The four instructions
| The consigne says | Which fixes |
|---|---|
| Vous écrivez à votre ami | Register — tu, informal |
| Vous écrivez au directeur | Register — vous, formal |
| Vous écrivez une lettre / un article / un courriel | Format and its conventions |
| Vous donnez votre opinion et vous justifiez | Content — a position plus reasons |
| 160 mots minimum | Length, which is marked |
A letter written as an article, or an article written as a letter, loses format marks however good the French — the conventions differ and the paper tests them.
A two-minute routine
- Underline who you are writing to. That fixes tu or vous and everything that follows.
- Underline the format word — lettre, courriel, article, message.
- Count the things you are asked to do.
- Note the word count and plan roughly how it divides.
Two minutes on the consigne is the highest-return time in the paper, and it is almost always skipped by candidates who feel short of time.
Reading the consigne — FAQs
2 questions
The task-completion mark is capped, which is assessed before the quality of your French.
Yes. A letter and an article have different conventions and both are marked.
More production écrite question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.