BECE JHS
A French letter or message has a greeting, the reason you are writing, and a close. The marks sit in those three parts.
Open with a greeting that fits the person. Salut and the first name are for a friend. Bonjour Monsieur or Bonjour Madame are for someone you do not know well. Then say why you are writing, in the first lines, not at the end. If you are refusing an invitation, thank the person, say clearly that you cannot come, and give one real reason. A reason such as "I am travelling" is better than "I am busy" with nothing after it.
Close the message. A friend can end with À bientôt or Amicalement. A formal note can end with Cordialement. A block of sentences with no greeting and no close is not a letter, even when the French in the middle is correct. Stay inside the length the question asks for. A very long message that forgets the reason does worse than a short one that does the three jobs.
The French tips guide sets letter writing beside the letter format guide and the rest of the written paper. BECE French tips
Greeting, message, close. The message has to do what the question asked: refuse, accept, invite, thank, or ask for something. A letter you memorised for a different task does not answer this one. Write in French. Check the person of the verb: tu for one friend, vous when the greeting is Monsieur or Madame.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
6 marks
Écris un court message à ton ami Kwame pour refuser son invitation à un match de football. Donne une raison. Ouvre et ferme le message. (6 marks)
Salut Kwame,
Merci pour ton invitation. Je ne peux pas venir au match samedi, parce que je vais à Kumasi avec mes parents.
À bientôt, Ama
3 marks
Nomme les trois parties qu'un message français doit avoir. (3 marks)
Une formule d'appel, le message, et une formule de fin.
2 marks
Un message commence par « Bonjour Madame ». Indique si on emploie tu ou vous, et donne la raison. (2 marks)
Vous. Madame est une formule de politesse, alors le pronom est vous.
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise French freeSalut, then the name. Thank them or say why you are writing in the next line. Close with À bientôt, Amicalement, or your name.
A greeting, a clear refusal, one real reason, and a close. Thanking the person helps. A memorised letter about a different event does not answer the question. All BECE French past questions