TCF Canada writing task 1: the 60–120-word message

What the official instructions say

According to France Éducation international, task 1 means writing “a message to describe, narrate and/or explain, addressed to one or more recipients whose status is given in the instructions”. The expected length is 60 words minimum and 120 words maximum.

Three official rules apply to the whole test and weigh heavily on this short task:

• tasks are done in order: 1, then 2, then 3;
• a paper can be rated “A1 not reached” if a task does not respect the word count, is off topic, or if a task is missing;
• a word is “any group of signs between two spaces”: « c’est-à-dire » counts as 1 word, « un bon sujet » as 3.

So the word count is not a detail. A 55-word message, however good, puts the whole paper at risk. Our grader counts words with this rule and warns you before anything else.

What the grader looks at

Papers are marked twice, independently, by graders trained by France Éducation international. The published criteria are linguistic (vocabulary range, grammatical accuracy, spelling, how elaborate the sentences are), pragmatic (coherence, cohesion, development of the topic) and sociolinguistic (fit to the situation). For task 1, that means very concrete questions:

• Did you give every piece of information requested? If the prompt lists “place, opening hours, activities, price”, all four must appear.
• Does the register suit the recipient? « Tu » and friendly phrases for a friend, « vous » for a neighbour or a team.
• Is the message organised? An opening, the core in one or two paragraphs, a sign-off.
• Do sentences go beyond the very simple? A relative clause (« où je m’entraîne »), a cause (« puisque »), a condition (« si tu veux ») show B2 level.

A 3-step method

1. Read the prompt as a checklist (1 minute)

Note who is writing, to whom, why, and every point to cover. For “present the club (place, hours, activities, price) and say what you think of it”, your list has five points: place, hours, activities, price, opinion.

2. Write to a simple plan (6–7 minutes)

1. An opening that suits the recipient and a sentence that states the purpose (« Puisque tu cherches une activité sportive… »).
2. The requested information, linked together rather than listed.
3. Your opinion or suggestion, then a sign-off.

3. Proofread methodically (2 minutes)

Count the words, then check in this order: every point in the prompt, register, agreement (gender, plural), tenses and accents.

One prompt, two answers: B1 then C1

Answer A — estimated B1 (82 words)

Everything is there: the four details and the opinion. The message is clear and the friendly register is consistent. But the sentences are simply placed side by side with no logical links, and several turns of phrase are spoken French: « le prix c’est », « c’est pas cher », « il y a pas » (written French keeps the « ne » of the negation). Estimate: if all three tasks were at this level, the writing score would be about 7/20, which is NCLC 6.

Answer B — estimated C1 (111 words)

Same content, but the grader sees the difference straight away:

Estimate: at this level across all three tasks, about 14/20, which is NCLC 9. Both answers stay within the 120-word limit.

Useful French phrases

Costly mistakes

• Leaving out a point from the prompt. The most common mistake, and it hits task completion directly.
• Switching from « tu » to « vous ». Choose at the start and keep the same register down to the signature.
• Going over 120 words. Trying to do well, candidates write 130 words: count before moving to task 2.
• Opening a friendly message with « Je vous écris pour vous dire que… ». This formal-letter phrase sounds wrong between friends.
• Grammar classics: « un nouveau appartement » (→ un nouvel appartement), « beaucoup des gens » (→ beaucoup de gens), « si j’aurais » (→ si j’avais), missing accents.

Task 1 FAQ