FlexiLingoTCF Canada Writing (Expression Écrite): The 3 Tasks, Word Counts and Sample Answers (2026)
A 60 to 120 word message, a 120 to 150 word article, and a 120 to 180 word comparison of two points of view: here is what the candidate handbook actually asks for, how the paper is marked, three sample answers written by FlexiLingo, and the mistakes that keep a writing mark stuck.
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Open TCF Canada practice1TCF Canada expression écrite in brief
Expression écrite is one of the four compulsory épreuves of TCF Canada. It is a group épreuve that lasts 60 minutes, has three tasks, and produces a mark out of 20. IRCC then converts that mark into an NCLC level, independently of your other three results.
This article does not repeat the full format of the test: it stays on writing. You will find what the candidate handbook requires for each task, how the paper is marked, what changes between a paper and a computer session, three sample answers written by FlexiLingo with their word counts, twelve corrected sentences, a plan for the 60 minutes and a two-week routine.
Our sources are official: the TCF candidate handbook published by France Éducation international (Manuel du candidat, version Q, September 2026), the same agency's TCF Canada page, and IRCC's equivalency chart. Two recent changes are worth knowing before you book: since the sessions of 1 September 2026, requests for a re-mark of the writing and speaking épreuves are suspended for about a year, and some papers taken on computer can receive a first marking assisted by an automated tool.
Three tasks, 60 minutes, three ranges: 60 to 120 words, 120 to 150 words, 120 to 180 words. The minimum and the maximum both count: according to the candidate handbook, a paper in which a task does not meet the required word count can be rated "A1 non atteint".
2The three tasks and their word ranges
The candidate handbook defines each task by three things: a type of text, who it is written for, and a word range. The ranges are the same for TCF Canada, TCF Québec and TCF tout public; TCF IRN, which is used for procedures in France, has shorter ranges that do not concern you here.
| Task | Word count | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|
| Task 1 | 60 – 120 | A message to describe, narrate and/or explain, addressed to one or more recipients whose status is given in the instruction. |
| Task 2 | 120 – 150 | An article, a letter, a note and so on, for several recipients: an account of an experience or a story, with comments, opinions or arguments that serve a stated goal. |
| Task 3 | 120 – 180 | A text (for a newspaper, a website, a colleague, a manager and so on) that compares two points of view on a social issue, expressed in two documents, and then gives your own opinion. |
The three TCF Canada writing tasks, from the candidate handbook (version Q, September 2026)
The handbook does not say how words are counted. In this article we count the way a word processor does: anything between two spaces is one word, with the title, the greeting and the signature included. If you count "l'hiver" or "qu'une" as two words, the same text can grow by up to about 10 percent. The only safe strategy is to aim for the middle of each range, never its edges.
- The handwriting is illegible (paper sessions).
- A task is not written with the required number of words.
- The text is off topic.
- One or more tasks are not done.
- You copy one or more sentences from the prompt or from a document.
- You wrote a text learned by heart.
- Your text was written on the scrap paper.
Read that list as it is written: it is the paper, "la copie", that can be rated A1 non atteint, not just the task at fault. A 200-word text in task 2, a sentence copied from a document in task 3, or a task left blank does not cost you a few points: it puts the whole épreuve at risk.
3Paper or computer: what changes for accents
TCF Canada can be taken on paper or on computer. You do not simply choose: each approved centre offers its own formats, and France Éducation international tells candidates to ask the centre which format it uses when they register. Expression orale is always face to face with an examiner.
The computer version is not an online test: it is an application installed on the centre's computers, and you travel to the centre as you would for the paper version. For writing, the difference is concrete.
You write directly in the booklet, in the space set aside for each task. The invigilator hands out a few sheets of scrap paper, but the scrap paper is destroyed at the end: only the booklet is marked, and a text written on the scrap paper is one of the "A1 non atteint" cases. So is illegible handwriting.
You type your text at a workstation identified by your candidate code. Some papers taken on computer can receive a first marking by FIDELIA, France Éducation international's automated marking aid; the second marking stays human. If you do not want this assisted marking, the handbook says to ask your centre, or another approved centre, for a paper session.
For accents, this changes everything. On paper, an accent is a stroke of the pen: a badly formed é can read as an è, or as nothing at all. Write your accents clearly and in the right direction. On computer, every accent has to be typed: if you have never typed a ç or an ê on an unfamiliar keyboard, you will lose time or you will drop the accents, which amounts to making spelling mistakes.
Neither format is officially easier. Choose knowingly: if your handwriting is hard to read, the computer removes one risk; if you type slowly in French, paper removes another. Either way, practise in the format you will have on the day.
If your session is on paper, use the scrap paper only for an outline of a few words. Drafting on scrap paper and then copying costs time you do not have, and anything left on the scrap paper is destroyed without being read.
4How the paper is marked, and what the mark is worth in NCLC
The paper is assessed twice, completely independently and double-blind, by markers trained by France Éducation international. Each marker gives each of the three tasks a level from "A1 non atteint" to C2. A calculation rule that takes all six levels into account produces the final mark out of 20 and the final level. When the two markers disagree significantly, a third marking is carried out. The calculation rule itself is not published.
The handbook groups the assessment criteria into three families. These are the ones to keep in mind when you reread.
Range of vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, spelling (orthographe) and how elaborate the sentences are. This is where accents, agreements and verb endings count: spelling is a named criterion, not a detail.
Coherence, cohesion and thematic development. A text that links its ideas with connectors, does not repeat itself and develops each point meets this criterion.
Fit with the communication situation: tu with a friend, vous with a manager, the right opening and closing formulas. A flawless paper in the wrong register loses marks here.
In your immigration file you do not enter this mark: you enter the NCLC level that corresponds to it. Here is the conversion for expression écrite, with the CECR level the candidate handbook prints next to each band.
| NCLC | Mark out of 20 | CECR level |
|---|---|---|
| 10 et plus | 16 – 20 | C1 – C2 |
| 9 | 14 – 15 | C1 |
| 8 | 12 – 13 | B2 |
| 7 | 10 – 11 | B2 |
| 6 | 7 – 9 | B1 |
| 5 | 6 | B1 |
| 4 | 4 – 5 | A2 |
TCF Canada expression écrite mark and the corresponding NCLC level, from IRCC's chart (CECR level from the candidate handbook)
The bands are narrow: 10 or 11 gives NCLC 7, 12 or 13 gives NCLC 8, 14 or 15 gives NCLC 9. A single point can therefore change a level. And the CECR level printed on the attestation is not enough to tell: B2 covers marks from 10 to 13, which means NCLC 7 just as much as NCLC 8.
Do not count on detailed feedback. Papers are not annotated, and France Éducation international does not give candidates suggestions for improvement. In addition, since the sessions of 1 September 2026, requests for a re-mark of the writing and speaking épreuves are no longer accepted for a period of about one year; the service is due to resume in autumn 2027.
If writing is the ability that let you down, you can sit the test again: the handbook requires 20 days between two sittings of the same TCF version. All four TCF Canada épreuves are compulsory, and the handbook only describes re-sitting the expression épreuves on their own for TCF tout public, so plan to re-sit the whole test.
5Task 1: the message (60 to 120 words)
Task 1 asks for a message that describes, narrates and/or explains, addressed to one or more recipients whose status is given in the instruction. That status is the most important piece of information in the prompt: a friend, a neighbour, a colleague, a landlord or a manager do not call for the same pronoun or the same formulas.
It is the shortest task, and the trap is usually the maximum: a confident candidate writes 150 words and goes past the 120 limit. Aim for 85 to 100 words, greeting and signature included.
- 1Underline the recipient and their status. It decides tu or vous, the opening (Salut Karim, Bonjour Madame Roy) and the closing (À bientôt, Cordialement).
- 2List the content points the instruction imposes, usually two or three, and give each one its own sentence or paragraph. A missing point is spotted immediately.
- 3Add concrete details: a day, a time, a place, a reason. Task 1 rewards a clear, usable message, not a literary style.
- 4Reread in two passes: first the content (is everything there?), then spelling (accents, agreements, -er/-é) and the word count.
The handbook assesses the ability to communicate a message clearly and to give the information requested. In a 90-word message, every requested piece of information that is missing weighs heavily.
6Sample answer for task 1
The prompt and the answer below were written by FlexiLingo to illustrate the method. This is not an official TCF prompt, and not a paper marked by France Éducation international. The prompt and the answer stay in French, as they would on the day.
Vous venez d'emménager dans un immeuble à Montréal. Écrivez un message à vos voisins pour vous présenter, les prévenir qu'une livraison de meubles fera du bruit samedi matin et les inviter à prendre un café. (60 mots minimum, 120 mots maximum)
Bonjour à tous, Je m'appelle Julie et je viens d'emménager au troisième étage, dans l'appartement 304. Je suis infirmière à l'hôpital du quartier. Je vous écris pour vous prévenir : samedi matin, entre 9 h et 11 h, des déménageurs vont livrer mes meubles. Il y aura sans doute du bruit dans l'escalier, et l'ascenseur sera occupé pendant une heure environ. Toutes mes excuses pour ce dérangement. Pour faire connaissance, je serais ravie de vous offrir un café dimanche après-midi, vers 15 h, dans la salle commune. Vos enfants sont les bienvenus ! À bientôt, Julie (appartement 304)
- It handles the three instructions in order: introduce yourself, warn about the noise, invite. Each point has its own paragraph, and the marker finds them without searching.
- The register suits neighbours you do not know yet: a group vous, a polite but warm tone ("Toutes mes excuses", "je serais ravie"), nothing overly familiar.
- The details make the message usable: apartment number, time window, time and place for the coffee. That is what communicating a message clearly means in task 1.
- The text sits comfortably inside the range, greeting and signature included, and "ravie" agrees with a female writer.
Do not learn it by heart. The handbook provides for "A1 non atteint" when a text has been learned by heart, and your prompt will not be this one. Keep the structure: recipient, one paragraph per instruction, concrete details, suitable formulas.
7Task 2: the article, letter or note (120 to 150 words)
Task 2 asks for an article, a letter or a note for several recipients, giving an account of an experience or telling a story. That story must come with comments, opinions or arguments that serve a goal; the handbook gives "revendiquer" (to press a claim) and "se réconcilier" (to make up) as examples.
The range is the narrowest of the three: only 30 words between the minimum and the maximum. Aim for 130 to 140 words. And do not forget the goal: a well-written story that claims, persuades or recommends nothing answers only half of the instruction.
- 1Identify the readers and the medium: an article for an association's newsletter, an email to colleagues, a note to the residents of a building. They set the register.
- 2Find the goal in the instruction: persuade, complain, thank, recommend, press a claim. Write it in the margin before you start.
- 3Build three moves: what happened (the story, in the passé composé and the imparfait), what you think of it (comment, opinion, argument), and what you expect from the readers (the goal).
- 4Give an article a title and a letter a greeting. These are genre markers that the marker notices.
Task 2 is where control of the past tenses shows most: passé composé for events, imparfait for the background and states, plus-que-parfait for what had happened before. A tense mistake repeated on every line weighs more than one rare word you did not know.
8Sample answer for task 2
Prompt and answer written by FlexiLingo. The goal of the prompt is to encourage readers to take part; that goal is what gives the answer its last paragraph.
Vous avez participé à une journée de bénévolat organisée par le centre communautaire de votre quartier, à Toronto. Pour le bulletin du centre, écrivez un article qui raconte cette journée et qui encourage les autres membres à participer à la prochaine. (120 mots minimum, 150 mots maximum)
Une journée utile et joyeuse au jardin communautaire Samedi dernier, une trentaine de bénévoles se sont retrouvés au centre pour remettre en état le jardin communautaire. Le matin, nous avons nettoyé les allées et réparé les bacs abîmés par l'hiver. L'après-midi, les enfants ont planté des tomates et des fines herbes avec l'aide de deux jardiniers expérimentés. Ce que j'ai le plus apprécié, c'est l'ambiance : des voisins qui ne s'étaient jamais parlé ont partagé un repas et échangé leurs numéros. Arrivée à Toronto il y a un an, je me suis enfin sentie chez moi dans ce quartier. La prochaine journée aura lieu le premier samedi de mai. Même si vous n'avez qu'une heure à donner, venez ! Aucune compétence n'est nécessaire, seulement de la bonne humeur. Inscrivez-vous à l'accueil du centre.
- It really is an article for several readers: a title, a collective "nous", and a direct appeal to members at the end.
- The three moves are clear: the account of the day, the personal comment (what the writer enjoyed and why), then the call to take part, which is the goal of the prompt.
- The tenses are under control: passé composé for events, plus-que-parfait for "ne s'étaient jamais parlé", future for "aura lieu", imperative for "venez" and "inscrivez-vous".
- The agreement traps are avoided: "se sont retrouvés" agrees with the volunteers, "abîmés" with the planters, "parlé" stays invariable because "se" is an indirect object (parler à quelqu'un), and "arrivée" and "sentie" agree with a female writer.
The text aims for the middle of the narrowest range in the test. Even with a count that splits elisions (l'hiver, qu'une) into two words, it stays under the 150-word limit: that is exactly the margin you want to keep.
9Task 3: comparing two points of view (120 to 180 words)
Task 3 asks for a text, meant for example for a newspaper, a website, a colleague or a manager, that compares two points of view on a social issue expressed in two documents. You then give your own opinion on the topic.
The official TCF Canada page lists, among the abilities assessed, comparing two points of view, expressing and arguing an opinion, and being able to rephrase. Those three phrases are the plan of your answer. A text that summarises both documents well without taking a position answers only part of the instruction; so does a text that gives an opinion without reporting the documents.
One or two sentences: the question the two documents answer differently. No generalities of the "nowadays society is changing" type; go straight into the subject.
Attribute each position to its author, rephrase it in your own words, and link the two with connectors of contrast: alors que, tandis que, en revanche, au contraire. This is a comparison, not two summaries placed one after the other.
A clear position, a reason, an example or a nuance, then a closing sentence. You can pick a side or propose a middle way, as long as you argue for it.
For an answer of about 160 words, count on roughly 25 words for the debate, 70 for the comparison and 65 for your opinion. These are reference points, not a rule: what matters is that none of the three moves is missing.
Do not copy a single sentence from the documents. The handbook lists copying one or more sentences from a prompt or a document among the cases in which a paper can be rated A1 non atteint. Change the verb, change the structure, and name the author rather than writing "le document 1".
10Sample answer for task 3
Both documents and the answer were written by FlexiLingo. Notice that no sentence in the answer repeats a sentence from the documents.
Vous écrivez pour le site Internet d'un journal local. Les deux documents ci-dessous présentent deux points de vue sur les locations de courte durée dans les grandes villes. Comparez ces deux points de vue, puis donnez votre avis. (120 mots minimum, 180 mots maximum)
« Dans mon immeuble du centre-ville, six appartements sont maintenant loués aux touristes à la nuit. Pendant ce temps, des familles du quartier ne trouvent plus rien à un prix raisonnable. Une ville doit d'abord loger ceux qui y vivent : il faut limiter strictement ces locations. » — Sophie, locataire à Toronto
« Louer mon sous-sol quelques semaines par an m'aide à rembourser mon hypothèque. Et les visiteurs dépensent leur argent dans les cafés et les boutiques du coin. Plutôt que de tout interdire, les villes devraient encadrer ces locations avec des règles claires et des contrôles. » — Marc, propriétaire à Montréal
Locations de courte durée : interdire ou encadrer ? Faut-il limiter les locations de courte durée dans les grandes villes ? Les deux documents apportent des réponses opposées. Pour Sophie, locataire à Toronto, ces locations privent les résidents de logements : lorsque des appartements entiers sont réservés aux touristes, les familles ont plus de mal à se loger à un prix abordable. Elle réclame donc des limites sévères. Marc, qui possède une maison à Montréal, voit au contraire dans ces locations un revenu d'appoint indispensable, qui profite également aux commerces du quartier. Selon lui, il vaut mieux fixer des règles que tout interdire. À mon avis, ces deux positions ne sont pas incompatibles. Louer une partie de son propre logement de temps en temps me semble acceptable, tandis que transformer des immeubles entiers en hôtels non déclarés aggrave la crise du logement. C'est pourquoi je suis favorable à une solution intermédiaire : autoriser la location de la résidence principale, mais interdire les appartements consacrés uniquement aux touristes.
- Each position is attributed and rephrased: "Elle réclame donc des limites sévères" says what Sophie says without reusing her sentence, and "un revenu d'appoint" replaces Marc's mortgage.
- The two positions are compared, not just placed side by side: "au contraire" and "tandis que" put them in relation.
- The opinion is argued through a distinction (renting part of your own home, or whole buildings) and ends with a concrete proposal.
- The structure follows the three moves: a title, the debate in two sentences, the comparison, then the opinion, inside the 120 to 180 word range with margin on both sides.
In a real prompt the documents are often longer and more factual than these two testimonials. The method does not change: find each author's claim, rephrase it, link the two, then argue.
11Twelve corrected sentences: the mistake, the fix, the rule
The weak sentences below are typical mistakes that we wrote for the purpose; none of them comes from a real candidate's paper. Each is followed by its correction and the rule to remember. If you recognise one of them in your own texts, it is a line for your rereading checklist.
Ma collègue est arrivé à Montréal la semaine dernière.
Ma collègue est arrivée à Montréal la semaine dernière.
The rule — With the auxiliary être, the past participle agrees with the subject. Here the colleague is a woman, so arrivée.
Les photos que j'ai pris pendant la journée sont sur le site du centre.
Les photos que j'ai prises pendant la journée sont sur le site du centre.
The rule — With avoir, the participle agrees only with a direct object placed before the verb. "que" stands for "les photos", feminine plural, so prises.
Je voudrais vous remercié pour votre accueil.
Je voudrais vous remercier pour votre accueil.
The rule — After a conjugated verb or a preposition, the verb stays in the infinitive. Test: replace it with vendre. "Je voudrais vous vendre" works, "vous vendu" does not, so it is -er.
Nous avons commencer la réunion à l'heure.
Nous avons commencé la réunion à l'heure.
The rule — After avoir or être, it is the past participle. Test: "nous avons vendu" works, so -é.
Le probleme, c'est que le loyer a beaucoup augmente.
Le problème, c'est que le loyer a beaucoup augmenté.
The rule — è before a consonant followed by a silent e (problème, troisième, élève); é at the end of the past participle (augmenté). A missing accent is a spelling mistake.
Nous commencons à 9 h, et j'ai bien recu votre message.
Nous commençons à 9 h, et j'ai bien reçu votre message.
The rule — Before a, o or u, c is pronounced [k]. To keep the [s] sound you need the cedilla: commençons, reçu, français, garçon.
Je suis pret a vous aider samedi.
Je suis prêt à vous aider samedi.
The rule — The circumflex often marks an old s (prêt, fête, forêt, même). And the preposition à takes an accent, while a from the verb avoir does not: if you can say "avait" instead, no accent.
Si j'aurais plus de temps, je ferais du bénévolat chaque semaine.
Si j'avais plus de temps, je ferais du bénévolat chaque semaine.
The rule — After a si that introduces a hypothesis, use the imparfait, never the conditional. The conditional goes in the other clause.
Quand je suis arrivé à Toronto, il a fait très froid et je n'ai connu personne.
Quand je suis arrivé à Toronto, il faisait très froid et je ne connaissais personne.
The rule — The imparfait describes the background and states (weather, feelings, situation); the passé composé tells the completed event that moves the story forward.
Sophie veut limiter ces locations, donc Marc pense qu'il faut seulement les encadrer.
Sophie veut limiter ces locations, alors que Marc pense qu'il suffit de les encadrer.
The rule — "Donc" introduces a consequence. To set two opinions against each other, use alors que, tandis que, en revanche or au contraire.
Salut Monsieur Tremblay, je veux savoir si c'est correct de partir plus tôt vendredi.
Bonjour Monsieur Tremblay, je souhaiterais savoir s'il me serait possible de partir plus tôt vendredi.
The rule — To a manager or to someone you do not know: vous, a neutral greeting and the polite conditional. "Salut", "je veux" and "c'est correct" belong in messages between friends.
Selon le document 2, les visiteurs dépensent leur argent dans les cafés et les boutiques du coin.
Marc souligne que les touristes font vivre les commerces de son quartier.
The rule — The weak sentence copies the document, which is one of the handbook's "A1 non atteint" cases. Change the verb and the structure, and name the author.
These rules are set out in more detail, with more examples, in FlexiLingo's French cheatsheet: logical connectors, registers, and passé composé versus imparfait.
12The accent and spelling mistakes that cost points
Spelling is named explicitly among the linguistic criteria for expression écrite. France Éducation international does not publish the weight of each criterion, so nobody can honestly tell you how many points an accent costs. What can be said is that a missing accent is a spelling mistake, and that mistakes repeated on every line are visible to any marker.
The six families below account for most of the mistakes you do not notice when writing fast, because you cannot hear them.
é: the closed sound, the ending of past participles (arrivé, augmenté) and of many nouns (la santé, la société). è: the open sound before a consonant followed by a silent e (problème, troisième, il achète) and in très, après. ê: often the trace of an old s (forêt, fête, même, prêt, être).
Before a, o and u, c is pronounced [k]. To keep [s] you need ç: nous commençons, il a reçu, français, garçon, ça. Never before e or i: merci, ceci.
a (verb avoir) and à (preposition); ou (or) and où (where, when); la (article) and là (there). Test: if "avait" can replace a, no accent; if "ou bien" can replace ou, no accent.
With être: agreement with the subject (elle est arrivée, ils sont partis). With avoir: agreement only with a direct object placed before the verb (les photos que j'ai prises, je les ai reçues). Reflexive verbs have their own rule: "elles se sont parlé" stays invariable because se is indirect.
Replace the verb with vendre or prendre. If vendre fits, write -er (je vais envoyer, je vais vendre). If vendu fits, write -é (j'ai envoyé, j'ai vendu). With vous in the present, -ez; in the imparfait, -ais or -ait.
French writes what you cannot hear: les familles, des règles importantes, ils parlent, elles travaillent. After writing, reread each noun group and each verb looking only at the endings.
Build your personal checklist from your own papers: five to eight mistakes that keep coming back, not fifty. That checklist is what you go through during the final reread.
Reread once for meaning, then once only for endings and accents. Doing both at the same time means letting one or the other slip through.
13A plan for the 60 minutes
The handbook sets the total time, 60 minutes for the three tasks, and insists on one point: all three tasks must be done. How you split the time is up to you. Here is the split we recommend, in proportion to the length and demands of each task.
| Block | Minutes | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Task 1 | 12 | 2 minutes to note the recipient and the required points, 8 to write, 2 to reread and count. |
| Task 2 | 18 | 3 minutes to note the goal and the three moves, 12 to write, 3 to reread. |
| Task 3 | 25 | 5 minutes to read both documents and note each position in your own words, 16 to write, 4 to reread. |
| Final check | 5 | One single pass devoted to accents, agreements and -er/-é endings, then a check of each task's word count. |
FlexiLingo's suggested split of the 60 minutes of expression écrite (a suggestion, not an official rule)
Task 3 gets the most time because it combines reading, rephrasing and arguing. The trap to avoid is the opposite: polishing task 1, running over, and then writing task 3 in ten minutes.
If you run over on one task, move on to the next one anyway. A task not done is one of the "A1 non atteint" cases; a task that is slightly less polished is not.
14A two-week writing routine
Two weeks will not turn a B1 into a C1. What they can do is remove the avoidable mistakes: word ranges missed, accents dropped, agreements, register, documents copied. Here is a routine of 30 to 60 minutes a day.
Day 1: write all three tasks in 60 minutes on prompts reported by candidates, without correcting. Day 2: count the words, correct with the cheatsheet, and sort every mistake: accent, agreement, tense, connector, register. That sorted list becomes your rereading checklist.
Work through the accents and homophones pages of the cheatsheet, then rewrite your day-1 texts without a single accent mistake. Each day, ten sentences with the vendre test. If your session is on computer, type them.
Two messages a day, 12 minutes each: one to a friend, one to a manager or a landlord. Check the 60 to 120 word range and the opening and closing formulas.
Reread the agreement rule with être and with avoir. Then one task 2 a day in 18 minutes, with the goal written in the margin: persuade, complain, thank.
Build a list of ten connectors to contrast, concede and conclude. Write one task 3 in 30 minutes on day 9, then another in 25 minutes on day 10, without copying a single sentence from the documents.
Day 11: tasks 1 and 2 one after the other in 30 minutes. Day 12: one task 3 in 25 minutes, then 5 minutes of rereading with your personal checklist.
Day 13: all three tasks in 60 minutes, in the conditions of your session (by hand or on a keyboard). Day 14: compare with day 1. Are the word ranges respected? Have the mistakes on your checklist disappeared? Update the checklist.
What helps most is not the number of texts but rereading each one with your checklist. One text reread and rewritten teaches more than three texts thrown away.
No routine guarantees a mark. Marking is human, prompts change, and the mark depends on your real level. This routine targets what depends on you: losing nothing on what is avoidable.
15Practise free on FlexiLingo
An example helps you understand the method; what makes you progress is writing on many different prompts. FlexiLingo's TCF Canada section is free and split by task.
Three pages, one per task, with the prompts candidates report after their session, reworded, and a summary of what each one asks for. You practise on realistic situations rather than on prompts invented at random.
For the analysed prompts, an answer plan, a model answer with its word count, and a translation of the instruction into several languages.
Accents, past participle agreement, homophones, connectors and registers, each on a short page with examples. These are the pages to keep open while you correct your own texts.
Start with the task that costs you the most; if you do not know which one it is, the day 1 and 2 diagnostic will tell you. Write, count, reread with your checklist, then compare with the model answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the candidate handbook: 60 to 120 words for task 1, 120 to 150 words for task 2 and 120 to 180 words for task 3. The minimum and the maximum both count. The handbook does not say how words are counted, so aim for the middle of each range.
The candidate handbook says a paper can be rated "A1 non atteint" if each task is not written with the required number of words. The risk is therefore not limited to a few points: the assessment of the whole paper is at stake.
Both exist. Each approved centre offers its own formats, and France Éducation international tells candidates to ask the centre when they register. On computer, some papers can receive a first marking assisted by FIDELIA, with the second marking staying human; if you do not want that, the handbook says to ask for a paper session.
Spelling is one of the linguistic criteria listed by France Éducation international, and a missing accent is a spelling mistake. The exact weight of each criterion is not published, so nobody can say how many points one mistake costs. Repeated mistakes remain visible to any marker.
According to IRCC's chart, 10 or 11 out of 20 corresponds to NCLC 7, 12 or 13 to NCLC 8, 14 or 15 to NCLC 9, and 16 to 20 to NCLC 10 and above. Each ability is converted separately: there is no average between writing and the other épreuves.
Two independent markers, double-blind, each give each of the three tasks a level from "A1 non atteint" to C2. A calculation rule that takes those six levels into account gives the final mark. A third marking takes place when the gap between them is significant. The rule itself is not published.
Not for recent sessions. France Éducation international states that, since the sessions of 1 September 2026, requests for a re-mark of the writing and speaking épreuves are no longer accepted for about a year, with the service due to resume in autumn 2027. You can still sit the test again, at least 20 days after your previous sitting.
No. The candidate handbook provides for "A1 non atteint" when a text has been learned by heart, and also when sentences are copied from the prompt or the documents. The examples in this article are there to understand a structure, not to be recited.
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