--- title: "TEF Canada expression écrite 2026: 80 and 200 words, no max" description: "Two writing sections in sixty minutes: Section A from 80 words, Section B from 200, with no published ceiling. How each becomes an NCLC level." canonical: https://francaisprep.com/tef-canada/expression-ecrite last-updated: 2026-10-25 --- TEF Canada # TEF Canada expression écrite: format, criteria and sample answers Two sections that test opposite things: one asks you to continue someone else's factual text, the other to argue your own case. Here is the exact format, the published marking criteria, worked model answers for both sections, and what the mark converts to. [Book a placement call](/book)[See the score chart](/tef-canada/score-chart) - Two sections, one mark on the TEF scale - Model answers for both sections, with a downloadable PDF - Written by Adèle, a native French teacher ![Adèle, the native French teacher who runs Français Prep](/_next/image?url=%2Fadele.png&w=3840&q=75) Adèle SasonNative French teacher - every class, every correction By [Adèle Sason](/about), Français Prep · Updated 25 October 2026 In short The TEF Canada expression écrite is a written section built from two parts, sat in one 60-minute block: Section A continues a factual text, Section B argues a position. Together they produce one mark on the TEF writing scale, and IRCC converts that mark to an NCLC level: 310 to 348 is NCLC 7. Section A gives you the opening of a factual text and asks you to continue it in the same register and tense, 25 minutes and an 80-word floor. Section B gives you a subject and asks you to state and defend a position, 35 minutes and a 200-word floor. Model answers for both sections, with a downloadable PDF, are further down this page. ![Adèle, the native French teacher who runs Français Prep](/_next/image?url=%2Fadele.png&w=3840&q=75) Not sure which of this you actually need? A 15-minute video call works out which of your four abilities is furthest from the level your application needs. It is free, and some candidates leave with a plan and no purchase. Adèle Sason · Native French teacher - every class, every correction [Book the free call](/book) ## TEF Canada expression écrite at a glance Sections Two, labelled Section A and Section B, marked together into one expression écrite score. Timing 60 minutes total: 25 minutes for Section A, 35 for Section B. Section A length 80 words minimum. No official maximum is published, so a longer text is not penalised for length alone. Section B length 200 words minimum. No official maximum is published for this task either. What you may bring Nothing written in advance. No dictionary. Score One mark on the TEF writing scale, which IRCC converts to an NCLC level. NCLC 7 needs 310 to 348 on the published conversion for expression écrite. Format currency The timings and word floors above match the exam board's current preparation material. The two sections ## One section tests narrative, the other tests argument | Section | What you are asked to do | What the marker is looking for | | --- | --- | --- | | Section A25 minutes, 80 words minimum. Continue a text you are given. | You are given the opening of a factual text, typically a news item or an account of an event, and have to continue it in the same register and the same tense. | Whether you can write narrative prose that holds together: consistent past tenses, coherent sequencing, and a register that matches what you were handed rather than the one you find comfortable. | | Section B35 minutes, 200 words minimum. Take a position and defend it. | You are given a subject and have to express and support an opinion, usually in a letter or an article aimed at a stated reader. | Whether you can build an argument on paper: a position stated early, reasons in a deliberate order, connectors doing real work, and a close that lands rather than trails off. | Format ## The marking criteria, as the exam board publishes them Section A is marked against four published criteria; Section B against six. The extra two lines in Section B are not new ground, they split what Section A grades as a single line, coherence and cohesion, into two separate criteria, and add a dedicated line for the quality of the arguments rather than the quality of the information. Two independent, trained correctors read every script, and each one arrives with a candidate number only, no name attached. The exam board does not publish how much weight each criterion carries, and you do not receive a per-criterion breakdown, only the criteria themselves and a single combined mark. Plan against the list below rather than against any exact weighting you find elsewhere, because nobody outside the exam board has that number. The wording below is quoted from the exam board's own preparation material. - ### Section A, four criteria 1. Relevance of the information given (fit with the subject) 2. Quality of the information (development, detail, illustration) 3. Internal coherence of the text, sentence and text cohesion, and the quality of the sentences and vocabulary used 4. Spelling and punctuation - ### Section B, six criteria 1. Relevance of the information given (fit with the subject) 2. Quality of the arguments (development, detail, illustration) 3. Internal coherence of the text 4. Sentence and text cohesion 5. Quality of the sentences and vocabulary used (range, correctness, precision, fit with the subject) 6. Spelling and punctuation Timing ## How to spend the hour The danger is well known and easy to fall into: Section A is the more enjoyable task to write, so candidates linger on it and reach Section B with too little time for a task that carries a higher word floor and two more criteria. A plan for each section, timed to the minute, is what stops that. - ### Section A 25 minutes 1. 3 minutes: read the opening twice and note what it already tells the reader. That information is now off limits. 2. 2 minutes: jot down five facts the opening does not contain: a cause, a number of people affected, a witness, an immediate consequence, what happens next. 3. 15 minutes: write straight through without going back. 4. 5 minutes: reread only for spelling and punctuation: agreements, verb endings, capitals, closed quotation marks. - ### Section B 35 minutes 1. 5 minutes: decode the statement and pick the side you have examples for, not the side you agree with most. 2. 5 minutes: plan four blocks, with one concrete example written next to each argument. 3. 20 minutes: write straight through without going back. 4. 5 minutes: reread for spelling and punctuation, a criterion on its own on the published grid. Marking ## Where the marks are actually lost Almost every capped script fails in one of two places, and neither is vocabulary. The first is register: Section A hands you a text with a voice, and a continuation written in your own comfortable voice reads as not having understood the task. The second is structure in Section B, where ideas arrive in the order they occurred to the candidate rather than in an order chosen to convince. Both are fixable in weeks, and neither is fixable alone. That is the honest case for having writing marked: not that you cannot learn the grammar by yourself, but that you cannot see your own register drift or your own missing plan, because to you the text reads exactly as you intended it. - ### Answering the actual prompt The most expensive mistake on this paper is writing a good text that answers a nearby question. Section A asks you to continue what you were given, in its register and its tense. Drifting into your own subject reads as not having done the task. - ### Tense consistency across a whole text Section A is where past tenses get tested properly. Passé composé and imparfait used correctly for a paragraph is very different from used correctly across a full text under time pressure, and markers see the difference immediately. - ### Connectors that carry an argument Section B rewards structure you can see. A text where each paragraph announces its function, and where connectors mark real relationships rather than decorate sentences, reads a band higher than one with the same ideas in an undifferentiated block. - ### Range, not just accuracy A text with no mistakes and no ambition sits in the middle bands. Subordinate clauses, the conditional, relative pronouns and topic-specific vocabulary are what move a script up, provided they are controlled. TEF Canada writing samples ## Two full worked answers for each section Every sample below is an illustrative model written for this course, not a script from a real candidate, and none of them has been scored against the live exam. The weaker version for each main prompt is not a bad script invented for contrast, it is the kind of answer that hits the word count and says nothing new, which is the single most common way candidates cap their own Section A score. Download this page as a PDF ### Section A samples: continue a factual text Prompt: a delivery truck hits a bus shelter > Mardi matin, peu avant sept heures, un camion de livraison a percuté un abribus sur le boulevard Saint-Laurent, à Montréal. Le conducteur a été légèrement blessé. Below the mark C'est un accident très grave et très triste. Les gens qui attendaient l'autobus ont eu très peur. Il y avait beaucoup de monde dans la rue ce matin-là. La police est arrivée, et les pompiers aussi. Ils ont fait leur travail. Le conducteur a été transporté à l'hôpital. On ne sait pas encore pourquoi il a perdu le contrôle de son camion. C'est peut-être la fatigue, ou la vitesse. Il faut faire attention quand on conduit. La sécurité routière est très importante pour tout le monde. Model answer Selon les premiers éléments recueillis par la police de Montréal, le véhicule aurait glissé sur une plaque de verglas avant de monter sur le trottoir. Trois personnes attendaient l'autobus à cet endroit ; deux d'entre elles, légèrement blessées, ont été transportées à l'hôpital Saint-Luc, d'où elles sont ressorties dans la matinée. « J'ai entendu un bruit sourd, puis j'ai vu l'abribus se plier comme du carton », raconte Sylvie Nadeau, qui tient le commerce d'en face. Le boulevard est resté fermé à la circulation jusqu'à midi, le temps de dégager les débris. La Ville a annoncé qu'un nouvel abribus serait installé la semaine prochaine. L'enquête devra établir si le camion roulait trop vite. - Relevance: every sentence adds something the opening did not say, the probable cause, the number of people hurt, the hospital, the road closure, the city's response. - Quality of information: a named detail rather than a vague one, an ice patch rather than “a problem”, a witness quoted in her own words with a stated reason for being there. - Coherence and cohesion: a recognisable order, cause, victims, testimony, consequence, what happens next, with pronouns carrying the links instead of repeated nouns. - Spelling and punctuation: closed quotation marks, a comma before the aside, agreements checked (‘légèrement blessées’, ‘ont été transportées’). - The conditional ‘aurait glissé’ marks information the police have not confirmed, the register a journalist would use for an unverified fact, and markers reading hundreds of scripts notice when a candidate controls it. Second prompt: firefighters rescue a dog > Samedi après-midi, les pompiers de Montréal ont secouru un chien tombé dans le canal de Lachine. Une passante avait donné l'alerte peu après quinze heures. Model answer L'animal, un labrador de sept ans répondant au nom de Mika, avait échappé à son maître pendant une promenade avant de glisser sur la berge gelée. Deux plongeurs sont intervenus et l'ont ramené sur la rive au bout d'une vingtaine de minutes, transi mais indemne. « Il ne pouvait plus remonter, il tournait en rond dans l'eau », a expliqué Claire Doucet, la passante qui avait appelé les secours. Le chien a été confié à une clinique vétérinaire du quartier pour un examen de contrôle. La Ville étudie la pose d'une rambarde à cet endroit du canal, où deux accidents semblables se sont produits l'hiver dernier. ### Section B samples: state and defend a position Prompt: should phones be banned in secondary schools? > Les téléphones portables devraient être interdits dans les écoles secondaires. Qu'en pensez-vous ? Below the mark Je pense que c'est une bonne idée. Aujourd'hui, les jeunes utilisent beaucoup trop leur téléphone. C'est un problème pour la concentration en classe. Il y a aussi le cyberharcèlement, qui est un très gros problème. Donc, il faut interdire les téléphones dans les écoles. C'est mon opinion personnelle sur cette question. Model answer Interdire le téléphone en classe me paraît justifié, mais pour une raison qu'on cite rarement : ce n'est pas l'appareil qui nuit, c'est l'interruption. Une notification ne vole que quelques secondes d'attention ; le retour à la tâche, lui, en coûte plusieurs minutes. Un professeur de mon ancienne école a rangé les téléphones dans une boîte au début de chaque cours pendant un trimestre, sans rien changer d'autre à sa manière d'enseigner, et les résultats de sa classe ont nettement progressé. Certains répondront que les élèves doivent apprendre à s'autoréguler, et l'objection est sérieuse. Elle suppose pourtant une discipline que l'on demande rarement aux adultes eux-mêmes en réunion. - A thesis, not just an opinion: the model gives a reason the subject did not already suggest, the cost of interruption rather than screen time in general. - The example carries evidence: dated, bounded and built to isolate one variable, instead of a bare label like ‘cyberharcèlement’ dropped on the table. - The counter-argument is handled: named, credited as serious, then answered, which is what a simple argumentative text looks like at B2 and above. - The language does work: a semicolon opposing two clauses, a cleft sentence for emphasis (‘ce n'est pas l'appareil qui nuit, c'est l'interruption’), sentence lengths that vary. Second prompt: should remote work become the norm? > Le télétravail devrait devenir la norme pour tous les emplois de bureau. Partagez-vous cet avis ? Model answer Faire du télétravail la norme pour tous les emplois de bureau serait une erreur, non parce que le travail à distance échoue, mais parce qu'il ne distribue pas ses bénéfices également. Un cadre expérimenté qui connaît déjà ses dossiers et son réseau gagne du temps chez lui. Une personne recrutée le mois dernier, elle, apprend surtout par ce qu'elle entend autour d'elle : une question posée à voix haute, une réunion à laquelle elle assiste sans y participer. Mon ancienne équipe a intégré deux nouveaux collègues en pleine période de télétravail intégral, et il a fallu près d'un an pour qu'ils deviennent autonomes, contre quelques mois auparavant. On m'objectera que ces échanges peuvent se reproduire en ligne, et il est vrai que rien n'interdit d'ouvrir un canal de discussion permanent. Encore faut-il que le débutant ose y écrire. C'est précisément ce que le bureau rend facile et que l'écran rend coûteux : la question qu'on n'ose pas formaliser. Common mistakes ## What caps a score before grammar even enters into it The six patterns below account for most of the marks Adèle sees candidates lose, and none of them is a grammar error. - ### Rephrasing the opening instead of continuing it In Section A the marker has the opening in front of them. A continuation that restates the same facts in different words scores badly on relevance, even when the French is clean. - ### Judgements standing in for facts “Very serious, very sad, very important” fill a line without giving the marker anything to credit. A named detail, a figure, a place, a quoted witness is what the quality-of-information criterion actually rewards. - ### A generic opening or closing in Section B “This is a subject that divides a lot of people today” costs twenty words and earns nothing. The exam board is explicit that stock introductions and conclusions are not credited. - ### A stated opinion with no argument behind it “I agree, because it is a good idea” is an opinion, not the reasoning the quality-of-arguments criterion is checking for. Every position needs a reason and an example the prompt did not already hand you. - ### Ignoring the other side entirely A Section B text that never acknowledges a counter-argument reads as a monologue rather than a reasoned position. Naming the objection and answering it is what a text argumentatif simple looks like at B2, and markers notice its absence. - ### Letting Section A eat Section B's time Section A is the more enjoyable task to write, which is exactly why candidates overrun it. Section B carries the higher word floor and two more criteria; a plan cut short there costs more than a paragraph left unfinished in Section A. Conversion ## What the writing mark converts to The expression écrite and expression orale sections share band boundaries on the TEF scale. Express Entry reads the NCLC level, not the raw mark. | NCLC / CLB | TEF Canada | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing | | | NCLC 10 | - | - | 393-450 | 393-450 | | NCLC 9 | - | - | 371-392 | 371-392 | | NCLC 8 | - | - | 349-370 | 349-370 | | NCLC 7 Level highlighted on this page | - | - | 310-348 | 310-348 | | NCLC 6 | - | - | 271-309 | 271-309 | | NCLC 5 | - | - | 226-270 | 226-270 | | NCLC 4 | - | - | 181-225 | 181-225 | These bands come from the same published conversion table as our TEF Canada score chart, and a test in this repository fails if the two disagree. Confirm them against the current official chart before planning a test date around a band boundary. Length is marked before a single word of your French is judged. Count a draft against the published range for the task you are writing. No account, nothing stored. [Count against the real limit](/tools/word-counter) Free, and no account. Questions ## TEF Canada expression écrite, answered ### How many parts does the TEF Canada expression écrite have? Two, called Section A and Section B, sat back to back inside one 60-minute block: 25 minutes for Section A and 35 for Section B. Section A gives you the start of a factual text to continue, with an 80-word floor. Section B gives you a subject on which to state and defend an opinion, with a 200-word floor. Neither task has a published maximum. Both are marked together and produce a single combined score. ### Is TEF Canada Section A the same as 'Task 1'? The official candidate material calls the two parts Section A and Section B; it never uses "Task 1" or "Task 2". A lot of English-language guides use "Task 1" as shorthand for Section A because it comes first and asks for fewer words, and "Task 2" for Section B. If a source uses that language, it almost always means Section A. ### Is there a sample TEF Canada writing answer I can study? Yes, two full worked answers for each section are below, a weaker version and a stronger version for the main prompt, plus a second full model for a different prompt. They are illustrative models written to show the published criteria in action, not scripts from real candidates and not scored against the live exam, and a downloadable PDF version sits above them. ### What score do I need for NCLC 7 in writing? On the published conversion, 310 to 348 on the TEF writing scale corresponds to NCLC 7, and 349 to 370 to NCLC 8. Express Entry reads the NCLC level rather than the raw mark, and reads all four abilities separately, so writing cannot be carried by a strong listening result. ### Why is writing the ability that most often holds a file back? Because it is the one nobody corrects. Listening and reading can be practised alone with free material and self-marked against an answer key. A writing task you produce alone teaches you nothing unless someone competent reads it, which is why candidates can study for months and repeat the same structural errors throughout. ### Does spelling and punctuation actually count? Yes. Spelling and punctuation form one of the published criteria for each section, on their own line, not folded into a general "presentation" score. What the exam board does not publish is the weighting between criteria, and no per-criterion breakdown is returned to you, so treat any source that quotes an exact weighting as guesswork rather than fact. ### Is the TEF Canada expression écrite handwritten or typed? That depends on your test centre and how it runs its sessions, so ask when you register. ### How is this different from the TCF Canada writing section? The TCF Canada runs three writing tasks; the TEF Canada splits into two sections with a different balance between narrative and argument. The underlying ability is the same, which is why preparation transfers well between them. If you have not committed to an exam yet, read the comparison before you book. If you specifically need worked TCF Canada writing examples, the [TCF Canada expression écrite page](/tcf-canada/expression-ecrite) has its own set of worked answers for all three tasks. ### Can I learn model answers? You can learn structures, and you should. Openings, ways to introduce a counter-argument, ways to close: those transfer. Whole memorised texts do not, because they rarely fit the prompt and markers who read hundreds of scripts recognise them. The structures are what earn marks; the memorised paragraph is what wastes the time you needed for planning. ### How many practice texts should I write before the exam? Fewer than you think, marked more carefully than you think. Ten texts written and corrected properly are worth more than forty written into a void. The point of each one is to find a repeatable error and stop making it, which cannot happen without a reader. Writing and speaking share the same bands on the [TEF Canada score chart](/tef-canada/score-chart), and the spoken half is covered in [TEF Canada expression orale](/tef-canada/expression-orale). The [TEF Canada preparation course](/tef-canada-course) marks writing every week in the live tiers; [book a placement call](/book) to start with one marked task. Preparation ## Writing only improves when someone reads it Both live tiers include marked writing every week, corrected by hand against the exam's own criteria. Self-paced includes a model answer for every task, the same kind you just read above, to check your own work against. - ### Weekly plan The whole practice platform: every TCF and TEF Canada series, unlimited AI corrections, timed mock tests and the course lessons. CA$9.99per week Canadian dollars (CAD) Billed weekly, cancel any time. Access runs to the end of the week you paid for. [Start the weekly plan](/dashboard/premium) - Every practice series in all four exam sections - Unlimited AI writing and speaking corrections - Timed mock tests in the real exam format - Course lessons and a weekly study plan - ### Small-group live Weekly live classes with Adèle, in groups small enough that everyone speaks, plus marked writing and speaking. CA$449per 8-week block Canadian dollars (CAD) Eight weekly classes of 60 minutes: 8 hours of live teaching, CA$56 an hour, with your writing and speaking marked every week. [Join a small group](https://buy.stripe.com/fZu4gyfXZ9uK5Aj1P46Vq01) Full refund within 14 days of purchase if you have not taken a session. - Everything in the weekly plan - One 60-minute live class with Adèle every week - Marked writing submissions every week - Marked speaking recordings every week - Most popular ### One-to-one tutoring Private sessions scheduled around your test date, with a study plan built from your diagnostic results. CA$800per 10 sessions Canadian dollars (CAD) CA$80 an hour, booked around your test date: ten 60-minute sessions. [Book one-to-one](https://buy.stripe.com/dRm8wOfXZdL07IralA6Vq0a) Full refund within 14 days of purchase if you have not taken a session. - Everything in small-group live - Private 60-minute sessions scheduled around your test date - Study plan built from your diagnostic test - Unlimited marked writing and speaking during your block Not ready to commit to a block? Try a trial class. One 40-minute class with Adèle, one to one. The CA$30 comes off any block you book within 30 days. [Try one class for CA$30](https://buy.stripe.com/6oU4gy3bd9uK4wf0L06Vq0c) Not sure which tier fits? [Book a free 15-minute video call.](/book) Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any tax that applies. Exam registration fees are paid directly to your test centre and are not included in any tier. WHY PREPARE HERE ## Preparation built around the exam you are actually sitting Four things every tier includes, whether you study on your own or work with Adèle every week. - ### Marked against the real criteria Every writing and speaking task comes with a model answer and the marking grid, so you can see exactly what an examiner rewards. On the live tiers, Adèle marks your own work by hand and tells you which mistakes are costing you the most points. - ### Timed practice in the real exam format You practise each section under the clock, in the order and the length you will meet on test day, so the paper itself is never the surprise. - ### The NCLC threshold always in view Every section is worked against the NCLC thresholds IRCC publishes. A practice result is not an NCLC level; only your attestation gives one. Practice shows you where you lose marks. - ### Study from anywhere, in your timezone Everything is online, for candidates in Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, India, France and Canada. The free plan and the weekly plan run entirely on your own clock. On the live tiers, if you miss a class the recording and the correction still reach you. Keep reading ## The rest of the TEF Canada, in the same detail - [TEF Canada 2026: 4 tests for PR, 2 for citizenshipPermanent residence needs four TEF Canada tests, citizenship only two. Reading 40 questions in 60 min, listening 40 in 40, writing and speaking 2 each.](/tef-canada) - [TEF Canada expression orale 2026: 2 sections in 15 minutesTwo speaking sections in fifteen minutes, Section A being the first five. What each asks, how the mark becomes an NCLC level, and where points go.](/tef-canada/expression-orale) - [TEF Canada score chart 2026: NCLC 7 = 207 CE, 249 CONCLC 7 is 207 reading, 249 listening, 310 writing and 310 speaking on the Équivalence ancien score column Express Entry reads. Full table, all levels.](/tef-canada/score-chart) - [TEF vs TCF Canada: which is easier, and how they differNeither is officially easier: both convert to the same NCLC levels and IRCC treats them as equal. What differs is format, timing and section counts.](/tef-vs-tcf) NEXT STEP ## Find out where your French actually stands Book a short assessment with Adèle: one writing task, one speaking task, and an honest plan for the weeks you have left before the exam. [Book an assessment](/book)[See the course tiers](#tiers) Where these facts come from Le français des affaires publishes the TEF Canada task structure, word floors and timing. A TEF attestation reports each skill on two different scales, and Express Entry reads the Équivalence ancien score column rather than the Score / 699 column, which is the single most consequential detail on this page. - [Le français des affaires: TEF Canada](https://www.lefrancaisdesaffaires.fr/candidat/test-evaluation-francais/tef-canada/presentation/) - [Le français des affaires: TEF Canada preparation material](https://www.lefrancaisdesaffaires.fr/candidat/test-evaluation-francais/tef-canada/preparation/) - [IRCC: Express Entry language test results and NCLC equivalencies](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/language-test.html) Exam boards reissue formats, fees and conversion tables without announcing it. Where a number here matters to a decision that costs money, check it against the source above rather than trusting any preparation site, including this one. --- For agents: site index https://francaisprep.com/llms.txt, developer access https://francaisprep.com/developers, and TCF or TEF to NCLC conversion over a plain GET at https://api.francaisprep.com/v1/score/convert?exam=tcf_canada&listening=512&reading=470&writing=12&speaking=11 (exam is tcf_canada or tef_canada).