A Level: Essay Writing

writing a French essay Guidelines and practical tips To speak or to produce good quality essays in French it is important not to think it out in English and try to translate it. Widen your French vocabulary as much as possible (je pense que.is GCSE!). Use the new words/expressions you have learnt as much as possible. Learn phrases, clauses and sentences that will be useful in an essay. Try to develop a good French style. Exam Essays -basic You will write a piece of French usually a letter, report or article from a printed stimulus. . Read the question carefully and make sure you understand it. Don`t rush to start writing but write a PLAN that you will cross out if you are sitting an exam. . Use your phrases and vocabulary well. Write as fluently as you can. Don`t repeat phrases, use a variety. . Check your work carefully and methodically. . Keep within the word limit - most important! Exam Essays -advanced Choose your title carefully. By now you should know what kind of essay you prefer writing so choose carefully. Usually there are 3 types: . creative e.g. writing about a photo, a newspaper article . discursive e.g. current affairs, European issues, social problems. . task based e.g. a letter, and advert, a report. A good essay will include: initial RESEARCH > create a PLAN > Introduction>Development>Conclusion . A relevant introduction, perhaps based on a key fact. Keep it fairly brief; get down to the business of the essay quickly including presenting the structure to come. . A coherent development. Sort out your points and present them in a structured way, giving your essay a beginning, middle and an end. Your points MUST be supported by relevant facts, so do your research throughout the academic year and record all statistics per subject matter: santé, environnement, etc. . A strong conclusion. The conclusion should show the reader that you have really `answered the question` or `responded to the title`, with suggestions or threats (great opportunity to use the Si clause!) Count the words. It is very important to keep within the word limit. If your essay is too long, it could cut out your conclusion and therefore lose you marks.

Don`t forget: . Read/Check your work e.g. go through the verbs then the adjectives, gender spelling. . Use as many tenses as you can (correctly!).

Discursive essays Learn a few of these to use in essays. tout d`abord first of all d`une part... d`autre part on one hand... on the other hand par contre on the contrary bien que / quoi que (+subj) although Autant que je sache As far as I know cependant however néanmoins never the less Je voudrais dire que I'd like to say that il est donc question de... it is therefore a question of il paraît donc évident que... it appears therefore clear that quant à as for/ regarding au niveau (international) at the (international) level il fant donc rappeler que it is necessary therefore to remember il est certain que it is certain that l`important, c`est the important thing is il ne faut pas oublier que you must not forget that en conclusion in conclusion tout bien considéré all things considered finalement finally aprés tout after all en fin de compte at the end of the day ce que je dis, en fait, c`est que... what I am saying, in fact, is that.