Épreuve
Production écrite
Level
B2
Time
60 min
Marks
/25
Decoding the writing task
Five minutes of decoding make the next fifty-five easier. You get the exam frame, four questions for any prompt, and the verbs that set your tone.
By the end of this lesson
- Name the fixed frame of B2 written production: one task, 60 minutes, 25 points, 250 words minimum, two genres.
- Decode any sujet with four questions: who writes, to whom, why, in what genre.
- Turn a broad theme into the one question your text has to answer.
- Spot the verbs in the consigne and open the bank of phrases that goes with them.
Most candidates lose points before they write a single sentence. They read the sujet (the exam prompt) once, spot the topic, and write a general text about it. The examiner then reads fluent, well-connected French that answers a question nobody asked.
Decoding takes five minutes and it protects the rest of the hour. This lesson gives you the frame of the exam and four questions that decode any prompt. It also shows you the gap between a theme and a problématique, the question your text has to answer. Then you learn to hunt the verbs in the consigne, the instruction line, before you choose a tone.
What the exam asks of you
B2 production écrite is one exercise. You get 60 minutes, and the work is marked out of 25. You hand in a single text of 250 words or more. The exam only ever asks you for two kinds of text.
The first is the formal letter. That covers a complaint, a protest, a request for information, a job application or a project proposal. You address it to an institution or to a named person.
The second is a contribution to a debate. That covers a courrier des lecteurs (the letters page), a forum post, an essai or a critical piece. Here you write for a whole readership, not for one recipient.
Two other numbers matter. You need 50 out of 100 across the exam to get the diploma. And a score under 5 out of 25 in any single test fails you, whatever your total is. So your text doesn't have to be brilliant. It has to be complete, on task, and finished inside the hour.
Treat 250 words as a floor, not as a target. Aim for 260 to 290 words. That's long enough for three arguments with examples, and short enough to reread. Counting your words at the end costs you one minute. Writing eighty words too many costs you the reread that catches your agreement errors.
Point d'étape 1/4
0 / 3
Q1What is the minimum word count for the B2 written production?
Q2Which two macro-genres can the single B2 writing task require?
Q3Which line gives the correct frame for B2 written production?
Four questions to ask before you plan
Answer four questions in the margin before you plan anything. Qui écrit ? (who is writing). À qui ? (to whom). Pourquoi ? (why). Quel type d'écrit ? (in what genre). Each answer commits you to something concrete on the page.
Sujet typeB2 · 250 mots minimum
Le conseil municipal de votre ville vient de supprimer la ligne de bus qui desservait votre quartier, au motif qu'elle n'était pas rentable. Lecteur régulier du quotidien local, vous écrivez au courrier des lecteurs pour contester cette décision, en exposer les conséquences pour les habitants et proposer une autre solution. Vous rédigez un texte construit et argumenté de 250 mots minimum.
ENYour town council has just cut the bus line serving your neighbourhood, on the grounds that it was not profitable. As a regular reader of the local daily, you write to the letters page to contest that decision, set out its consequences for residents and propose another solution. Write a structured, argued text of at least 250 words.
| Question | Your answer here | What it commits you to |
|---|---|---|
| Qui écrit ? | A resident who reads the local paper | First person, an ordinary citizen voice, no expert posture |
| À qui ? | The paper's readers, and the council reads that paper too | Public register, vous, firm but never rude |
| Pourquoi ? | To contest a decision and propose an alternative | Two speech acts, and both have to appear |
| Quel type d'écrit ? | Courrier des lecteurs | A debate contribution, so no address block and no letter layout |
The exam picks your role from a short list, and the roles are always ordinary ones. You could be un client, un employé, un internaute, un habitant d'un quartier. You could also be un lecteur du journal local or un candidat à un emploi. Your purpose comes from a second list: contester un fait, réclamer une réparation, demander officiellement une information. Or prendre part à un débat, refuser une proposition, proposer une autre solution, convaincre. Write yours down in French rather than in English. The French label brings the right vocabulary with it.
Point d'étape 2/4
0 / 3
Q1Which set of four questions decodes any writing prompt?
Q2Which list contains three roles the prompt may actually assign to you?
Q3The prompt asks for a courrier des lecteurs. What should your text avoid?
The thème is not the problématique
The thème is the general topic: public transport, school uniforms, remote working. The problématique is the precise question that topic raises in this prompt. Your text answers that question from the opening line to the conclusion.
Use three fields on your scratch paper, always in this order. Mots clés: underline the loaded words in the sujet (suppression, ligne de bus, quartier, rentabilité, habitants). Underlining costs you ten seconds and stops you writing about a different prompt. Thème: name the topic in two or three words (les transports urbains). Problématique: turn that topic into a question (peut-on juger un service public à sa seule rentabilité ?).
A topic has no answer, so your paragraphs have nothing to prove. A question does have an answer. As long as your plan sits at topic level, you will describe buses for 250 words. Once you hold the question, every paragraph gets a job. It answers the question, qualifies the answer, or defends it against the obvious objection.
Point d'étape 3/4
0 / 3
Q1What is the difference between a thème and a problématique?
Q2Which three fields open the planning table on your scratch paper?
Q3Which of these is a problématique rather than a thème?
The verbs of the consigne set your register
The consigne almost always carries one or two verbs: contester, protester, nuancer, proposer, convaincre, réclamer. They tell you what your text has to do. Each verb opens a different bank of phrases. The examiner then checks that you really perform the act.
- Contester, protester: disagree politely but firmly. Je m'étonne que + subjunctive, je ne peux souscrire à cette décision, il est regrettable que + subjunctive.
- Nuancer: concede a point, then correct it. Certes..., il n'en reste pas moins que..., bien que + subjunctive, dans une certaine mesure.
- Proposer: use the conditional and impersonal forms. Il serait envisageable de..., pourquoi ne pas..., je suggère que + subjunctive.
- Convaincre: give facts and their consequences. Les chiffres montrent que..., par conséquent, c'est la raison pour laquelle.
Two things to remember. Protest at B2 is never aggressive. Your firmness comes from precision: dates, figures and consequences, never from indignation. And a verb can sit in the consigne without ever becoming an act in your text. That costs you on the first criterion, réalisation de la tâche. Good French everywhere else won't win those points back.
Point d'étape 4/4
0 / 3
Q1Why should you hunt for the verbs in the consigne?
Q2The consigne says: vous contestez cette décision. Which register bank do you open?
Q3Which formula performs the act of nuancer?
Key takeaways
- One task, 60 minutes, 25 points, 250 words minimum. It's either a formal letter or a piece written for a public debate.
- Four questions decode every sujet: qui écrit ? à qui ? pourquoi ? quel type d'écrit ?
- The thème is the topic. The problématique is the question your whole text answers.
- Plan in three fields, in this order: mots clés, thème, problématique.
- The verbs of the consigne (contester, nuancer, proposer) decide which phrases you reach for.