Key to success
- Use detailed and complex language for each bullet point
- Be accurate with verb tenses especially spelling
- Check gender of nouns and that the subsequent adjective matches up eg:
- J’ai visité une grande ville (correct)
- J’ai visité un grand ville (incorrect as a French town is feminine ‘une ville’)
Most adjectives come after the noun but familiarise which come before and after eg:
- J’ai acheté une vieille voiture (correct – I bought an old car)
- j’ai acheté une voiture vieille (incorrect)
Adjectives that refer to some specific qualities must come before the noun they describe instead of following it. The qualities they describe can be summarized by the acronym BAGS:
- B for beauty: beau (beautiful), joli (pretty)
- A for age: jeune (young), vieux (old), nouveu (new)
- G for goodness: bon (good), meilleur (better), mauvais (bad), gentil (kind)
- S for size: petit (small), haut (high), gros (fat)
- un petit chat - a small cat
- un grand monsieur - a tall man
Demonstrate the Perfect, Imperfect, Conditional and if possible, the Subjunctive tenses (through the use of tailor-made expressions.)
Try out as many scenarios during the year as possible to get into the habit of writing this type of essay. Ask your French teacher to look over your essays and give you constructive feedback. Use the feedback to get better at writing this type of French essay.
Learn parts of an essay or the kinds of expressions you like using and get into the habit of using them as often as possible in other essays, or in the way you use your spoken French.
NB: You don't have to have visited France to write this essay but you might want to do a bit of geographical research into where major French cities are located, in case you want to refer to visiting the beach, going on a winter skiing holiday or travelling between two major cities and the time taken.
