (DELF, DALF, TEF, TCF)

Summary – French exams: what you are really tested on – How to write a French essay – Why it’s important to structure your texts and use logical connectors – How having structure lowers the stress level – Why work with a coach to prepare an exam – 4 typical outlines to write a French essay

The DELF writing exam and the oral presentation can seem like daunting tasks but with good preparation, you can succeed!

There’s one thing to keep in mind when you’re taking a French test like DELF, DALF, TCF or TEF . You’re evaluated both on the “mechanical” quality of your language (grammar, spelling, pronunciation) AND your ability to express your point of view . The following advice work both for the writing and oral tasks.

As you move further up the levels (B2, C1, C2), the language becomes a tool to express convincing thoughts . You need to showcase a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical structures. You also need to organise your production to showcase your analytical skills and your opinion.

This is “French culture 101”: the French have an opinion about everything and they looooove exchanging views and arguing. In the 17th century the French aristocracy popularized the concept of “ salons ” or discussion circles. There, aristocrats, poets and well-educated guests would gather to talk about anything (grammar, philosophy, current affairs, etc). It’s at that time that French became the language of choice of most European courts (including Russia).

French essays and exposes, like French conversations, are “something like an English garden. It’s highly cultivated to look and feel natural.” The Bonjour Effect, Julie Barlow – Jean-Benoît Nadeau (2016)

And that’s why you should know the rules of the “game” and practice, practice, practice before taking the DELF writing exam.

Watch the video or keep reading

How a French essay differs from an English essay

Many things have changed since then but the education system has perpetuated this tradition for reasoning . As early as middle school, French kids learn how to write formal essays with an introduction, a conclusion and well-organized paragraphs about just about anything (litterature, philosophy, history…). As you enter secondary and post-secondary schools, you’ve acquired the structure so well that, when facing a “ problématique ” (a complex question), you immediately start to envision a 2 or 3-parts essay (see at the end of this post for the detailed breakdown).

In a French essay, you’re supposed to pick a side and clearly state your personal answer to the problematique but not before you’ve examined the pros and cons and explained why we should value some aspects over others.

When I went to Ireland to study for a year, I had to “re-learn” how to write an essay. Over there, I was supposed to pick a side at the beginning and defend my choice. Two or three supporting arguments explained why why my choice was the best option. Although you include some cons or limitations, it wouldn’t take up as much space as in a French essay. It’s possible to use the same patterns to write essays in English and in French. However I think the most common patterns differ from one country to another. I’m not an expert in writing English essays so I could be mistaken…

The importance of signposting in your DELF writing exam

Once aspect that’s common to all good essays is the importance of structuring your thoughts .

The French essay will mix a lot of contradicting ideas and include nuances. In order not to lose your audience, you need to have a very clear structure. You need to take them by the hand at the beginning and constantly let them know where you are , how you got there and where you’re going next .

Think of this as driving… When you’re going from point A to point B , you use a map and sign posts . You also use your signals (turn, headlights, stop) to communicate your intentions to other drivers…

Well it’s exactly what you need to do to get a great score at your test . Be very clear about your map and constantly share your “directions” . That way the reader/audience can understand where you are and the logic of your thoughts.

“Articulateurs logiques”: logical connectors are essentials in your DELF writing exam

To signpost, you’ll need what we call “articulateurs logiques”. They can be adverbs, conjunctions, expressions… So, make sure you learn a few connecting words for each concept (opposition, concession, addition, sequencing…) so that you’re not always using the same ones.

The higher level the exam, the more variety you’ll need . Learn 2-3 connecting words for each concept at B1 level, 4-5 at B2 level . For C1 and C2 try to learn some fancy connectors you’ll only see in the newspapers. Make sure you work with your coach or a qualified tutor to understand all the nuances between these words. Linking words are not always interchangeable.

How signposting keeps the brain calm

Especially in the oral exam , this will have a beneficial effect both on your brain and on the examiner’s . On one hand, you’ll be calmer as you won’t get confused about what to say next. On the other hand, the examiners will follow your train of thoughts clearly. They will be more relaxed as they don’t need to figure out where the heck you’re going with this.

You will provide context and direction . Even though your sentences may not be 100% correct, it will be easier for them to understand . If they don’t, they may ask for clarification after so you’ll get a second chance to get it right.

In the writing exam, you won’t waste precious time while writing the essay. You’ll know what you want to say, your thoughts will flow faster.

And you’ll score points for your ability to organize your thoughts and be convincing. Honestly, these are easy extra points to get if you practice complying with the format .

An exam is already a stressful process. T he last thing you want is to go through it with your brain in “panic mode” .

You might also like to read this post: 3 ways to calm your brain

How to prepare for your French exam

Don’t think you can “wing it” on the day of the exam. It’s not something you can improvise on the day of the exam, you do need to practice .

Some strategies will help and make your training a lot more efficient in the long run.

The principles of the best strategies are:

Acquire knowledge (read, listen…) about the most frequent exam topics
Take notes and organize your knowledge into your brain: for example with mindmaps, flashcards, memory palace…
Practice finding a “ problématique ” (a complex question) on a topic and brainstorm to draft an outline . You can invent one and/or use past exams samples .

If you do that, you’ll accumulate efficient hours of practice thinking about these topics and organizing your thoughts. You’ll already have arguments and examples, therefore you’ll feel more confident on the day of the exam.

Once that’s done, you can focus on the form and produce the best French you can.

A convincing expose or essay for a French proficiency test is roughly 1/3 knowledge, 1/3 methodology and 1/3 language skills* * grammar, vocabulary + enunciation if oral

The benefits of working with a Neurolanguage coach

We understand the necessity of keeping the brain calm and strive to remain in this state during the sessions . We provide tools for you to achieve this state when you study independantly and then when you’re taking the exam.

I find it can be useful to mix working with a tutor or teacher and with a language coach.

With the first one, learn specific aspects of the language, correct some exercises and get extra speaking practice.

When you meet with your coach , you can work on 3 aspects . First, you can fine tune your understanding of a concept. Neurolanguage coaches constantly focus on making grammar “digestible” for your brain. We have in-depth knowledge of the mechanics of the language. We will encourage you to create connections with concepts you already know. Then, we work on your fluency by practicing focused conversation. Finally we’ll draft up together a customized plan to improve.

Your coach will steer the conversation to practice what you need to and facilitate the creation of the connections in your brain . The end goal is that you learn how to think in French naturally.

Instead of lecturing about French essays, we’ll make sure you can embrace the exercise with your own style and your own words .

Types of French outlines (called plans )

Now that you know why it’s important, here are some concrete resources to help you. These are 3 examples of typical French essay or expose outlines.

PATTERN A: it unfolds like a Moliere play – Part 1: Exposition / Facts – Part 2: The action , what problems are we facing because of Part 1 facts – Part 3: The resolution

PATTERN B: everything in life is relative, a philosopher’s reflection – Part 1: “Yes/White” (thèse = thesis, which reflects the direction you’re leaning toward to answer the question) – Part 2: “No/Black” (antithèse = antithesis) – Part 3: “Yes but,/Grey” (synthèse = synthesis, from the arguments in part 1 and 2, find a middle ground or opening to an answer that’s neither of the extremes)

PATTERN C: “YES, BUT…” It’s also acceptable to do 2 parts only: – Part 1: 2 or 3 arguments in favour of your point of view (YES) – Part 2: Limitations of Part 1’s arguments (BUT, why it’s not ideal) Your conclusion would emphasize the upsides of your arguments and how we could overcome the limitations.

PATTERN D: Chronological – Part 1: Phase 1 or Before /The past – Part 2: Phase 2 or Now /The present – Part 3: Phase 3 or After /The future

Which outline should you choose for the DELF writing exam?

There is no “right” pattern, it will depend on what you have to say . The content needs to be divided into balanced parts .

Pattern A is efficient because there’s tension , your audience wants to know the end of the play.
On the other hand, pattern B might be the most difficult . You may end up not being convincing enough in conveying your opinion to your audience.
Pattern C is maybe the most accessible if you’re used to writing English-style essays.
Pattern D is a rather obvious choice when you’re dealing with a topic spread across a period of time with distinct phases. Make sure you include argumentation, not just facts !

Troubleshooting: If you’ve decided to do 3 parts but end up with 2 long ones and a short one, it means you should do 2 parts only or find more material for your 3rd part. If you were going for a 2-parts outline but have a lot of sub-parts (paragaphs within each section), you should probably divide them up in 3 parts. That’s why it’s important to think and plan before you start writing your DELF exam.

Keep in mind the word count range you’re allowed at the test you’re taking and practice the format.

Watch this video explaining the process leading to writing a good outline

About Cathy

Related post, french conjugation rules: the big picture, gifts for learners of french who are afraid of speaking, best resources to immerse yourself in the french language.

How to Write an Excellent French Essay (Resources Included)

Tips to write an excellent french essay.

Writing essays is challenging enough, but when you are asked to write a French essay, you are not only being asked to write in a foreign language, but to follow the conventions of another linguistic and literary tradition. Like essay-writing in any language, the essential part of writing a French essay is to convey your thoughts and observations on a certain topic in a clear and concise manner. French essays do come out of a certain tradition that is part of the training of all students who attend school in France – or at least secondary school – and when you are a French essay, it is important to be aware of this tradition.

The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne is credited with popularizing the essay form as a literary genre. His work, Essais, first published in 1580, and undergoing several subsequent publications before his death in 1592, covers a wide breadth of topics, ranging from “amitié” to “philosopher c’est apprendre à mourir”, and includes many literary references, as well as personal anecdotes. The name for this genre, essai, is the nominal form of the verb essayer, “to attempt”. We have an archaic English verb essay, meaning the same thing. The limerick that includes the phrase, “... when she essayed to drink lemonade ...” indicates an attempt to drink a beverage and has nothing to do with writing about it. But the writing form does illustrate an attempt to describe a topic in depth with the purpose of developing new insights on a particular text or corpus.

French instructors are very specific about what they would like when they ask for an essay, meaning that they will probably specify whether they would like an explication de texte, commentaire composé, or dissertation. That last essay form should not be confused with the document completed for a doctorate in anglophone countries – this is called a thèse in French, by the way. There are different formats for each of these types of essay, and different objectives for each written form.

Types of Essay

1. l’explication de texte.

An explication de texte is a type of essay for which you complete a close reading. It is usually written about a poem or a short passage within a larger work. This close reading will elucidate different themes and stylistic devices within the text. When you are completing an explication de texte, make sure to follow the structure of the text as you complete a close examination of its form and content. The format for an explication de texte consists of:

i. An introduction, in which you situate the text within its genre and historical context. This is where you can point out to your readers the general themes of the text, its form, the trajectory of your reading, and your approach to the text.

ii. The body, in which you develop your ideas, following the structure of the text. Make sure you know all of the meanings of the words used, especially the key terms that point to the themes addressed by the author. It is a good idea to look words up in the dictionary to find out any second, third, and fourth meanings that could add to the themes and forms you describe. Like a student taking an oral examination based on this type of essay writing, you will be expected to have solid knowledge of the vocabulary and grammatical structures that appear in the text. Often the significance of the language used unfolds as you explain the different components of theme, style, and composition.

iii. A conclusion, in which you sum up the general meaning of the text and the significance of the figures and forms being used. You should also give the implications of what is being addressed, and the relevance of these within a larger literary, historical, or philosophical context.

NB: If you are writing about a poem, include observations on the verse, rhyme schemes, and meter. It is a good idea to refer to a reference work on versification. If you are writing about a philosophical work, be familiar with philosophical references and definitions of concepts.

Caveat: Refrain from paraphrasing. Instead show through careful analysis of theme, style, and composition the way in which the main ideas of the text are conveyed.

2. Le commentaire composé

A commentaire composé is a methodologically codified commentary that focuses on themes in a particular text. This type of essay develops different areas of reflection through analytical argument. Such argumentation should clarify the reading that you are approaching by presenting components of the text from different perspectives. In contrast to the explication de texte, it is organized thematically rather than following the structure of the text to which it refers. The format for a commentaire composé consists of:

i. An introduction, in which you present the question you have come up with, often in relation to a prompt commenting on a thematic or stylistic aspect of the text, such as “Montrez en quoi ce texte évoque l’amour courtois” or “Qu’apporte l’absence de la ponctuation dans ce texte ?” In this section, you will be expected to delineate your approach to the text and illustrate the trajectory of your ideas so that your readers will have a clear idea of the direction these ideas will take.

ii. A tripartite body, in which you explore the question you have come up with, citing specific examples in the text that are especially pertinent to the areas of reflection you wish to explore. These citations should be explained and connected to the broad themes of your commentary, all the while providing details that draw the readers’ attention to your areas of inquiry. These different areas of inquiry may initially seem disparate or even contradictory, but eventually come together to form a harmonious reading that addresses different aspects of the text. The more obvious characteristics of the text should illuminate its subtler aspects, which allows for acute insight into the question that you are in the process of exploring.

iii. A conclusion, in which you evaluate your reading and synthesize its different areas of inquiry. This is where you may include your own opinions, but make sure that the preceding sections of your commentaire remain analytical and supported by evidence that you find in the text.

NB: Looking at verb tenses, figures of speech, and other aspects that contribute to the form of the text will help situate your reader, as will commenting on the register of language, whether this language is ornate, plain, reflects a style soutenu, or less formal patterns of speech.

Caveat: Quotations do not replace observations or comments on the text. Explain your quotations and situate them well within your own text.

3. La dissertation

The dissertation is a personal, organized, and methodical reflection on a precise question that refers to a corpus of writing. Referring to this corpus, you may be asked questions along the lines of “Que pensez-vous de l’équivalence entre l’amour et la chanson exprimée dans ces textes ?” or “Est-ce que la sagesse et la folie ont les mêmes sources?” This type of essay allows for an exploration of a question through knowledge of a corpus as well as through an individual’s cultural knowledge. The format for a dissertation consists of:

i. An introduction, in which you present the topic addressed, the significance of your argument, and the trajectory of your ideas.

ii. The body which, like a commentaire composé, consists of a tripartite development of your argument. This can follow any one of the following structures: a dialectical schema, organized into thèse, antithèse, and synthèse – an argument, its counter-argument, and its rebuttal; an analytical schema, consisting of the description of a situation, an analysis of its causes, and commentary on its consequences; a thematic schema, which consists of a reflection on a topic which you proceed to examine from different angles in an orderly fashion.

iii. A conclusion, in which you address the different ways in which you have approached the question at hand and how this deepens your insights, while placing the question within a broader context that shows room for expansion. The conclusion can open up the topic addressed to show its placement within a literary movement, or in opposition to another literary movement that follows it, for example.

NB: Approach the question at hand with as few preconceptions as possible. If you are writing on a quotation, gather all of your knowledge about its author, the work in which it appears, and the body of literature with which it is associated.

Caveat: Even for a personal reflection, such as a dissertation, avoid using the first person pronoun je. Nous or on are preferable. It is advisable not to switch from one to the other, though.

For each of these essay forms, it is a good idea to make an outline to which you can refer as you write. As your writing progresses, things may shift a bit, but having a structure on which you can rely as you gather your various ideas and information into a coherent argument provides solid foundation for a clear and well-developed essay. This also facilitates smooth transitions from one section of your essay to the next.

During your reading, you may encounter a problem, a contradiction, or a surprising turn of phrase that is difficult to figure out. Such moments in a text give you the opportunity to delve into the unique characteristics of the text or corpus to which you are referring, to propose different solutions to the problems you encounter, and to describe their significance within a larger literary, philosophical, and historical context. Essay writing allows you to become more familiar with French works, with their cultural significance, and with the French language. You can refer to the following resources to guide you in this endeavor:

Auffret, Serge et Hélène. Le commentaire composé. Paris: Hachette, 1991. Dufau, Micheline et Ellen D'Alelio. Découverte du poème: Introduction à l'explication de textes. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967. Grammont, Maurice. Petit traité de versification française. Paris: A. Colin, 2015. Huisman, Denis et L. R. Plazolles. L’art de la dissertation littéraire : du baccalauréat au C.A.P.E.S. Paris : Société d’édition d’enseignement supérieur, 1965.

The French newspaper Le Monde also has good articles on these essay forms that prepare French students for the baccalauréat exam: CLICK HERE

This is also a website with thorough information on essay writing techniques that prepare students for the baccalauréat exam: CLICK HERE

In addition, the University of Adelaide has tips for general essay writing in French: CLICK HERE

🇫🇷 Looking for More French Resources?

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How to Write The Perfect French Essay For Your Exam

November 16, 2014 by Jessica 3 Comments

Here are tips to help you write a great French essay with exam requirements in mind. Once you’re done, I strongly suggest you proofread your text using my checklis t.

Note: if you’re preparing for the French VCE, there is an updated version of these exam tips in my guide “How to Prepare for the French VCE & Reach your Maximum Score” .

While supervising exams or tutoring for exam preparation, I’ve seen too many students writing straight away on their exam copies. Stop! Resist the urge to jump on your pen and take a step back to make sure that you will be addressing all the exam requirements or you may be shooting yourself in the foot and lose precious points.

I recommend that you train with exam sample questions so that you set up good working habits and respect the required length of the essay, as well as the timing (allow at least 10 minutes for proofreading).

Crafting your French Essay

1. identify the situation: preparation work.

Read the topic carefully, slowly and at least twice to absorb every information/detail.
Underline/highlight/jot down any piece of information that you are expected to reuse:
What type of text do you need to write? (a journal entry? A formal letter? A speech? Etc). Note to VCE French exam students : refer to page 13 of the VCE French Study Design for more information about the different types of texts.
Who are you in the situation? (yourself? A journalist? etc)
Who are you addressing? (a friend? A large audience? Etc) à adjust the degree of formality to the situation (for example by using the “tu”/”vous” form, a casual or formal tone/register, etc)
What are the characteristic features of the type of text you need to write? (eg a journal entry will have the date, a formal letter will start and end with a formal greeting, etc)
What is your goal ? What are you expected to talk about / present / defend / convey?
What are the length requirements for your French essay ? Respect the word count (there’s usually a 5% or so tolerance. Check the requirements specific to your exam)

Tip : when you practice at home, count how many words in average you fit on a line. This will give you a good indication of how many lines your text should be.

Ex: You write an average of 15 words per line. If you are required to write a 300-word French essay, you should aim for:

300 words / 15 words per line = 20 lines total.

2. Draft the outline of your essay

An essay typically has an introduction, a body with 2 or 3 distinct parts and a conclusion . (See if that outline is relevant to the type of text you are expected to write and adjust accordingly.)
Use bullet points to organize your ideas.
Don’t remain too general. A good rule is to use one main idea for each part and to back it up/reinforce in/illustrate it with one concrete example (eg. data).
Brainstorming about things to say will also help you use a wider range of vocabulary , which will get noticed by the examiner. Are there some interesting/specific words or expressions that you can think of using in your text (example: if you are writing about global warming, brainstorm the vocab related to this topic. Brainstorm expressions to convince or disagree with something, etc)?
Make sure you have reused every point identified in part 1 .

3. Write your essay

It’s better if you have time to write or at least draft a few sentences on your draft paper rather than writing directly because:
You want to meet the word count requirements
You don’t want multiple words to be barred cross crossed-out and your page looking messy and great anything but neat!
you don’t want to have to rush so much that your handwriting is really unpleasant to read (or worse, impossible to read…)
So… monitor your time carefully!

Structuring your text

Visually, the eye should instantly be able to see the structure of your French essay: make paragraph and skip lines so that it doesn’t look like an unappealing large block of text.
Use connectors/link words to structure your text and make good transitions.

4. Proofread, proofread, proofread!

It’s important that you allow at least 10 minutes for proofreading because there most likely are a few mistakes that you can fix very easily. It would therefore be a shame not to give yourself your best chances of success! Check out my Proofreading Checklist.

Bonne chance!

If you need any help with your essay, you can submit it to me there.

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The Ultimate List of AP® French Language Tips

The Albert Team
Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

If you’re like many foreign language students, the AP® French Language exam has been a worrisome figure on the horizon for quite some time. As you finally begin this AP® course and prepare for the exam next spring, remember that there are many different resources out there to help you along the way. This Ultimate List of the AP® French Language tips will give you a head start over all of the other French students preparing for the exam. Use this list, combined with some hard work and assistance from your AP® teacher, and you’ll ace this exam in no time.

So you want to pass the AP® French Language exam? Well here’s the breakdown. Every year:

– More than 20,000 students take the AP® French Language exam

– About 75% receive a score of 3 or higher

– Only about 38% receive a crucial score of a 4 or 5

– Only 12% score a 5, which can really blow away college admissions staff

Want to be in the top 10% of exam takers? Want to receive even more scholarship money and acceptance letters from top universities? Want to awe and impress your AP® teacher and fellow students? Follow this indispensable list for some tips that will set you on your way. Also, if you’re looking for the best AP® French Language review books, this resource may help .

How to Study for AP® French Language Tips

1. It’s simple – use French! Easier said than done. Unlike Spanish, French doesn’t have a huge presence in the U.S. today. There aren’t French news channels or (many) French radio stations. So how can you start using the language? We’ll offer several ideas in the tips below.

2. Find the culture in your every day . What do you think of when you think Francophone culture? Well, we think of food first and foremost! A fantastic way to incorporate more French into your daily routine – and learn some great new recipes – is to cook French food. Used bookstores typically have foreign language cookbooks on the cheap. Pick one up and highlight some recipes that you’d like to try out. They don’t have to be complicated for you to benefit from the language. Some of the best dishes are simple and require few ingredients – fondue au fromage , anyone?

3. Find a language buddy. This applies to all foreign language students: most high schools have foreign exchange students and teachers. Lucky for you, as a French language student, tons of countries have French as a national language – not just France! French is an official language in all of these places:

France, Canada: Quebec and Ontario, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Monaco, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Haiti, Réunion, Martinique, Switzerland, and many more!

Use this to your advantage! Find a language buddy to practice your French. Often times, other students and exchange teachers are willing to do 15 minutes in French for 15 minutes of English practice with you!

4. Find a language exchange. These are more common than you think! Many French speakers in the U.S. are looking to improve their English and are beyond happy to participate in conversational language exchanges with native English speakers. Typically you spend 15-20 minutes speaking in one language and then switch to the other. Where can you find these exchanges? Check out the public library, civic center, or ask around at your school.

5. Get your vocabulary up to par! So you’ve reached AP® French Language. By this time in your foreign language career, you’ve most likely mastered the grammar of the language – at least in written form. You’ve seen all the verb tenses and know your irregular adjective conjugations. Still, you’ll be at a loss communicating in French if you don’t have an extensive vocabulary to express yourself. Get ready, here’s how to start expanding your vocabulary in French today.

6. A new word every day. The easiest way to start studying for AP® French is to introduce a new word into your French vocabulary every day. The Instagram account French Words has a new word (as well as its phonetic pronunciation and grammatical gender) every day! Flip calendars are also great for getting a new word every day. Then, try to use it during class.

7. Bring out your vocabulary cards. Or don’t! We recommend using vocabulary cards – they are a language learner’s best friend. Put a word in French on one side and a description of the word on the other side. Don’t like carrying around a ton of paper? There are so many apps available to make flashcards. Run through the words while you’re on the treadmill. Or every time commercials come on during your favorite show. Or every day before you begin French class to really get your mind churning.

Insider tip : There are good ways to make a vocab card and there are better ways. Which of these looks better for the word la craie ?

Yup, you guessed it – the one on the right. Why? Because you didn’t need to use English to get to the meaning of the word. This will make you a faster speaker and writer in French. You also included all the relevant information such as the article and the word’s pronunciation.

8. Keep track of unknown words. Successful language learners swear by this technique. Keep a small notepad with you throughout the day. Then, every time you hear or see a word that you don’t know, write it down. Even if you don’t get the spelling right, jotting down these unknown words and looking them up later is one of the best techniques for acquiring new vocabulary items. Why? Because there are so many words that you encounter that you don’t know, even in your AP® class, that you cannot possibly keep track of them all. Write them down. Look them up. Repeat.

9. But don’t forget the important parts. Learning vocabulary is nothing if you don’t know how to use it. This means learning:

1) The pronunciation

How do you say it?

2) If it’s a noun, gender of the word

Is it le or la?

3) If it’s a verb, the conjugation

Is it a regular or irregular verb?

4) Put it in context

How do you use the word in a sentence ?

10. Whip out old practice exams. Reviewing old AP® exams is a technique known to help students prepare for the test. Year after year, AP® teachers say the one thing that sets apart those students who pass from those who don’t, was who completed the practice exams in class. Start getting yourself ready now by reviewing the old exams that your teacher may have available for you.

Insider tip: Know the structure of the exam

There are three main components to the AP® French Language exam: multiple choice, speaking, and writing. In order of appearance on the test they are:

multiple choice

interpersonal writing (e-mail)

presentational writing (persuasive essay)

interpersonal speaking(conversation)

presentational speaking (cultural comparison)

Don’t forget some of the AP® exam basics. Once you complete one section, you can’t go back and change your answers. Instead, simply move on and focus on the section at hand. You also can’t work ahead on the exam. So even if you’re especially nervous for the speaking section, don’t be. There’s nothing you can do during the multiple choice section to ready yourself for it so breathe and focus on the questions in front of you. In a way, it’s relieving. You can’t work ahead anyways, so don’t be anxious about the upcoming sections.

11. Get together to study . Studying can become very tedious. And most AP® French Language students aren’t taking just one AP® test – they’re taking 3, 4, or 5. To get over the boredom of studying alone, form a group that meets once or twice a week. This is a great way to socialize while reviewing but also get fresh ideas and insights on the course material. Split up the culture section and have one person report a new country for every meeting. Already sounds better than reviewing alone, doesn’t it?

12. Look up the guidelines . We’ve talked about a couple other online resources but one you should be especially familiar with is the CollegeBoard itself. The scoring guidelines that AP® French Language exam graders have right in front of them as they grade exams are available on this site. Curious about what graders are looking for? The CollegeBoard is very open with this, so take advantage of it.

13. Incorporate the language into your everyday routine . There are so many ways to incorporate French into your daily life – you’re probably not even thinking of them! Change your social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter to French – even your ads will start to appear in French. Set your browser homepage to Le Monde or Le Journal de Québec and read a news article every morning. Set your cell phone to French to learn new vocabulary. French will be all around you in no time.

14. Utilize your best resource: your teacher . You probably don’t know anyone who is a better resource for you when taking the AP® French Language exam than your AP® French teacher. He/she has seen hundreds of students take the exam and knows what has worked and what hasn’t. This is even more relevant if they are one of the teachers who grades the AP® exam in the summertime. So ask your teacher questions. Be an active learner in class. Learn from previous students’ mistakes. Your teacher will be more than happy to help you in your preparation for the test.

Start your AP® French Language Prep today

Ap® french language multiple choice tips.

1. Ignore instructions. This goes along with practicing for the test like we mentioned earlier. By the time you get to test day, you should be so comfortable with the material and overall structure of the test that you don’t need to read the instructions. While other students waste precious minutes reviewing the directions, you can skip ahead and get cracking on the hefty number of multiple-choice questions you have coming your way.

2. Answer every single question. Remember on the ACT® and SAT® when your teacher constantly stressed not answering questions you didn’t know? You were punished for incorrect answers. Well, not on the AP® French Language exam! In fact, the grading machines just ignore incorrect answers. Can’t figure out a question? Running out of time? Mark an answer anyways – it might be correct.

3. Calculate your time . How many questions do you have on the multiple choice section? 65. How many minutes are you allotted? 95. That means about a minute and half for every question. Don’t go beyond that, even if a question is tripping you up. Mark something down as an answer. Then, circle the question to come back to it later if you have time.

4. Move on from words you don’t know . You will inevitably encounter words that you don’t know in the multiple-choice section. Don’t stress about this or convince yourself that you weren’t sufficiently prepared. Instead, skim past those words and focus on those that you do know. You will be able to figure out the question despite not knowing a word or two. Even looking at the answers can sometimes help. So don’t stress when approached with an unfamiliar word.

5. Read the entire question . AP® tests are notorious for their tough multiple-choice sections. And the College Board thinks they can trip you up by giving a lot of background information and not stating the actual objective until the end of the question. So be one step ahead. Read the entire question, all the way through. Then, select an answer. They anticipate many students not reading the entire question and give wrong answers that correspond appropriately so don’t fall into this trap.

AP® French Language Free Response Tips

1. Sound natural and conversational. This isn’t always so easy for someone who speaks French as a second language. But listening to French radio (try RadioFrance ) or watching television shows ( Fais pas çi, fais pas ça is available on French Netflix and is very popular) can really help you with these elements of your language. What do you hear when you listen to native speakers? Lots of uh , and bon , right? Good. Use this to your advantage. Dot your speech with these native-sounding interjections and give yourself more time to think of the right words.

2. Slow down . For many students, the free response section of the AP® French Language exam is the most anxiety inducing of the test. As a result, too many students speak quickly, stumble over their words, or provide an incoherent argument. Don’t let this be you! Firstly, speak slowly. You have so much time – two whole minutes for the cultural comparison. There is no need to rush through your words. In fact, you’ll make more mistakes and will be less likely to find the words you’re looking if you speak too quickly.

3. Use your transition words . This actually also applies for the written portion. But, French is known to differ a lot stylistically between its written and spoken forms, so we’ll mention it here. There are lots of colloquial words that are used in spoken French to change topic or connect your thoughts. Here are some of them:

Je veux dire…

Comme je disais avant…

Par contre…

D’autre part…

Par exemple…

En même temps…

Insider tip : Sounding native

Par contre and en revanche are often cited in dictionaries as being synonyms in French. And to a certain extent, they are. However, they differ in their context of usage. Whereas you would rarely hear someone say en revanche out loud, you hardly even see par contre written in formal, academic prose. Know when to use which term for your transitions.

4. Use the correct pronouns . You know the difference between vous and tu – or do you? Vous is used for formal contexts, when you’re speaking with a teacher or addressing a grader as you record yourself in the speaking section of the test. Tu , however, is used when speaking with classmates or people you have known for a while. Vous is also used when addressing multiple people. Be very mindful of this distinction when speaking. Register is one thing that AP® graders look for since it’s mentioned explicitly on the scoring guidelines . So you know it’s very important.

5. Try recording yourself and classmates . Still worried about the speaking section of the AP® French Language exam? Not to worry, most students are nervous for this part. An excellent way to prepare is by recording yourself and others. Then, play back what you said. Do you sound rushed? How is your /R/ pronunciation (that guttural sound)? Be sure to get classmates’ help with this. They’d love to exchange tips on this tough section of the test.

AP® French Language Essay Tips & Advice

1. Penmanship matters, so use your best. Maybe it should, maybe it shouldn’t, but penmanship matters. And don’t you want your AP® French Language exam grader to be in a good mood when they’re scoring your exam? Make reading essays simpler for your grader by writing very clearly and unambiguously on the test. Take your time. As we’ll point out below, it isn’t the length of the essay that matters, but the content.

2. No need to fill all the pages! You are given so many pages in the essay booklet on the AP® French Language exam. This is actually an unfortunate part of the test and one that many students fall victim to. Remember: you don’t need to use all the pages! They are there for students who write larger or who made a large mistake and need to start over. Instead, stick to three, maximum four, pages on the presentational writing section. Graders read the essays quickly. And the questions are geared towards shorter essays, not longer. Less is more! (And you have less opportunity to make mistakes.)

Insider tip : French and its punctuation

Did you know that French uses different punctuation than English? Have you ever noticed, for example, that your teacher writes grades not as 92.3% but rather 92,3? Have you ever seen that question marks and exclamation points in French stories always come after a space? Check out the sentence below for some of the common punctuation differences between French and English:

– Le prof t’a donné quelle note sur le partiel ?

– J’ai reçu 13,3 sur 20. Et toi ?

– Moi, j’ai reçu 12,4. Il m’a commenté, « analyse pas suffisante ». Ca veut dire quoi, ça ?

What’s different in the phrases above?

1) space between question mark and end of sentence: partiel?

2) « » Arrows for quotes instead of English high quotes “ ”

3) No accents necessary on uppercase letters, only lowercase: Ca but ça

4) Comma instead of decimal point and vice versa: 1.000.000 instead of 1,000,000 for one million

Does this matter? Absolutely! Impress AP® French Language readers with the depth of your knowledge and detail in French writing. Get all the points that you can!

3. Have an outline and a thesis – before beginning . Before you ever flip the page from the sources to the actual essay, you should have an outline and thesis written. ‘Why?’ you ask. ‘It’s in my mind.’ Not good enough. Stakes are too high and the essay writing time passes by too fast. You must know what you’re writing about from the beginning or you risk wasting precious writing time. By writing down a thesis and having an idea of your structure, you’ll have something to refer back to you if you get lost in the prose of your essay.

4. Use ink on the essays . Pencil is great for writing notes and that all-important outline that we’ve already talked about. But when it comes to the essay itself, stick to ink. Why? Because pencil smudges easily and could render parts of your essay unreadable to the grader – yikes! Also, it simply isn’t as clear as blue or black ink. So stick to pens for the essay itself. Unsure of an idea while you’re writing? Write in pencil first. Then, go back over it in pen once you’ve finished.

5. Proofread. You must, must, must proofread your essay. Even if you’re on the last paragraph and you only have three minutes left, take the time to proofread. You would be amazed how many errors you can make while you’re writing and thinking quickly. When you first construct your essay, you’re likely to be so involved in the material itself and incorporating your sources (we’ll get to those below) that you forget about all-important accents or a consistent verb tense throughout. Proofreading will catch most of those errors. Keep an eye out for the following while you do one last read-through:

1) No passive voice – when in doubt, use on :

This: On peut voir dans la ligne deux que … Not this: La ligne deux est vue par le lecteur comme…

2) A consistent verb tense throughout – don’t switch between past and present

3) Watch out for accents.

There’s a big difference between accent aigu ´ and accent grave ` so don’t get sloppy.

4) Don’t forget subjunctive.

Did the subject change within the clause? Are you expressing doubt or uncertainty? You probably need subjunctive.

6. Use the sources. Hopefully you know this one already! The sources provided for the persuasive essay are not just there for your amusement – you must incorporate them into your essay. In fact, graders are looking to make sure that you include not just one or two of the sources – but all of them. So read the sources carefully and think about how you will incorporate them into the outline before you even begin writing – that way you won’t forget to include one.

7. Weave the sources into the essay . Speaking of sources, if graders are looking to see if you included all three sources – don’t you want to make it very obvious to them that you did? So go ahead and use direct citations from the sources (with quotes and a citation marker). This is better than simply summing up information from the sources because 1) the graders will spot that you used a source right away and 2) you’re less likely to get the information from the sources wrong – a very common mistake that test takers make!

Tips by AP® French Language Teachers

Did you know that teachers grade the AP® French Language exams? And not just any teachers – your teachers. That’s right. Every summer, hundreds of AP® French Language teachers and university professors who teach equivalent courses get together to grade the writing and speaking components of the exam. So who do you think knows best what graders are and aren’t looking for? Teachers themselves, of course!

1. Write neatly. This teacher reinforces one of our writing tips mentioned above! “Just write clearly. We can always tell when you don’t know how to spell a word and you try to fudge your way out of it but writing illegibly. You’d be surprised how few points students lose for orthographic errors so write clearly. If you make a couple of minor mistakes, you won’t lose points for it.”

2. Do full practice exams. On the subject of practice exams , which we have also encouraged, this teacher says, “Unfortunately, we do not have enough time in class to do a full exam run-through of multiple choice, speaking, and writing. Great students will take the initiative and do this on their own or in groups. This is a long exam. It takes stamina. The only way to build that up is to do full run-throughs of the exam. All sections in one sitting – just as it will be on the day of the test.”

3. Re-energizing during the exam . It’s a long exam. How can you prepare yourself to make it all the way through until the writing section? This teacher has some tips: “I hate how the writing comes at the end! I think it’s the hardest part of the exam and takes the most energy out of my students. So I tell them, in addition to eating a large breakfast or lunch on the day of the AP® French Language exam, bring a snack or two with you! Every year my students come back saying how happy they were that I recommended this. The exam will take a lot out of you – get some energy back in return!”

4. Must use sources! Didn’t we tell you that incorporating your sources was important? Here it is again: “Please, please, please use all of your sources! Every year when I’m grading the AP® French Language exams, I feel terrible that I have to dock students points because they forgot a source or forgot to incorporate sources altogether!” How can you remember to do this? Write the sources into your outline from the very beginning. That way, you won’t forget to include them.

Insider tip : What if I forget a source?

Every year, so many students forget a source that the CollegeBoard finally decided that students can still receive a score of a 4 or 5 even without mentioning one of the sources. But the essay has to be exceptionally good to still receive such a high score. So rather than take the chance, follow the directions and use your sources.

5. Be a consistent studier. Studying for the AP® exam doesn’t just happen the few weeks before exam day in May. In fact, many AP® French Language teachers say the best study habits are established from the first week of class. “I try to encourage my students to form study groups outside of class and good learning habits such as learning new vocabulary and exposing themselves to different dialects of French. They should be doing this really from the start of their first semester in AP® French. This is the highest level of French taught at our school and offers them the invaluable opportunity to gain college credit. So students should treat the course as they would a college-level class.”

6. Master the present, including the subjunctive, the past and the future tenses! Thanks for the tip from Debbie M.

7. Challenge yourself daily to do more than you could yesterday. Listen to challenging French news broadcasts. If you don’t understand the background of the topics being discussed, do some further research online. You will enhance your knowledge of current events–a key element of success on the exam–very quickly this way. Thanks for the tip from Stephen O. at West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High.

8. Practice dictation regularly –It may seem old fashioned, but dictation (la dictée) is a great way to hone spelling and grammar and to increase vocabulary. Find a 30-second snip-it online and write out everything you hear. Ask a teacher or native to check it for you. Thanks for the tip from Stephen O. at West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High.

9. Expose yourself to French every day. An easy way to get in 15 minutes is by either listening to the French news (Journal Télévisé) on TF1.fr while getting ready for school in the morning or while getting ready for bed at night. Thanks for the tip from Kerry G. at Greenwich High School.

10. During my study abroad in college, I would listen to the French radio news every morning with my host family or alone. It helped me get used to the pacing of real French while, at the same time, having a general idea of the topic before the report started. Thanks for the tip from Kerry G. at Greenwich High School.

11. I tell my students to watch a French video clip (news or otherwise) daily to get used to hearing different accents and to get their ears used to hearing spoken French. Thanks for the tip from Linda W. at Haddon Township.

12. DON’T PANIC … Breathe and think, what did we talk about. Thanks for the submission by Timothy K. from Apex High.

13. Help the Reader: Assume the reader is tired….it is the end of the day…they have been grading since 8:00am….Help the reader find the answer. Thanks for the submission by Timothy K. from Apex High.

Label your sections

Underline important terms and key parts of your answer

–i.e. if it asks for the definition of nation, underline the word nation…

14. Do Not Dump: You should try to avoid writing “dump” essays where you “dump” or empty your brain of everything you can think of onto the paper. Thanks for the submission by Timothy K. from Apex High.

15. Outline : OUTLINING the questions will help you tremendously! As soon as you get the CRQ’s, spend a couple of minutes outlining the main points for your answer right on the question sheet. This way, when you go to write your full response, you will have a baseline of information and important points to send you on your way. Those who have done this in the past have told me it has really helped them be successful on the exam. Thanks for the submission by Timothy K. from Apex High.

16. Pick On The Weaker Ones First: Answer the question you think is the easiest first; then go onto the next easiest, etc… This way, you leave the hardest one for the end when you have more time to answer. Thanks for the submission by Timothy K. from Apex High.

17. Take your flashcards to another level: When your writing out your flashcards/vocabulary make sure you are not just writing it in your own words… but be able to connect the term/concept to another term/concept. This way when your writing your FRQ you will be able to show the reader that you not only know the information, but can critically connect the material to other units/topics. Thanks for the submission by Timothy K. from Apex High.

18. AP® French Language is vocabulary driven. Study your list of vocabulary terms listed on the CollegeBoard site labeled Martha Sharma’s vocabulary terms. I have my own version as well. Let me know if you want me to send them. Thanks for the tip from David E.

19. READ as many multiple sources as possible to prepare. Thanks for the tip from Anne C.

20. If students make a point to Listen to 10 min of French everyday in the form of news or podcasts – they can make great strides in their listening comprehension which is the most difficult part. Thanks for the tip from Harpreet M.

21. Trouvez un roman qui vous intéresse et lisez-le chaque jour hors de la classe. Thanks for the tip from Rachel D.

22. Try to listen to as much French programming as possible. And talk back to the audio, just to break through the speaking barrier; no one can hear you but you, it will loosen you up! Thanks for the tip from Madame Jean M.

23. To build a good ear for the language, read a script first. Use the CD to listen to what you just read; multiple times. Try to understand it. Then check the script again. Thanks for the tip from Angela W.

24. Listen to AS MUCH FRENCH as possible from authentic sources : videos, vimeos, movies, film trailers, especially clips of films or shows you are already familiar with. Use material which is updated and meaningful to students to keep their interest! Thanks for the tip from Jennifer B.

25. Know real world examples of Vocabulary . Example: What does gerrymandering look like? Thanks for the tip from Sharon R.

26. Read every day about lots of different topics from sources all over the world. News articles, blogs, anything! Thanks for the tip from Danelle C.

Are you a teacher or student? Do you have an awesome tip? Let us know!

Just how tough is the AP® French Language exam? Well we said before that more than 75% of students score a 3 or higher – so this exam is definitely beatable! And this list of the Ultimate Tips will get you started in your preparation for the exam. Here are some of the key points summed up again:

– Start reviewing now – old tests, new vocabulary words, study groups

– Find a language exchange to buff up speaking skills

– On test day, establish an outline and thesis before even approaching your essay

– You can’t work ahead – focus on what’s at hand during the test

– Proofread all written material

But remember that our list of the Ultimate Tips is by no means the last stop on your journey to a great score on this AP® test. Go ahead and check out other sources such as (insert other articles on AP® French prep here) to get even more insider tips and advice from previous test takers and AP® French Language teachers. With these resources in hand, there’s no way you can’t succeed!

– These stats concern “typical” French language learners – those who have not spent considerable time in a country of the target language or do not speak French in the home.

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Kickstart your AP® French Language prep with Albert. Start your AP® exam prep today .

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Writing an essay- guidance

As and a level french, essay writing.

As a rough guide you should spend about 10 minutes planning your essay, 45 minutes writing it and 5 minutes checking it.

I. Planning your essay:

It is important to plan your essay well. Make points clearly and logically so that the examiner can follow your argument. Take time to devise a plan before you start writing. This avoids rambling account and allow a structure which is easy to follow. You might find that the following points help you to plan your essay well:

· Read the question carefully. Make sure you have understood what you are being asked to do (the question may be in two parts)

· If you are completing an AS examination, the question will also have a list of bullet points to help you focus on the question. Make sure you engage with this guidance points BUT be aware that they do not in themselves give you the structure of the essay!

· It is sensible to plan your essay in French. This will prevent you writing ideas you are not able to express in the target language.

· Focus on the key words. For example, you may be asked to analyse, evaluate, explore or explain.

· Select the main point you want to make in your essay and then break this down into 3 or 4 sub-sections. They will become your paragraphs.

· Choose relevant information only!

· Decide on the order of your paragraphs. It might be a good idea to keep your strongest idea for your last paragraph. Note down linking words or phrases you can use between paragraphs to make your essay flow as a coherent and logical argument.

· Select one or two relevant and concise quotations which you can use to illustrate some of the points you make.

· Think about the suggested word count for the essay. It should always be possible to write a meaningful essay within the allocated number of words. So try to answer concisely.

· Think about how to introduce and conclude your essay, ensuring that you have answered the question set.

You might find the following template helpful to plan your essay:

II. Writing the essay:

· Remember that you are writing for a person who is reading your essay: the content should be interesting and should communicate your meaning with clarity and coherence.

· Stick to your plan and do not get side tracked into developing an argument or a point that is not relevant to the question set.

Introduction:

· It should be a single paragraph (approx. 5 lines)

· You can use a short sentence to introduce the film or the text you have studied.

· Show your understanding of the question: you should explain to your reader what you understand the question to mean, identify the issue it raises and how you are going to tackle them.

Question: Examinez le personnage de Saïd dans le film La Haine.

Introduction :

Development :

· This part will be divided into a number of interconnected paragraphs, each of which will pick up and develop the points raised in your introduction.

· Each paragraph should be introduced with a sentence stating what the paragraph is about.

· Make sure you are following a clear pathway through your paragraphs leading to your conclusion. You should move from one facet of your argument to the next, linking them conceptually by, for example, contrast, addition or comparison.

· Each paragraph must have an internal logic whereby you examine a separate point, making your argument, supporting it with evidence and possibly quotations and drawing conclusions.

· Try to have balanced paragraphs (with about the same amount of content).

Example (last paragraph):

Conclusion :

· Read through what you have written again and THEN write your conclusion.

· It should summarise your arguments succinctly

· Be careful not to simply lift passages from your development!

III. Check your work :

· Review your essay carefully and check for errors of: grammar, punctuation, accents and spelling.

· Check especially: verb endings, tenses and moods, and adjectival agreements.

· You should employ a good range of vocabulary and include terminology related to film and literature.

How to memorize French vocabulary (no matter your age)

June 23, 2020

Do you struggle to memorize new French vocabulary? Maybe some of these frustrations sound familiar…

“I can’t seem to remember the new French words I learn.”

“I learned a lot of French in high school, but it didn’t really stick. That’s a lot of hard work that just disappeared!”

“I can study vocabulary tables for hours, but I always end up forgetting the new words.”

“I can’t remember what I learn, maybe because I’m gettin older and my memory just isn’t what it used to be. It’s endless – and so frustrating!”

You’re probably wondering how you can really memorize French vocabulary, and have fun with it.

When learning French, you find quickly that there’s a lot of vocabulary to learn. And it’s hard. You feel like you don’t know how to learn effectively, and you blame yourself.

It doesn’t have to be that hard. I promise. You deserve better! And I’m going to show you the better way 😉

Today, let’s see how you can memorize French vocabulary with ease, with a five-step process for retaining new French words (no matter your age).

Welcome to Comme une Française. I’m Géraldine, your French teacher. Today, like every Tuesday, I’ll help you get better at speaking and understanding everyday French.

C’est parti !

Index: 1. How to memorize French vocabulary: Five examples to start with 2. How to memorize French vocabulary: Smart repetition 3. How to memorize French vocabulary: The testing effect 4. How to memorize French vocabulary: Applying repetition and testing in your own learning 5. How to memorize French vocabulary: Add variety!

Want all the vocabulary of the lesson ?

Want to read this lesson later , 1) how to memorize french vocabulary: five examples to start with.

Let’s take five examples of interesting French vocabulary, on different topics:

Faire les courses = buying groceries Une bande-annonce de film = a movie trailer Un mariage = a marriage AND a wedding Des couverts = cutlery Un trompe-l’œil = a painting that’s made to trick the viewer into thinking it’s real – like painted windows and people on old city buildings, for example. The name literally means “tricks the eye.”

How can you make sure you remember this new French vocabulary?

The answer is: – smart repetition. – the testing effect.

2) How to memorize French vocabulary: Smart repetition

Smart repetition is spaced repetition . It’s the opposite of cramming: trying to learn a whole lot of vocabulary all at once, the week (or the night) before an exam.

With smart repetition:

You don’t spend too long reading new vocabulary for the first time
You let the vocabulary sit in the back of your mind for a few days
Then you review it
Rinse and repeat a few weeks later, then a few months later

That’s how you implement effective studying that lasts long-term!

For a first attempt at smart repetition, let’s recall 3 words from the top of the lesson: Faire les courses = buying groceries Une bande-annonce de film = a movie trailer Un mariage = a marriage AND a wedding

You see, it’s much easier already now that you’ve seen these words twice!

(Of course, I just told you what these words mean… but I hope you’ll remember these until tomorrow at least!)

Now when reviewing that vocabulary, you can read it over and over, doing all the learning work again if you want. Or you can use the testing effect instead.

3) How to memorize French vocabulary: the testing effect

The testing effect comes to us from the world of psychology. It basically tells us that, when learning something, you’ll get much better results if you test yourself on it, rather than if you just read it over and over.

Even if you get the test wrong. Even if there’s no feedback on the test!

The point is, it sends a signal to your brain: “This is important. You’ll need to use it. Remember this.” Otherwise, your brain is very happy to forget everything about French vocabulary!

So let’s start right now: → what are Des couverts ? → what’s un trompe-l’œil ?

Don’t look at the answers above 😉

4) How to memorize French vocabulary: Applying repetition and testing in your own learning

There are two main ways to apply both smart repetition and the testing effect when learning French:

a) Immersion with French people: Every once in a while (= spaced repetition ), you’ll need to remember a word (= testing ) you’ve learned months ago, to use in your current conversation. It works very well! But it’s not available to everyone.

b) Flash cards: I personally use flash cards to learn music theory! You can also make them online, with Quizlet for example.

Make your own deck of interesting flashcards. You can add pronunciation tips. You can add sentence structure. You can even mix them up with other topics you’d like to learn, for variety!

Then, every day, test yourself on ten flashcards, at random. This will space out your learning, and you’ll remember a lot more effectively!

5) How to memorize French vocabulary: Add variety to your testing!

There are other ways to test yourself than the flashcard format. Flash cards are very effective, but different kinds of tests will add variety to your learning, such as:

Writing about French culture
Singing songs
Asking a friend to test you
Explaining the vocabulary to your dog
Doing crosswords
Playing games
Filling in the blanks of pre-written conversations…

And many more!

If you want to increase your motivation to learn long-term, it is also very helpful to get support from a community of people who’ll learn alongside you.

And that’s what I used to create the 30-Day French Challenge !

It’s a fun new program (that my students actually voted on!) where we’ll cover 100 important French terms about French culture, art, romance, friendship, small talk, and more — all in 30 days!

You’ll get a new challenge everyday , right in your inbox. And the best thing is: we’ll do these learning activities together in a special online, forum-life community group. So you can share these challenges with your friends and family, and also with nice students from all over the world!

You can join right now, until Friday, June 26th, and we’ll start on July 1st. Click here to become part of this adventure with me!

I’ll see you over there!

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Allez, salut 🙂

Join the conversation!

Bonjour, Madame Géraldine et merci beaucoup ! Thank you very much for another excellent lesson. I will be trying all of your suggestions and hope that I will be able to remember my french vocabulary easier and for longer. Merci ! 💐

Merci Géraldine

Merci Géraldine pour la promenade dans le parc j’aimerais être là avec vous Bonne journée Anne

I love the background! What a wonderful idea and lovely addition to your fine lesson! Truly wish that I could be there. Looking forward to the 30-day French Challenge! Merci pour tout!

Love the walks it looks gorgeous there. I did a piece on Grenoble with my tutor – looks a great place to live.

I loved the idea of the walk. It’s like learning french with a friend. Also lovely to see somewhere new. C’est une merveilleuse idée. Merci

It is wonderful to be in the park on a beautiful day, or even when the weather is not sunny and warm. Okay, any time!

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The AP French Exam: Your Ultimate Guide

This is your ultimate guide to study and prepare for the AP French Language and Culture Exam.

From detailed information about the exam to 15 study tips and test-taking strategies, you’ll find everything you need to set up your study plan!

What Is the AP French Exam?

How will the ap french exam help in college, how is the exam scored, when and where do i take it, how is the exam structured, 1. start early, study often, 2. make the most of your ap class, 3. bring french into your daily life, 4. practice speaking as often as you can, 5. practice conversational vs. presentational tone, 6. use a study guide, 7. take practice tests, test-taking tips, 1. don’t underestimate simple concepts, 2. read the entirety of each question, 3. listen and read holistically, 5. budget your time, 6. remember to breathe, 7. smooth out your transitions, 8. mind your register.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

AP exams are comprehensive subject-specific exams for accomplished high school students . Having a high AP exam score on your high school transcript can help you stand out to colleges.

If you’re taking an AP French class, it means that you are studying more advanced French material than the average high school French class in preparation for the exam.

Even with class time, this exam is advanced and rigorous, requiring additional individual study time in order to excel.

Whether you want to major in French or just want to learn it, a passing score on the AP French Exam will let you test out of introductory classes and save time and money . You might also earn college credits before you start college.

This is especially useful if you have a different major but want to minor in French, because minors often have course loads that can cause scheduling conflicts with your major.

Colleges also sometimes consider AP experience when awarding scholarships.

The exam is scored on a simple 1 (worst) to 5 (best) scale. Usually, a score of 3 and above will qualify you for college credits and/or advanced placement, but each college sets their own requirements.

AP exams are given every year in May . You’ll take the exam in class during a normal school day.

Signing up for the AP exam is as simple as registering for AP classes in high school. Then, you will be provided with a test schedule and pay a fee (which is significantly less than a college course would cost) in order to register officially for the exam.

In many districts, there are subsidies available to offset the exam fee, offering a further incentive to take the test.

The exam is 3 hours long , of which roughly half consists of multiple choice questions and the other half free response.

Section 1: multiple choice (1 hour, 35 minutes)

This section consists of 65 questions that test your passive French reading and listening skills.

Part A (40 minutes) is 30 questions based on sample texts such as newspaper articles or train schedules.
Part B (55 minutes) is 35 questions based on audio clips which may or may not be paired with texts. All audio is played twice.

Section 2: free response (1 hour, 28 minutes)

This section consists of four tasks that test your active French writing and speaking skills.

Part B (18 minutes) is two speaking tasks: a conversation and a presentation that demonstrates your knowledge of French and Francophone culture.

As with most tests (especially AP exams), you can’t just study the day before the exam and expect to get a good score.

Start scheduling as far ahead as you can. Consistency is key, and time is your greatest ally.

If you start studying 6 months before your test, you can spend just 15 minutes a day studying and build confidence in your skills.

If you wait until the last minute, you might spend hours and hours cramming in all your studying the week of, only to be unprepared and burned out for your exam.

Remember: your French teacher is already an expert in the language! Take advantage of their knowledge as much as possible while you still can. Something I used to do when learning French was to make a point of asking at least one question in class every day .

Pay extra attention to all the materials your teacher provides for you. They know what the exam will be like, so they know what it’s most important for you to be studying.

Whether it’s simple worksheets, beneficial websites or games, don’t just blow through these activities! Ask yourself what aspect of French these assignments are actually teaching you . Take them to heart.

Immersion is the best way to pick up any language.

While you may get short bits of immersion in your French classes, there is more that you can do outside of school that will immerse you in the language and get you thinking in it.

Try reading in French , setting your Facebook page to French , listening to French music or even finding some cool YouTube videos! You can also watch movies and TV shows or listen to podcasts in French.

Really, anything in your everyday life that’s usually done in English can probably also be done in French.

Whether it’s with a classmate, your teacher, a French friend or even yourself , find every possible opportunity to get in that speaking practice .

You might be able to understand written French and know the grammar concepts like the back of your hand, but speaking is a huge part of your test and you need to sound confident while doing it!

This one’s very important. Remember, an email isn’t an essay, and a conversation isn’t a presentation.

When you compose your email, write as if you’re a French person casually writing to another French person. Same goes for the conversation.

It’s during the essay and presentation that you want to show off how formal and informative you can be!

A study guide often includes important information on how the test is formatted and how to best approach it, as well as the grammar and vocabulary that you should know.

Be sure to find a study guide that covers all four language skills (speaking, writing, listening and reading).

Here are some of the most popular guides you can try:

Barron’s – Breaks things down well and includes MP3 audio and two full practice tests.
REA – Offers mobile and online content and tracks your progress with quizzes.
College Board – While not technically a study guide, it has lots of relevant study material that is sure to help you since it comes from the creators of the test!

There are plenty of practice AP French exams out there, including in the study guides mentioned above. There are also practice exams online from resources such as Albert . The College Board website AP Central offers examples of past test questions , including writing and audio samples.

Try timing yourself with the actual exam times and keeping track of your progress, then studying the parts you struggle with the most.

Practice tests will have the same instructions as the real exam, so pay attention to them to understand what to expect beforehand.

While knowing advanced French is a plus, don’t forget what you learned when you were just starting out.

Things like incorrect gender , forgetting to use the subjunctive and improper conjugations are simple mistakes that even advanced speakers can commit. Don’t fall into that trap.

Read carefully to be sure the question you think you’re answering and the question you’re really answering are one and the same.

If you skim through the questions, you may miss important parts that would completely change your answer.

The audio section presents the stress of only being able to listen to the audio twice. The key here is to listen holistically.

Don’t try to understand every word; that’s not necessary to answer the questions. If you dwell too long on one word you didn’t understand, you might miss the rest of the audio.

This goes for the reading portions of the exam, too. Especially considering the advanced level of language used in the exam, you are most likely going to come across something you don’t recognize. That’s okay! Just pick out the words you do know and use context clues to fill in the missing pieces.

You will be sitting at your exam for a little over three hours.

This means you should make sure to not only eat a big, nutritious breakfast, but also bring along a small snack or two to give you a boost. It’s hard to remember subject-verb agreements when your stomach won’t stop grumbling.

Water is also important.

You have to take care of your body to prepare your mind!

With 65 multiple choice questions to answer in 95 minutes, that leaves you about 1.5 minutes to answer each question.

Don’t get caught hemming and hawing over a question for five minutes. You can circle the question, move on, and get back to it if you have time at the end.

Since you’re not penalized for wrong answers—they’re simply not counted—you should try to fill in an answer for every question, even if it’s just a wild guess.

When it comes to the speaking portion, don’t let nervous jitters jumble your words. Speak slowly and deliberately. Remain calm.

You can even throw in some fillers à la française (in the French style) such as uh and ben (well) to give yourself some time to gather your thoughts, find le mot juste (the right word), and sound elegantly fluent .

In order to make your French sound as smooth and buttery as possible, you’ll need to be sure to have a store of transitions in your arsenal that will allow you to make logical connections and add variety to the structure and length of your sentences.

Think of the free response section as an opportunity to show that you know the difference between words like pour que (so that) and quoi que (no matter what).

Register is one of the areas in which you’ll be evaluated on the exam. In part A of the free response section, for example, you’ll be asked to reply to an email.

If the email is addressed to a close friend, you’d use tu . Addressing a professional acquaintance, on the other hand, requires vous . You should have the difference between the formal and informal register down pat.

With ample preparation, not only can you pass the AP French Exam, but you can improve your French enormously in the process.

Take it from a seasoned veteran of AP exams: there’s nothing on the AP French Exam that you can’t do, especially if you’re already a passionate learner.

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French Essay: Topics, Tips, and Examples [2024 Updated]

Nowadays, knowing several foreign languages is no longer surprising. For example, learning French is common for English-speaking countries. So, getting an assignment on this subject won’t be a surprise for a student.

Writing a French essay, you can dwell into:

the history of the French language;
various dialects;
its grammatical features;
similarities between French and English (or another language);
the distribution of the language around the globe.

One studying the language may penetrate the rich French culture and comprehend the nation itself. Besides, writing a French essay can develop the author’s writing skills and broaden their outlook. And even if you make mistakes doing so, it’s not the end of the world. The fact that you’re able to recognize them is already good enough, and you can fix complex errors using a free essay rewriter .

Our writers prepared French essay topics and tips for you to nail your task. See the examples below for better understanding.

📯 French Essay Topics

Are you one of those who are assigned to write French essays? Then we suggest you pick out some of the following problems to investigate:

History of the French language;
Dialects of the French language;
French phonology ;
French orthography;
French grammar ;
French alphabet.

The suggested topics are too vague and need narrowing. You may single out some aspects and analyze it in your paper. An excellent French essay topic should be:

Broad for you to have enough room to develop your arguments;
Narrow enough for you to be able to concentrate on one or several points;
It should also be creative and original. You want people to enjoy reading it, right?
Most importantly, the topic should be interesting for you.

If the essay topics seem too formal to you, study, for example, your progress in analyzing the French language. Alternatively, you can state what attracts you in the language and explain why. You may also do a comparative analysis of French and some other languages. Comparing French with English may turn out to be a fascinating task to cope with. Both languages will benefit from your French essay writing.

Here are some topics and French essay examples you can consider writing about:

Your progress in learning the French language . Here you can write about your personal experience learning the French language. What techniques do you apply, and what motivates you personally? You can explain why you have to learn how to speak French.
How are the French language and culture in Southern France different from Parisian? In this essay, you can compare the Southern French dialect and culture with the one in Paris. What are some of the critical phonetic, grammar, and linguistic characteristics of Southern French?
Parisian dialect as a standard of French. When people think about the French language, the Parisian variant immediately comes to mind. In this essay, you can analyze why Parisian French became the standard version.
Why do you enjoy learning French? This essay focuses on your personal preferences and likes in the process of learning. What makes it fun and enjoyable? Is it French movies, French literature, or understanding French written work documents?
French influence on English . Although English is a Germanic language, it looks and sounds a lot like French. The influence which French had on English is significant. Look at some historical reasons (the Norman invasion in particular) and why English benefited from it.
French language in 19th century Russia. Not everyone knows that French was the official language of the Russian elite in the 19th century. Discuss the reasons why and what influence French culture had on Russian literature, music, and language.
The effect of the French language on the development of English writing . More than 10,000 French words came into the English language. Not only did the vocabulary of English get more prosperous, but the French way of spelling and letter convention influenced English orthography.
What caused French to become an aristocratic language in Europe? The reasons why the French language became so dominant throughout Europe are broad. In this essay, you can focus on economic grounds, cultural or political reasons.
An analysis of Canadian French. This essay can be a comparative analysis of Canadian and European French. What are the main differences? What are some similarities between the two variants?
Is there any similarity between French and German ? All of the languages in the Indo-European language family have some similarities. Therefore, French and German are not exceptions. You can focus on sentence structure, word order, pronunciation, or phonetics.
The popular strategies in English-French translation .
Describe the challenges of French language acquisition.
Analyze the peculiarities of French vowel pronunciation.
Cultural events and their traditions in French-speaking countries .
Discuss the advantages of learning French .
Examine the semantic peculiarities of the French language.
Explore the role of watching movies in the French language learning process.
Comparison of language education theories .
Analyze the impact of French language learning on your personality.
Describe the methods you’ve used to improve your French language fluency and which turned out to be the most effective.
Similarities and differences between realism and naturalism in Spanish and French literature .
What is the role of the French language in the modern world?
Advantages and disadvantages of knowledge of multiple languages .
Discuss the role of the French language in the United States.
The specifics of learning French in early childhood.
Compare the grammar peculiarities of English and French languages.
How is the concept of friendship interpreted in American and French cultures?
Analyze the correlation between the history of France and French language development.
Explore the origin of the French language.
Verbal and non-verbal communication in French culture.
Examine the crucial role of French literature in learning French.
Describe the relationship between French culture and language.
Is it a good idea to integrate bilingual programs in early childhood education?
Discuss the best ways to prepare for the speaking exam in French.
The role of audiovisual materials in learning French.
What difficulties did you face when learning to write in French?
The essential role of sociocultural context when translating from French.
Compare the customs of French, Chinese, and Hispanic cultures.
The best methods of learning the second language .
Describe the best ways of promoting language development for French language learners.
Analyze the methods of French word formation .
Would you like to become a French language teacher?
Analysis of the food words in English and other European languages.
Examine the specifics of the French language in former French colonies .

Do not treat your French essay as an ordinary task to undertake. Make it as creative as possible!

🖋️ How to Write a French Essay

Note that writing on some language problems requires more than your knowledge of the subject matter. It also tests your abilities to present them in terms of academic writing.

Special care should be taken concerning the following:

The structural organization of your French essay.

Mostly, it is similar to any other academic essay :

It should start with a hook . In simple terms, it is the opening sentence or two of your writing. It can be a quote, a short story, or a catchy statement that grabs the reader’s attention.

Here’s an example of from the sample essay:

Every language is a mirror of society, a living organism that exists and changes under the influence of historical, political, and social conditions.

The next part of your essay is a thesis statement . Typically, it should be placed at the end of the first paragraph. The thesis statement’s purpose is to state the central idea in one or two phrases.

Here is a thesis statement from our French essay example:

Today, it is common to study English as a foreign language, as an international means of communication. However, this does not diminish the importance of learning other foreign language like French.

After that, the body of the essay should start. This part of the composition usually has three separate paragraphs. These paragraphs can include research, supporting evidence, and arguments that prove the point of view.
The conclusion brings together all the points of the essay. It goes back to the thesis statement and explains the broader importance of the topic. It is the last chance to leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Here is an example form our French essay sample:

To conclude, the above discussion provides evidence and arguments that maintain the position according to which learning French is a necessity nowadays. The crucial points are as follows; first, French has a long tradition of international language; second, French is spoken around the globe; third, it is a language of international relationships. The opposing position that English is sufficient for appropriate global communication was claimed unreasonable – an emphasis in this regard was on the essence of cultural and language diversity.

The logical organization of your French essay .

There are some ways in which you can coherently write your essay. The following three aspects can guide you when organizing your French essay:

Topic sentence : you should mind linking elements within the paragraphs and between them. First of all, each section should include a topic sentence. It aims to identify the central idea and express an overall direction in which the writer will develop the paragraph.

The demand for knowledge of a language has changed in recent years.

Concluding sentence: each paragraph should also include a concluding sentence. It asserts the main idea of the section and sums up all the information said in it.

It may be claimed that in a period of rather an aggressive introduction of the Anglo-American language in the world, the French need to persistently and resolutely defend their language, their national interests, and calls on other nations to preserve linguistic diversity.

Linking words: it is crucial to use linking words in your essay. Linking words show relationships between ideas. It can be used to build sentences together to develop a cohesive paragraph.

To see the full essay sample, check the link below:

Grammar, spelling, and vocabulary.

The last step in writing an A+ French essay is proofreading and editing. Before submitting your academic paper, make sure to pay attention to grammar, spelling, and vocabulary mistakes . Without proofreading, your writing can contain typos and errors that will not leave a good impression.

Good luck with your French essay writing! We hope the article was helpful. If so, share it with your peers and leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

This might be interesting for you:

How to Write an Expository Essay in Simple Steps
Nursing Reflective Essay Example and Guidelines for Students
Essay on Dengue Fever: How to Write + Free Examples
Objective Essay Writing: How to Write, Topics and Examples
Organizing an Essay: Jerry Plotnick, College Writing Centre, University of Toronto
Organizing an Essay: Study Guide Zone
Paragraphs & Topic Sentences: Writing Guides, Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University Bloomington
Thesis Generator: Ashford Writing Center
Proofreading: The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Basic Essay and Paragraph Format: Utah Valley University
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It is not helpful to me.

Thanks for the help with out this i wouldn’t even know what to do on my essay

Hi, do you also do French powerpoint presentation?

Good advice. Thanks.

This was a very great help. I’m writing a French essay, and I know, thanks to your post and the provided tips on French essay writing, I will pass!

Hi! I just want to thank you for your ideas and tips for writing French essays! Write a French paper in English or write an essay for the French by an American) Funny.

Thanks a lot for the help.

No problem, Sash:) Good luck!

How to memorise essays and long responses

Lauren Condon

Marketing Specialist at Atomi

When it comes to memorising essays or long responses for your exams, there are three big things to consider.

Should you even try to memorise an essay?
Do you know how to adapt your memorised response to the exam question?
How on earth are you meant to memorise a 1,200 word essay??

It’s a lot to weigh up but we can help you out here. If you want an answer to the first question, here’s one we prepared earlier. But wait, there’s more! If you’re super keen to read more about question #2, then go ahead and click here .

And for that third point on how to actually memorise a long essay? Well, all you have to do is keep reading...

1. Break it down

Your essay/long response/creative writing piece could be anywhere between 800 and 1,200 words long. Yeah… that’s a lot. So when it comes to memorising the whole thing, it’s a lot easier to break the answer down into logical chunks and work on memorising it bit by bit.

So if you want to memorise your Discovery Essay, you might have something like this:

Introduction
Theme 1 with the assigned text
Theme 1 with the related text
Theme 2 with the assigned text
Theme 2 with the related text

You’re going to want to memorise the paragraphs and pay attention to the structure then you can piece it all together in the exam. Having a killer structure makes it a lot easier to remember the overall bones of this situation and if you’re finding this effective, you can even break those body paragraphs down further like topic sentence > example > explanation > connection to thesis.

2. Use memory tricks

Now, there are lots of different strategies and approaches when it comes to memorising a long piece of writing. Moving in sections, you can try reading it out loud over again (slowly looking at the paper less and less) or the classic look-cover-write-check approach. If you’re really struggling, make some of your own flashcards that have the first sentence on one side and the next sentence on the back so you can test your progress.

You could also enlist the help of some creative mnemonics (memory tricks) to remind you which sentence or section needs to come next. Pick one keyword from each sentence in the paragraph and turn them into a silly sentence to help you remember the structure of the paragraph and to make sure you don’t forget one of your awesome points.

3. Play to your strengths

Not all of us are super geniuses that can just read an essay and then memorise the entire thing but we’re all going to have our own strengths. There’s going to be something whether it’s art, music, writing, performance or sport that just ‘clicks’ in your brain and this is what you want to capitalise on. So for me, I was really into debating and public speaking (hold back the jokes please) and was used to giving speeches and remembering them. So whenever I wanted to memorise a long response, I would write out the essay onto palm cards and then practice it out loud like a speech. Did it annoy my family? Yes. Was I too embarrassed to tell people my strategy? Yes. Did it work? Absolutely. 💯

Whatever your strengths are, find a way to connect them to your essay and come up with a creative way of learning your long response that will be much easier and more effective for you!

4. Start early

So you know how there’s that whole long-term/short-term memory divide? Yeah well that’s going to be pretty relevant when it comes to memorising. You’re going to have a much better chance of remembering your long response if you start early and practice it often, instead of trying to cram it in the night before… sorry.

The good news is, you still have a couple of months before the HSC so try to get your prepared response written, get good feedback from your teachers and then make it perfect so it’s ready to go for the HSC. Then, the next step is to start memorising the essay now and test yourself on it fairly regularly all the way up to your exams. This way, you have plenty of time to really lock it deep into your memory.

5. Test yourself

The final and maybe even most important step is to test yourself. And not with flashcards or the look-cover-check-repeat anymore. Once you’ve got the essay memorised pretty well, you want to spend the weeks coming up to HSC doing past questions so you can practice

Having the essay memorised
Being able to recall it under pressure
Adapting it to any question so that all your hard work will actually pay off

For this to work, you really need to commit 100% to exam conditions (no cheating!) and it’s definitely worth sending those responses to your teacher to get them marked. That way, you will actually know if you’re doing a good job of remembering the core of your argument but also tailoring it perfectly to the question.

Any subject with essays or long responses can be super daunting so if you want to have a pre-written, adaptable response ready to go then it’s worth making sure you can actually memorise it for your exam. Remember to break down the essay into sections, play to your memory strengths and make sure you consistently test yourself all the way up to HSC. That should do the trick. 👌

Published on

July 28, 2017

The syllabus: your key to smashing your studies

Formulating results-based goals

Setting up your study space

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Engaging, curriculum-specific videos and interactive lessons backed by research, so you can study smarter, not harder.

With tens of thousands of practice questions and custom revision sessions, you won’t just think you’re ready. You’ll know you are!

Study skills strategies and tips, AI-powered revision recommendations and progress insights help you stay on track.

Short, curriculum-specific videos and interactive content that’s easy to understand and backed by the latest research.

Active recall quizzes, topic-based tests and exam practice enable students to build their skills and get immediate feedback.

Our AI understands each student's progress and makes intelligent recommendations based on their strengths and weaknesses.

Essential French Academic Vocabulary for Writing and Speaking

Do you want to take your French language skills to the next level? If so, then mastering academic vocabulary is essential. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or academic professional, having a strong academic vocabulary will give you a significant edge.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the fascinating world of French academic expressions and words. We’ll also provide you with some tips on how to master this essential skill. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!

The Significance of Academic Vocabulary:

Academic vocabulary plays a vital role in academic pursuits, facilitating comprehension, precision, and effective communication. Here are some reasons why it is essential:

Precision and Clarity: Academic vocabulary offers precise terms that allow for clear expression of complex ideas and concepts.

Comprehension and Critical Reading: Familiarity with academic words enhances understanding and facilitates in-depth analysis of scholarly texts.

Effective Writing: Using appropriate academic vocabulary demonstrates subject knowledge, adds credibility to your writing, and enables concise and persuasive articulation of ideas.

Presentations and Discussions: Employing academic vocabulary enriches participation in academic conversations, seminars, and conferences, fostering meaningful engagement and intellectual discourse.

Essential French Academic Vocabulary:

Below is a list of commonly used academic expressions and words, along with their English translations:

Analyser (Analyze) : Examine in detail to uncover patterns or insights.

French: “Analyser les données recueillies dans l’étude.”

English: “Analyze the data collected in the study.”

Critiquer (Critique) : Evaluate or assess by offering a detailed analysis or opinion.

French: “Critiquer les arguments présentés dans cet article.”

English: “Critique the arguments presented in this article.”

Évaluer (Evaluate) : Assess or judge the value, significance, or quality of something.

French: “Évaluer les performances des étudiants dans l’expérience.”

English: “Evaluate the students’ performance in the experiment.”

Hypothétiser (Hypothesize) : Formulate a tentative explanation or assumption based on limited evidence.

French: “Hypothétiser une relation entre ces deux variables.”

English: “Hypothesize a relationship between these two variables.”

Synthétiser (Synthesize) : Combine separate elements or information to form a coherent whole.

French: “Synthétiser les résultats de différentes études pour parvenir à une conclusion générale.”

English: “Synthesize the findings from different studies to arrive at a general conclusion.”

Méthodologie (Methodology) : The systematic approach used in a research study or investigation.

French: “Décrire en détail la méthodologie utilisée dans cette recherche.”

English: “Describe in detail the methodology used in this research.”

Empirique (Empirical) : Based on observation, experience, or experimental evidence.

French: “Appuyer les conclusions avec des preuves empiriques solides.”

English: “Support the conclusions with strong empirical evidence.”

Revue de la littérature (Literature Review) : A critical analysis and summary of existing research and literature on a specific topic.

French: “Réaliser une revue de la littérature pour identifier les lacunes dans les recherches précédentes.”

English: “Conduct a literature review to identify gaps in previous research.”

Paradigme (Paradigm) : A framework or model that serves as the basis for a particular theory or approach.

French: “Comprendre les différents paradigmes utilisés en psychologie.”

English: “Understand the different paradigms used in psychology.”

Concluant (Conclusive) : Providing a definitive result or settlement.

French: “Présenter des preuves concluantes pour étayer l’hypothèse.”

English: “Present conclusive evidence to support the hypothesis.”

Concept (Concept) : An abstract idea or fundamental principle.

French: “Comprendre le concept de développement durable.”

English: “Understand the concept of sustainable development.”

Déduire (Deduce) : Draw a logical conclusion from given information.

French: “Déduire les implications de cette théorie.”

English: “Deduce the implications of this theory.”

Étude de cas (Case study) : A detailed analysis of a specific subject, often used to illustrate theoretical concepts.

French: “Analyser une étude de cas en psychologie cognitive.”

English: “Analyze a case study in cognitive psychology.”

Expérience (Experiment) : A scientific activity conducted to test a hypothesis or verify a theory.

French: “Concevoir et mener une expérience sur la gravité.”

English: “Design and conduct an experiment on gravity.”

Thèse (Thesis) : An original research work presented to obtain an academic degree.

French: “Rédiger une thèse sur la littérature française du 19e siècle.”

English: “Write a thesis on 19th-century French literature.”

Source primaire (Primary source) : A document or testimony directly related to the event or subject being studied.

French: “Analyser des sources primaires pour comprendre la Révolution française.”

English: “Analyze primary sources to understand the French Revolution.”

Analyse de données (Data analysis) : The systematic examination of data to draw conclusions or identify patterns.

French: “Effectuer une analyse de données statistiques pour tester l’hypothèse.”

English: “Perform statistical data analysis to test the hypothesis.”

Variable indépendante (Independent variable) : A variable manipulated or controlled by the researcher to study its effect on another variable.

French: “Identifier la variable indépendante dans cette étude expérimentale.”

English: “Identify the independent variable in this experimental study.”

Référence bibliographique (Bibliographic reference) : A complete citation of a source used in an academic work.

French: “Citer les références bibliographiques selon les normes de l’APA.”

English: “Cite bibliographic references following APA guidelines.”

Méthode qualitative (Qualitative method) : A research approach focused on in-depth understanding of social phenomena through observations and interviews.

French: “Appliquer une méthode qualitative pour explorer les motivations des participants.”

English: “Apply a qualitative method to explore participants’ motivations.”

Remember, this list of essential French academic vocabulary is a selection, and there are many more terms specific to different fields of study. Regular exposure to academic texts and engagement in academic discussions will contribute to the expansion and refinement of your academic vocabulary.

How to Master Academic Vocabulary in French

Once exposed to these words and expressions and a lot more thanks to your research, you need to practise using academic vocabulary in your own writing and speaking. This will help you to solidify your knowledge and make sure that you can use the vocabulary correctly.

Mastering academic vocabulary in French opens doors to effective communication and comprehension within academic domains. By incorporating these essential expressions and words into your repertoire, you can engage in intellectual discussions confidently.

To accelerate your learning journey, Albert-Learning offers a valuable online teaching platform. You can book a free session with their experienced teachers. By learning these French expressions in context, you can thrive in academic environments. Start your journey today and unlock the power of academic vocabulary in French.

Tags: Francais French language French vocabulary Learn French Albert learning Learn French online

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Education and Communications
Study Skills
Memorization Skills

How to Memorise Long Text in the Shortest Amount of Time Possible

Last Updated: August 19, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 406,123 times.

If you've ever tried to memorize an essay, monologue, long answer, or other text, you likely just repeated the words over and over again until you could recite them from rote memory. However, this isn't necessarily the quickest way to memorize something and if you're working with a longer text you may not have the time it would take to keep repeating it aloud. Instead, use memorization techniques that suit your learning style and focus on recalling the text rather than rote memorization. [1] X Research source

Breaking the Text into Chunks

Step 1 Divide the text into separate actions or objectives.

For example, if you're trying to memorize Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, your first chunk might be the first line of the speech, in which Lincoln talks about the founding of the United States. The second chunk might relate to Lincoln's description of the civil war, then the third to the battlefield Lincoln was consecrating that day. Despite being separate chunks, the second and third chunks make up the same paragraph. [3] X Research source
Look for phrases you already know that you won't have to work as hard to commit to memory. For example, if you already remember the phrase "four score and seven years ago" from the Gettysburg Address, you don't need to worry about memorizing that.
Sometimes it can also help to reformat the text. You might hand-write or type the text out with plenty of space between the chunks. You might even include separate headings for each of the chunks.

Get a good familiarity with each of the chunks separately before you start to combine them. If there is a particular area of your original chunk that's giving you trouble, try separating it into even smaller chunks. Then you can combine those smaller chunks together once you've got them down.

Step 3 Combine the first chunk with the second chunk.

Practice the first and second chunk together until you can recite them flawlessly. Then you're ready to add the third chunk.

Step 4 Repeat the process until you've memorized the entire text.

If you run into rough spots, stop and go back over them until you can recite them smoothly. Then integrate that part into the rest of the chunk.
Throughout the process, keep your eye out for transitions that you can use as triggers to combine the chunks together seamlessly. If these transitions aren't in the text, add them mentally to help you connect the chunks — just remember not to say them out loud.

Creating a Memory Palace

Step 1 Map out a familiar place in your mind.

It's often easiest to use your home, since you're intimately familiar with the rooms and the objects inside.
Your place can also be a fictitious place that you're deeply familiar with. For example, if you're a big fan of Harry Potter and have a familiar map in your head of Hogwarts, you could use that.
Your "memory palace" doesn't have to be a single building or location. It can also be a route from one place to another. For example, you might use your route from home to work or school.

Step 2 Assign parts of the text you want to memorize to rooms in the

For example, if you're trying to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy, you might imagine a letter "B" on the door of a room. When you open the room, there are arrows and slingshots pelting you from a large bag of gold coins. If you close the door and move down the hall, there are arms reaching out that grab you and carry you across a turbulent ocean. [8] X Research source

Step 3 Walk through your palace to connect the pieces together.

If you encounter pieces that are difficult to remember, you may want to rethink the object you have associated with that piece or break it up into smaller pieces associated with multiple objects.

Step 4 Use the mental image to recall the text you want to memorize.

This technique may take some practice to master. If you're up against a deadline, it may not be the best time to create a memory palace. However, once you've used it a few times, you may find it enables you to memorize text more quickly.
If you used a route rather than a place, you can travel through the text you're trying to memorize every day as you head to work or school. You could even try it in reverse as you go back home. Then you'd be able to say you know the text "backward and forward."

Trying Other Memorization Techniques

Step 1 Memorize the first letter of each word of the text to create a shortcut.

For example, if you were trying to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet, you would write "t b, o n t b? t i t q — w 't n i t m t s t s a a o o f, o t t a a a s o t, a, b o, e t?" [11] X Research source Then you would see how many words you could get just from those first letters.
Circle the letters that correspond to words you couldn't remember and then go back to the text. Use your favorite memorization technique to better commit those words to your memory in the context of the text, then try the first letters again.
This trick is also useful if you're trying to recall something you memorized a long time ago but haven't thought about since. You might be surprised how much you'll recall.

Step 2 Turn the words into a song to help you remember them.

If you're musically inclined, you could try recording yourself playing the song. You may also be able to find an instrumental version of the song on your favorite streaming service.
Educational programs, such as "Schoolhouse Rock," often create songs for historical documents and speeches. Search the internet or your favorite video streaming service and see what you can find.

Step 3 Walk around as you recite the memorized text to stimulate your brain.

Feel free to gesticulate as well to really get into the emotion of the text. The more passion and emotion you attach to it, the better you'll be able to remember it.

Step 4 Connect images to the text if you're a visual learner.

For example, if you were trying to memorize Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, you might think of an image of your father, an image of the United States, an image of the Statue of Liberty, and an equal sign to represent the first line: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
If you enjoy emoji, you might try "translating" the text into emoji. Since those images are already familiar to you, it might make the text easier to remember.

Step 5 Record yourself reading the text if you're an auditory learner.

If you dislike the sound of your own voice, you can always get someone else to read the text for you. However, you'll get less of a benefit by listening to someone else's voice than you would if you listened to your own voice.
If you're trying to memorize a relatively famous text, you may also be able to find recordings online of famous actors or other celebrities reading the text.

Expert Q&A

Once you've found a method that works for you, practice it by memorizing speeches, monologues, or essays that spark your interest. The more you practice memorizing things, the better you'll get. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
After you've memorized something, make an effort to recite it at least once every few days so it sticks in your memory. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/backstage-experts-answer-ways-quickly-memorize-lines-6719/
↑ https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/chunking
↑ http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm
↑ https://psychcentral.com/lib/memory-and-mnemonic-devices/
↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/step-1-memory-encoding/
↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4056179/
↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56965/speech-to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question
↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/enhancing-your-memory/
↑ http://www.productivity501.com/how-to-memorize-verbatim-text/294/
↑ https://poets.org/poem/hamlet-act-iii-scene-i-be-or-not-be
↑ https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2017/10/20/want-to-remember-something-better-put-it-in-a-song/
↑ https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/7-easy-monologue-memorization-tips/
↑ Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.. Educational Consultant. Expert Interview. 18 June 2020.
↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09658211.2017.1383434

About This Article

To memorize a long text in the shortest time possible, start by splitting it into 1-2 sentence sections to make it easier to remember. Read the first section a few times. Then, cover the page and practice recalling the section from memory. You can say it aloud, in your head, or write it down on a new piece of paper. Once you’ve memorized the first section, move onto the next one. Whenever you start a new section, say or write the text from the beginning so you learn the flow between each section. Repeat the process until you’ve learned all of the sections of your text. For more tips, including how to memorize text by using pictures for each section, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning

Jonathan Lambert

A close-up of a woman's hand writing in a notebook.

If you're like many digitally savvy Americans, it has likely been a while since you've spent much time writing by hand.

The laborious process of tracing out our thoughts, letter by letter, on the page is becoming a relic of the past in our screen-dominated world, where text messages and thumb-typed grocery lists have replaced handwritten letters and sticky notes. Electronic keyboards offer obvious efficiency benefits that have undoubtedly boosted our productivity — imagine having to write all your emails longhand.

To keep up, many schools are introducing computers as early as preschool, meaning some kids may learn the basics of typing before writing by hand.

But giving up this slower, more tactile way of expressing ourselves may come at a significant cost, according to a growing body of research that's uncovering the surprising cognitive benefits of taking pen to paper, or even stylus to iPad — for both children and adults.

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In kids, studies show that tracing out ABCs, as opposed to typing them, leads to better and longer-lasting recognition and understanding of letters. Writing by hand also improves memory and recall of words, laying down the foundations of literacy and learning. In adults, taking notes by hand during a lecture, instead of typing, can lead to better conceptual understanding of material.

"There's actually some very important things going on during the embodied experience of writing by hand," says Ramesh Balasubramaniam , a neuroscientist at the University of California, Merced. "It has important cognitive benefits."

While those benefits have long been recognized by some (for instance, many authors, including Jennifer Egan and Neil Gaiman , draft their stories by hand to stoke creativity), scientists have only recently started investigating why writing by hand has these effects.

A slew of recent brain imaging research suggests handwriting's power stems from the relative complexity of the process and how it forces different brain systems to work together to reproduce the shapes of letters in our heads onto the page.

Your brain on handwriting

Both handwriting and typing involve moving our hands and fingers to create words on a page. But handwriting, it turns out, requires a lot more fine-tuned coordination between the motor and visual systems. This seems to more deeply engage the brain in ways that support learning.

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"Handwriting is probably among the most complex motor skills that the brain is capable of," says Marieke Longcamp , a cognitive neuroscientist at Aix-Marseille Université.

Gripping a pen nimbly enough to write is a complicated task, as it requires your brain to continuously monitor the pressure that each finger exerts on the pen. Then, your motor system has to delicately modify that pressure to re-create each letter of the words in your head on the page.

"Your fingers have to each do something different to produce a recognizable letter," says Sophia Vinci-Booher , an educational neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University. Adding to the complexity, your visual system must continuously process that letter as it's formed. With each stroke, your brain compares the unfolding script with mental models of the letters and words, making adjustments to fingers in real time to create the letters' shapes, says Vinci-Booher.

That's not true for typing.

To type "tap" your fingers don't have to trace out the form of the letters — they just make three relatively simple and uniform movements. In comparison, it takes a lot more brainpower, as well as cross-talk between brain areas, to write than type.

Recent brain imaging studies bolster this idea. A study published in January found that when students write by hand, brain areas involved in motor and visual information processing " sync up " with areas crucial to memory formation, firing at frequencies associated with learning.

"We don't see that [synchronized activity] in typewriting at all," says Audrey van der Meer , a psychologist and study co-author at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She suggests that writing by hand is a neurobiologically richer process and that this richness may confer some cognitive benefits.

Other experts agree. "There seems to be something fundamental about engaging your body to produce these shapes," says Robert Wiley , a cognitive psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. "It lets you make associations between your body and what you're seeing and hearing," he says, which might give the mind more footholds for accessing a given concept or idea.

Those extra footholds are especially important for learning in kids, but they may give adults a leg up too. Wiley and others worry that ditching handwriting for typing could have serious consequences for how we all learn and think.

What might be lost as handwriting wanes

The clearest consequence of screens and keyboards replacing pen and paper might be on kids' ability to learn the building blocks of literacy — letters.

"Letter recognition in early childhood is actually one of the best predictors of later reading and math attainment," says Vinci-Booher. Her work suggests the process of learning to write letters by hand is crucial for learning to read them.

"When kids write letters, they're just messy," she says. As kids practice writing "A," each iteration is different, and that variability helps solidify their conceptual understanding of the letter.

Research suggests kids learn to recognize letters better when seeing variable handwritten examples, compared with uniform typed examples.

This helps develop areas of the brain used during reading in older children and adults, Vinci-Booher found.

"This could be one of the ways that early experiences actually translate to long-term life outcomes," she says. "These visually demanding, fine motor actions bake in neural communication patterns that are really important for learning later on."

Ditching handwriting instruction could mean that those skills don't get developed as well, which could impair kids' ability to learn down the road.

"If young children are not receiving any handwriting training, which is very good brain stimulation, then their brains simply won't reach their full potential," says van der Meer. "It's scary to think of the potential consequences."

Many states are trying to avoid these risks by mandating cursive instruction. This year, California started requiring elementary school students to learn cursive , and similar bills are moving through state legislatures in several states, including Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin. (So far, evidence suggests that it's the writing by hand that matters, not whether it's print or cursive.)

Slowing down and processing information

For adults, one of the main benefits of writing by hand is that it simply forces us to slow down.

During a meeting or lecture, it's possible to type what you're hearing verbatim. But often, "you're not actually processing that information — you're just typing in the blind," says van der Meer. "If you take notes by hand, you can't write everything down," she says.

The relative slowness of the medium forces you to process the information, writing key words or phrases and using drawing or arrows to work through ideas, she says. "You make the information your own," she says, which helps it stick in the brain.

Such connections and integration are still possible when typing, but they need to be made more intentionally. And sometimes, efficiency wins out. "When you're writing a long essay, it's obviously much more practical to use a keyboard," says van der Meer.

Still, given our long history of using our hands to mark meaning in the world, some scientists worry about the more diffuse consequences of offloading our thinking to computers.

"We're foisting a lot of our knowledge, extending our cognition, to other devices, so it's only natural that we've started using these other agents to do our writing for us," says Balasubramaniam.

It's possible that this might free up our minds to do other kinds of hard thinking, he says. Or we might be sacrificing a fundamental process that's crucial for the kinds of immersive cognitive experiences that enable us to learn and think at our full potential.

Balasubramaniam stresses, however, that we don't have to ditch digital tools to harness the power of handwriting. So far, research suggests that scribbling with a stylus on a screen activates the same brain pathways as etching ink on paper. It's the movement that counts, he says, not its final form.

Jonathan Lambert is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist who covers science, health and policy.

handwriting

The Guillotine’s Role in the French Revolution: Symbol of Justice and Terror

This essay is about the role of the guillotine during the French Revolution, highlighting its evolution from a symbol of humane justice to an instrument of political terror. Initially introduced as a more egalitarian method of execution, the guillotine was meant to reflect revolutionary ideals of equality and rationality. However, during the Reign of Terror, it became associated with state repression, used to eliminate perceived enemies of the revolution. Public executions became a form of political theater, reinforcing the power of the revolutionary government. The guillotine’s legacy underscores the duality of the French Revolution, balancing the pursuit of justice with the reality of political extremism and violence.

How it works

The epochal phase known as the French Revolution, a juncture of great significance in the annals of humanity, is commonly associated with sweeping political tumult, radical societal transformation, and the ascent of revolutionary zeal. Among the enduring emblems of this turbulent era, the guillotine stands prominently, symbolizing the Reign of Terror and the execution of myriad individuals. The role of the guillotine during the French Revolution is intricate, embodying both the revolutionaries’ pursuit of egalitarianism and the ruthless means they employed to realize their objectives.

Initially heralded as a more humane mode of execution, the guillotine was perceived as a symbol of enlightened justice. Prior to its advent, the methods of execution in France were often barbaric and contingent upon social status. The proposal for the guillotine, attributed to Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, aimed for swiftness and impartiality, ensuring that all condemned individuals, regardless of their societal standing, met the same fate. This innovation sought to epitomize the revolutionary ideals of equality and rationality, aligning with the broader principles of the Enlightenment that influenced many revolutionaries.

The inaugural execution by guillotine occurred on April 25, 1792, heralding its widespread adoption. Initially hailed for its efficiency and the relatively painless demise it offered, the guillotine’s perception underwent a drastic metamorphosis as the revolution unfolded. During the Reign of Terror, spanning from September 1793 to July 1794, the guillotine evolved into an instrument of political repression. The Revolutionary Tribunal, tasked with identifying adversaries of the revolution, dispatched thousands to the guillotine, including King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and numerous political figures.

The role of the guillotine during this period cannot be disentangled from the broader milieu of revolutionary zeal and paranoia. The revolutionaries, led by figures such as Maximilien Robespierre, believed that the revolution’s survival necessitated the eradication of counter-revolutionary elements. Consequently, the guillotine became a tool of state terror, employed to purge society of perceived threats. The expeditiousness and efficacy with which the guillotine dispatched its victims contributed to an atmosphere of apprehension and distrust, where allegations frequently culminated in expeditious executions.

Public executions by guillotine were highly ritualized, serving as spectacles of political theater. Crowds congregated to witness these events, while the condemned were often paraded through thoroughfares, reinforcing the authority of the revolutionary regime. The Place de la Révolution (now Place de la Concorde) in Paris emerged as the primary venue for these executions, transforming it into a morbid emblem of the revolution’s darker facets. The sight of the guillotine, with its stark, mechanical precision, left an indelible imprint on the collective psyche of the epoch.

The association of the guillotine with the Reign of Terror has eclipsed its initial promise of humane justice. While conceived to epitomize the revolutionary principles of equality and reason, its utilization in political purges underscored the revolution’s capacity for violence and excess. The downfall of Robespierre and the cessation of the Reign of Terror in 1794 heralded a decline in the guillotine’s utilization, yet its legacy as a symbol of the revolution’s extremes endured.

In a broader historical context, the guillotine encapsulates the dichotomy of the French Revolution. On one hand, it embodies the pursuit of a more equitable and rational society, where all individuals are subject to equal treatment under the law. On the other hand, it serves as a poignant reminder of the revolution’s descent into violence and the human toll exacted by radical transformation. The guillotine’s stark presence in historical narratives and cultural recollection underscores the intricacies of revolutionary movements and the precarious balance between justice and terror.

Presently, the guillotine stands as a potent historical emblem, evoking the theatrics and contradictions of the French Revolution. It beckons us to contemplate the nature of justice, the ramifications of political extremism, and the manners in which societies grapple with profound upheaval. The lessons gleaned from the guillotine’s chronicle endure, serving as a poignant reminder of the perpetual struggle to reconcile ideals with the realities of power and human conduct.

Cite this page

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Guest Essay

‘They Have Established the Backbone of the Case’: Three Lawyers Dissect the Trump Trial

By David French , Rebecca Roiphe and Ken White

Mr. French is a Times columnist. Ms. Roiphe is a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Mr. White is a former federal prosecutor.

David French, a Times columnist, hosted a written online conversation with Rebecca Roiphe, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and Ken White, a former federal prosecutor, to discuss Donald Trump’s Manhattan trial and Michael Cohen’s testimony.

David French: Let’s start with a big-picture question. I have less trial experience than either of you, but this deep into a trial, I always had a sense of the momentum of the case, of who is winning and who is losing. Who is more pleased with the course of the trial so far — the prosecution or the defense?

Rebecca Roiphe: In my view, the prosecution is happier about how things are going than the defense. They have established the backbone of the case, which is the false records, and they have provided a great deal of circumstantial evidence tying Donald Trump to those records and establishing his intent.

Ken White: When you ask who is more pleased with the course of the trial, remember that Trump is usually pursuing a public relations and political strategy at the expense of good courtroom strategy. In that sense, I suspect Team Trump is happy that he’s getting lots of airtime to push his narrative that he’s a victim of the elites and that the trial doesn’t seem to have had much of an impact on his polling numbers.

If you ask me as a trial lawyer, I agree with Rebecca that the D.A. is doing a solid job proving the elements of its case and telling the story in a way likely to grab the jury. So far, they are hitting all the necessary points.

French: Stormy Daniels’s testimony was far more riveting and disturbing than I anticipated. She described a sexual encounter that was fundamentally exploitive and potentially even predatory. In the aftermath, Trump’s lawyer moved for a mistrial, claiming that the details of that testimony could prejudice the jury. What was your assessment of her testimony? Did the prosecution make a mistake in asking her to describe the details of the encounter?

White: This is all on Trump. He’s the one who decided, for ego reasons, to make repeated claims that the sexual encounter never happened. He could have rendered the details irrelevant by keeping his mouth shut, but he had to call her a liar. That makes it relevant. Yes, her description was skin-crawling. She wasn’t a great witness — she was argumentative and had trouble answering questions directly — but she did what the prosecution needed her to do.

Roiphe: The prosecution was in a difficult position. It needed to establish that this story would have been disturbing, so much so that Trump would find it necessary to suppress it. But the judge had admonished them not to bring out too many details. The media got caught up in the sex scene at the expense of the real point of the testimony, and it’s possible that the jury did as well. But I don’t think it will ultimately undermine the case.

French: Is the judge’s decision to deny the motion for mistrial a reversible error?

Roiphe: I don’t think this will cause a huge legal problem for the prosecution on appeal. Defense lawyers call for mistrials all the time, and judges have a great deal of latitude in dealing with moments like these when testimony slips out that should not have.

French: Let’s talk about Michael Cohen for a moment. His testimony is obviously crucial for the prosecution, but as is often the case, the prosecution is using the testimony of a criminal to try to convict the defendant. How vulnerable are criminal informants to impeachment, and how do juries tend to process their testimony?

White: It’s a rookie mistake for a prosecutor to try to argue, “Actually, our cooperator isn’t that bad.” Cohen is that bad. Redemption tour and podcast or not, he’s a convicted liar. Fortunately the D.A. isn’t making him out to be an angel.

Roiphe: The prosecution has done a great job in setting up Cohen’s testimony. They have used other witnesses to paint him as a misfit, a liar, a bully. You don’t have to like Cohen to believe him. There are so many dots that have already been connected that Cohen is simply going over ground that has already been paved.

White: And prosecutors seem to be using the classic move of using Cohen’s dishonesty against Trump, by showing to the jury that Trump chose Cohen precisely because he’s a crook. Watch for them to lean into that theme in closing: Cohen is a dishonest person who does dishonest things, and that’s why Trump needed him.

Roiphe: There are a few key pieces of his testimony beyond what has already been established that the prosecution hopes the jury will believe. Namely, that Trump led this scheme and was directly involved in the cover-up.

French: I want to share my chief concern about the case. Readers may recall that to secure a conviction for a felony, the prosecution doesn’t just have to prove that Trump falsified business records but that he did so in furtherance of another crime. In your judgment, is the prosecution doing enough to establish that crucial element of the case? And is that element of the case legally robust enough to survive an appeal?

Roiphe: I am not as concerned about the vulnerability of this case as others have been. There has been a lot of testimony about Trump’s concern about these women’s stories and how they would affect the election. This testimony has come from pretty uncontroversial witnesses like Hope Hicks. In a way, it’s just common sense: Why were all these people involved in such a coordinated and intricate effort to make these payments and then lie about them? There are very few plausible reasons other than the one the prosecution has set forth.

White: The jury will be less worried about the nuances of the “furtherance of another crime” element than we commenters are. Juries tend to absorb things on a big-picture story level. The D.A. has done a very solid job connecting Trump’s deceit and hush-money payments to campaign concerns, not to family embarrassment.

French: It would be a dreadful outcome for the country if Trump is convicted before the election, only to have that conviction reversed afterward. It would provide rocket fuel for the argument that the prosecution was little more than partisan election interference.

Roiphe: For the D.A.’s office, in terms of the legal question, this just doesn’t look all that different from other cases that it regularly prosecutes. Sure, the means are different. But I think the New York courts will see this as consistent with the very broad interpretation they have given to this statute.

French: Has the defense scored any obvious points? My perception, much like yours, is that the prosecution has done a solid job of building its case. But are there any surprising weak points? What’s the defense’s best moment so far?

Roiphe: I thought the defense scored some points with Stormy Daniels, even though overall her testimony was solid. Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheles argued that Daniels had a vendetta, that she hates Trump and that she has been inconsistent in telling this story. But the jury doesn’t really have to think her motives are innocent, as long as they believe the basic story. And I don’t think the defense managed to blow up her testimony in any important way.

White: The defense’s attempts to shame Stormy Daniels for being an adult film performer fell flat, as they should. I think the defense’s best opportunity to really shine will come during the cross-examination of Michael Cohen.

French: Justice Juan Merchan has one of the most challenging jobs in trial judge history. He’s presiding over the prosecution of a former president, and Trump is an extraordinarily defiant defendant. How’s he doing?

Roiphe: One of the hardest things for the judge is whether and to what extent to take into account the identity of the defendant in making decisions. For the most part, the judge has treated this like any other trial and in that way has done a solid job and appeared impartial.

White: Justice Merchan has a thankless job. The defense is treating him extremely disrespectfully, and the prosecution is being impatient. When he is cautious and methodical, as he has been in taking the gag order and contempt issues slowly and carefully, half the country is frustrated that he hasn’t thrown Trump in jail, and half is furious that he’s persecuting Trump.

Roiphe: The gag order has really been a test. It would be such a spectacle to throw a former president in jail for contempt. It would have played right into Trump’s victim narrative.

White: Overall, he seems to be doing a thoughtful, patient job.

French: My understanding is that the defense wasn’t necessarily planning on calling a large number of witnesses, and I certainly don’t expect Trump to testify. When their turn comes to make their case, what do you expect? How much will the defense tell its own story, as opposed to resting mainly on cross-examination of prosecution witnesses?

Roiphe: Some of that might depend on how well Cohen holds up on cross-examination. If the prosecution looks as strong as it does now at the time the government rests its case, I think the defense will feel a lot of pressure to put on some sort of case.

It’s hard to know what sort of defense they would put on, given that they never really settled on one theory. They went in with the sweeping argument that Trump did nothing at all wrong. They would have a hard time establishing that his conduct was perfect. But they may be able to buttress some of the smaller arguments they have raised if they can call witnesses who could undermine the prosecution’s argument about his intent.

White: The Trump team will make the decision based largely on political strategy, not courtroom strategy. They may offer some witnesses who will advance the campaign narrative of Trump the victim.

French: In normal circumstances, applying a political strategy to a criminal prosecution would be foolish. You could make yourself popular but still go to jail.

Roiphe: The defense essentially shifted the burden to themselves to prove their client is perfect, when all they had to do was show that the prosecution failed to prove its case. But from a political perspective, that’s so Trump, and it has worked for him.

French: In this circumstance, how much could a political victory help Trump legally? This would be a state conviction, not federal, so his control over the Department of Justice doesn’t matter, and he would not have the power to pardon himself. But would a political victory make a conviction fundamentally irrelevant?

Roiphe: Practically, the appeals process will inevitably take time, and I doubt if Trump wins the election, he would be sent to state prison. So maybe in the long run, it’s not a terrible miscalculation.

White: Since the Mueller investigation, Trump has consistently done things that are foolish legally but promote his narrative — his brand. We saw that recently in the E. Jean Carroll trials, we saw it throughout the investigations leading up to the four criminal cases against him, and we’re seeing it in court now. The smart play here, for instance, would have been to say it doesn’t matter whether or not he had a relationship with Stormy Daniels, because that renders big chunks of the case irrelevant. But character is destiny, and Trump’s character is egotistical and combative.

French: Let’s end with some lightning round questions. First, since the trial has started, in your view has the chance of conviction gone up or down?

Roiphe: Up.

White: Up significantly.

French: Trump is supremely irritated by the judge’s gag order, and while gag orders are infrequent, they’re not all that unusual. Is the gag order in this case justified?

Roiphe: Yes, although I think there should be an exception when witnesses like Michael Cohen have been so public and vocal.

White: We should thank Trump for making law on gag orders. We have a very detailed D.C. Circuit opinion now that will be extremely helpful in a First Amendment area that was previously not well charted. By being so willing to antagonize the judge and by being able to afford lawyers to brief and appeal the gag order, Trump’s helping clarify the law.

French: One last question: J.D. Vance has been mentioned as a potential Trump vice-presidential pick, and he showed up at court on Monday to support Trump. Who is the next V.P. hopeful to make an appearance?

Roiphe: The ghost of Kristi Noem’s dog?

White: It’s going to be Alex Jones or any cop who has pepper-sprayed at least five student protesters.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Rebecca Roiphe, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, is a law professor at New York Law School. Ken White, a former federal prosecutor, is a partner at Brown White & Osborn in Los Angeles.

Source photographs by Charly Triballeau, MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle, Michael M. Santiago, and The Washington Post via Getty Images.

David French is an Opinion columnist, writing about law, culture, religion and armed conflict. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a former constitutional litigator. His most recent book is “Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation .” You can follow him on Threads ( @davidfrenchjag ).

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