A test of control, not brilliance
It is minute fifty-one. Task 3 is nearly done, your hand aches, and you are counting words with the tip of your pen, line by line, because you are not sure your second part has reached eighty. That small, unglamorous act of counting is, to my mind, the most important skill the writing test measures, and almost nobody practises it.
The facts fit in a sentence. Expression écrite lasts 60 minutes and has three tasks, done in order, task 1, then 2, then 3, each with a minimum and a maximum number of words: 60 to 120, then 120 to 150, then 120 to 180. You sit it with other candidates, on paper or on a computer, as your centre decides.
- three tasks, in order
- 60 min
- words in task 1
- 60–120
- words in task 2
- 120–150
- words in task 3
- 120–180
Read those numbers again and notice what they are not. They are not targets to beat. A candidate who writes 200 brilliant words for task 3 has not shown off; they have broken a rule FEI prints on the cover of its sample paper as mandatory.
The writing test rewards the person who can say something clear inside a frame someone else drew.
That is a different talent from writing well, and it can be trained in weeks.
The word is the unit, so know what one is
FEI’s rule is one line long: a word is any group of characters between two spaces. Its own examples are “Un bon sujet”, three words, and “C’est-à-dire”, one. Follow the rule and “l’aéroport” is one word, while “c’est pourquoi” is two.
- “Un bon sujet”
- 3
- “C’est-à-dire”
- 1
- “l’aéroport”
- 1
- “c’est pourquoi”
- 2
There is no subtlety to argue with, which is exactly why it catches people: they never check.
The line under every task
The sample booklet leaves a line under every task headed “Nombre de mots”, with a question beside it: did you respect the minimum and the maximum? I read that line as FEI telling you, politely, what it is going to look at.
My advice is to arrive knowing your own handwriting:
- Count the words on three lines of a practice page and take the average.
- On the day, estimate a task by counting lines.
- Count word by word only near the edges.
Task 1 · 60 to 120 words
Task 1 is a message that describes, recounts or explains, addressed to someone whose status the instructions give.
It looks like a warm-up, and I think that is its trap. Candidates rush it, or treat it as a place to show off vocabulary, and arrive at task 3 short of time. Give it about ten minutes and three moves:
- the object, with one detail that makes it yours;
- what happened, in order;
- what you need from the reader.
The imperfect paints the scene, the passé composé carries the events, and that is grammar enough.
Ninety words is a good landing. Sixty is the floor, not the goal.
Task 2 · 120 to 150 words
FEI describes task 2 as an article, a letter or a note for several readers, recounting an experience with comments, opinions or arguments aimed at a goal.
This is the task I would worry about most, for a reason hidden in plain sight: its range is thirty words wide.
- a greeting
- two pieces of advice with their reasons
- a warm close
- a third argument
- a long anecdote
- a polite paragraph of preamble
Candidates who write well tend to overflow here, and the better their French, the likelier the overflow.
Justify
The verb that matters is justify. A piece of advice without its reason is a list; with its reason, it is an answer.
“Tu devrais lui parler directement, parce que…” does more work than three suggestions in a row.
And Charlotte is a friend: tu, all the way through, in French that is relaxed but correct.
Task 3 · 120 to 180 words
Task 3 compares two points of view on a social issue, each given in a short document, then asks for yours on the theme they share.
It has two parts.
- words in part 1, presenting the two opinions in your own words
- 40–60
- words in part 2, giving your position
- 80–120
Part 1
Most advice treats part 1 as a formality before the real essay.
I think it is the most dangerous paragraph on the paper.
Copying sentences from a document is one of the things FEI says can rate the whole paper “A1 not reached”, and part 1 is where the documents sit right in front of you, tempting you to lift a clean phrase.
Reformulating is one of the skills FEI says it marks. So change the words and keep the idea: “Le premier document défend… Le second, en revanche, estime que…”
Part 2
Part 2 is where you finally get to argue, and where the newsletter’s readers set the register: neutral, on or vous, never tu.
- Two reasons.
- An example, if one comes honestly.
- A sentence that concludes.
What can sink the whole paper
Here is the rule I would pin above every candidate’s desk. FEI says a writing paper may be rated “A1 not reached”, whatever the quality of the rest, in five cases.
Not one of them is about how much French you know.
| What FEI lists | The habit that prevents it |
|---|---|
| Handwriting that cannot be read (on paper) | Write larger than feels natural; cross out with one clean line. |
| A task outside its number of words | Count at each “Nombre de mots” line, every time, in practice too. |
| An answer that is off-topic | Underline the verb in the instruction (describe, justify, compare) and answer that verb. |
| One or more tasks not done | Keep to a time for each task; a short task 3 inside its range beats an unfinished one. |
| Sentences copied from a subject or a document | Reformulate, above all in task 3, part 1. |
The scrap paper
On paper there is one more trap, quieter than the rest. You are given a few sheets of scrap paper, but your answers go in the booklet, and the scrap is collected and destroyed: only what is in the booklet can be marked.
I would not draft whole tasks in rough. Plan in a handful of words, then write once, in the booklet.
No second chance at the mark
This matters more now than it did. Since the sessions of 1 September 2026, FEI no longer accepts requests to re-mark speaking or writing, a pause it expects to end in autumn 2027.
Your paper is marked twice by FEI’s own markers, independently and blind, with a third marking where the two disagree widely, and the mark you get is the mark you keep.
What the markers are reading for
Once you are inside the limits, the markers read for three things, in FEI’s terms:
- the language itself: range of vocabulary, grammar, spelling, how elaborate the sentences are;
- how the text holds together: coherence, cohesion, how the theme develops;
- whether it suits the situation.
The result is a mark out of 20, which IRCC reads on its NCLC table; our guide to tracking your progress sets that table out.
Connectors, used precisely
The middle family is the one candidates can move fastest, and connectors are its most visible tool. I would learn a dozen and use them precisely rather than pin twenty onto every paragraph.
| What for | Connectors |
|---|---|
| To order events in task 1 | d’abord, ensuite, enfin |
| To justify in task 2 | parce que, car, c’est pourquoi |
| To set two opinions side by side in task 3 | selon, en revanche, alors que |
| To take a position and close | à mon avis, en somme |
Learn connectors, not paragraphs.
FEI counts reproducing a memorised text as plagiarism, and a template introduction carried from mock to mock looks a lot like one.
The clock is the exam
FEI sets the total and the order, not the minutes for each task; its own advice is to manage your time so that all three tasks get done.
I would go in with a plan that follows the length of each task and keeps time to reread, as the last page of the sample asks.
- Task 1 · 10 minThree moves, about ninety words.
- Task 2 · 20 minTwo pieces of advice, each with its reason.
- Task 3 · 25 minRead both documents, summarise in your words, then argue.
- Reread · 5 minAgreements, accents, verb endings, and every count once more.
If task 1 runs long, take the minutes from the reread, never from task 3.
A missed accent costs you a little; an unfinished task can cost you the paper.
Practise the frame, not just the French
If I could change one habit in how candidates prepare, it would be this: write every practice task under the clock and inside its range, and count, every time, until counting is as automatic as an accent.
Salut Canada has timed writing mock exams in the three tasks, 60 minutes for the three as at the exam, with your word count shown as you write. Each answer comes back with:
- a level and a mark out of 20 on the exam’s criteria;
- your text beside its corrected version;
- a model answer for the subject.
You can hand in a handwritten page by photo. Your errors then go to your error notebook and drills.
Sources
FEI, sample writing paper (TCF TP, TCF Canada, TCF Québec); FEI, TCF Canada page; FEI, how a TCF session runs; FEI, how the TCF is marked; FEI, candidate rights and duties. Checked on 25 October 2026.