How to Use the TEF Canada Writing Practice Tool

The FrenchWrite TEF Canada Writing Practice tool gives you random authentic-style prompts for both expression écrite sections, paired with a full French writing editor — accent toolbar, live word counter, and section-specific goal tracker. No account, no login, nothing to install. Select a section, read your prompt, and start writing immediately.

What Is the TEF Canada Expression Écrite?

The TEF Canada (Test d'Évaluation de Français pour le Canada) is administered by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP) and accepted by IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) as proof of French proficiency for permanent residence and citizenship applications. The expression écrite module lasts 60 minutes and includes two sections, evaluated on the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) scale.

Unlike TCF Canada, which has three production tasks, TEF Canada's written expression is structured around two very distinct exercises: a journalistic continuation task and an opinion essay. The skills they test — narrative coherence and argumentative writing — are different enough to require separate preparation strategies.

TEF Canada vs TCF Canada: Key Differences in Expression Écrite

• Number of tasks: TEF Canada has 2 sections; TCF Canada has 3 tasks.
• Administrator: TEF Canada is from CCIP (Paris Chamber of Commerce); TCF Canada is from France Éducation International.
• Section A uniqueness: TEF's fait divers continuation has no equivalent in TCF Canada. There is no message court in TEF.
• Opinion essay length: TEF Section B requires a minimum of 200 words; TCF Canada Tâche 3 requires 120–180 words.
• Opinion essay structure: TEF Section B is a single flowing essay (introduction, arguments, conclusion). TCF Tâche 3 has a prescribed two-part structure: neutral summary in Part 1, personal opinion in Part 2.
• Total time: Both exams allocate 60 minutes for written expression, but TEF splits it 20 min / 40 min across two sections vs TCF's 10 / 20 / 30 min split.

The 2 TEF Canada Expression Écrite Sections

Section A — Fait divers (80–120 words · ~20 minutes)

You are given the opening paragraph of a journalistic news story — a fait divers — and must write its continuation and conclusion. The opening typically describes an event in progress: a rescue operation, a discovery, an incident, or a human-interest story. Your job is to continue the narrative, developing what happened next, and bring it to a logical close that suits the journalistic genre.

Key constraints for Section A:

• Register: Journalistic — third person, past tenses, factual tone. Avoid first person and informal expressions.
• Coherence: Every element you add must be consistent with the facts, names, and details introduced in the opening. Do not contradict anything already stated.
• Narrative arc: The opening sets a situation; your continuation develops what happens; your conclusion resolves it.
• Word range: 80–120 words. Count only your continuation, not the provided opening.

Section B — Opinion / Argumentation (minimum 200 words · ~40 minutes)

You write a structured opinion text on a social topic. Unlike TCF Canada's Tâche 3 — which requires a neutral summary in Part 1 before expressing an opinion in Part 2 — TEF Section B is a single flowing essay from the start. You state your position, develop at least three arguments supported by concrete examples, and close with a conclusion.

Topics cover current social debates: remote work, social media, urbanisation, environment, education, diet, transportation, and similar subjects familiar to contemporary French speakers.

How to Use the Tool: Step by Step

1. Select a section card. Open the TEF Writing Practice tool. Two cards appear — Section A and Section B. Click the one you want to practise. The card highlights and the word-count goal bar activates automatically (120 words for Section A, 200 words for Section B).
2. Get your subject. Click Get a writing subject. For Section A, the opening paragraph of a fait divers appears — read it fully before you write a single word. For Section B, the topic instruction appears, along with a structure reminder. Click New subject inside the prompt card at any time for a different prompt without losing your writing.
3. Write your response in the editor. The text area below the prompt is your writing space. Use the accent toolbar to insert any French character — é, è, ê, ë, à, â, î, ï, ô, ù, û, ü, ç, œ and guillemets « » — with a single click or tap. On mobile, place your cursor in the text area first, then tap the accent button.
4. Track your word count. The stats bar updates in real time. The goal card fills as you approach the section target. The bar turns green once you hit the minimum. Remember: for Section A, count only your own words, not those of the provided opening paragraph.
5. Export your work. Use Copy to copy your text to the clipboard, or Download to save a .txt file. Your text auto-saves to browser localStorage — close the tab, come back later, and your draft will still be there.

Writing Tips for Each Section

Section A — Fait divers

• Re-read the opening twice before writing. Note the key facts — who, what, where, when — so your continuation does not contradict them. Changing a person's name, location, or sequence of events is penalised for incoherence.
• Use journalistic past tenses. The passé composé for completed actions, the imparfait for background descriptions. The plus-que-parfait is useful for events that happened before the opening situation.
• Write in the third person. A fait divers uses il/elle/ils/elles, not je. Avoid any first-person intrusion.
• Include a resolution. The opening introduces a situation in progress. Your text must bring it to a close — what happened to the people involved? How did the situation end?
• Use journalistic connectors. C'est ainsi que, finalement, par la suite, selon les témoins, il s'avère que, les secours ont indiqué que.

Section B — Opinion / Argumentation

• State your position in the introduction. Unlike TCF's Tâche 3, there is no requirement to be neutral first. Open with your stance clearly: Je pense que, Selon moi, Il me semble que, Je suis convaincu(e) que.
• Develop three distinct arguments. Each argument should have its own paragraph, its own supporting point, and ideally a concrete example or statistic. Three weak variations on the same idea do not count as three arguments.
• Use argumentation connectors. To add arguments: De plus, Par ailleurs, En outre. To contrast: Certes, Néanmoins, Cependant. To illustrate: Par exemple, C'est le cas de, Ainsi.
• Reach the 200-word minimum. Section B is the longer task. 200 words is achievable with an introduction (2–3 sentences), three argument paragraphs (3–4 sentences each), and a conclusion (2 sentences). Aim for 220–240 to be safely above the floor.
• Do not summarise two opposing documents. There are no documents in TEF Section B. If you are used to TCF's format, the shift is significant — here you argue from your own knowledge and experience, not from provided texts.

After finishing a Section B response, paste your text into the French word counter to verify your count precisely. The Top Words table also shows which connectors and vocabulary you repeat most — a quick way to spot formulaic patterns before exam day.

For the verb forms that matter in your writing — subjonctif in subordinate clauses, conditionnel for hypothesis and politeness, imparfait in the fait divers — the French verb conjugator covers every tense and mood. To confirm the gender of a noun before writing le or la, use the French gender checker.

Preparing for TCF Canada as well? The TCF Canada Writing Practice tool has its own separate subject bank with 60 prompts for all three TCF tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions