Paper 2 asks for one essay and one letter. The essay stays on the task. A piece you memorised for a different question does not answer this one.
The idea
Read the task before you write. It may ask you to tell what happened, to describe a place, or to give an opinion. Those are three different shapes. An opinion needs a view and a reason. A description needs what you can point to, in order. A narrative needs a beginning, what happened, and how it ended. The first lines should show the marker which task you are answering. Then develop two points, each in its own paragraph, with an example. Close without starting a new point.
Write the whole essay in French. A correct idea in English does not show the sentence the marker can credit. Vary the tenses when the time changes: a past event, a habit, and a plan do not all use the same form. Stay near the length the question asks for. This page does not copy that length, because the paper in your hall is the one that counts. Check gender, number and accents before you move on. Leave the letter for its own time. A long essay does not repair a missing letter.
The French tips guide sets out the essay and the letter, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE French tips
What earns the marks
Content is whether you did the task that was set. Organisation is a visible shape: an opening, the points, and a close. Expression is French a reader can follow. A beautiful piece on a different subject scores little. The practice question below uses a small scheme so those demands are visible. A full paper essay is longer. Here, three short paragraphs are enough to show the shape.
Practice questions
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.
1Question 1
6 marks
Écris trois courts paragraphes, en français, sur le sujet : « Pourquoi les élèves doivent lire en dehors des cours. » Ce travail de pratique est noté sur 6. (6 marks)
Model answer
Lire en dehors des cours aide l'élève à comprendre les textes de l'examen. En classe, le temps est court. À la maison, on peut relire une phrase difficile.
Un livre ou un article donne aussi des mots nouveaux. On les revoit plus tard dans une rédaction. Sans cette habitude, le vocabulaire reste petit.
Il faut donc choisir un moment fixe, par exemple le soir, et lire un peu chaque jour. La régularité compte plus qu'une longue séance une seule fois.
Mark scheme
Content: the piece is about reading outside class, with at least one reason2 marks
Organisation: an opening, a development and a close2 marks
Expression: the piece is in French and the sentences are clear2 marks
2Question 2
2 marks
Nomme deux différences entre une rédaction qui donne une opinion et une rédaction qui raconte un événement. (2 marks)
Model answer
Une opinion présente un avis et une raison. Un récit suit ce qui s'est passé, du début à la fin.
Mark scheme
An opinion gives a view and a reason1 mark
A narrative follows events in time1 mark
3Question 3
2 marks
Pourquoi une rédaction apprise par cœur pour un autre sujet ne gagne pas tous les points? (2 marks)
Model answer
Elle ne répond pas à la question posée. Le correcteur note le sujet du jour, pas un texte préparé pour un autre jour.
Mark scheme
It does not answer the task on the paper1 mark
The marker credits the set subject, not a prepared piece1 mark
Practise French with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
No. The whole piece is in French. An idea that is right in English does not show the sentences the marker can credit.
What shape should the essay have?+
An opening that meets the task, two points with an example, and a close that does not start a new point. Read the task first, so a memorised piece does not miss the question. Then write the letter as well. Paper 2 asks for both. All WASSCE French past questions