Recount or report something with a clear purpose (to inform, to persuade, to react), aimed at a public audience. A catchy title helps.
Question models
Each model below is a recurring prompt type for this task, with its own structure, phrase bank and worked sample.
The shape of the article
Tâche 2 asks for a text aimed at readers rather than at one person: an article, a blog post, a forum contribution or a letter to a magazine. Something happened to you, and you are telling it with a purpose, usually to inform, to warn or to recommend. 120 to 150 words is short, so the plan matters more than the vocabulary.
Four blocks are enough, and they map cleanly onto the word count: roughly twenty words to set the scene, sixty for the events, thirty for your reaction and twenty for the recommendation.
1. Title and hook
A short title, then one sentence that says what this is about. Le mois dernier, j’ai participé à…
2. The setting, in the imparfait
Where, when, who with, what the atmosphere was like. Il faisait beau et la place était pleine de monde.
3. The events, in the passé composé
Two or three things that actually happened, in order, joined by d’abord, ensuite, enfin.
4. Your reaction
What you liked, what disappointed you, and why. This is the commentary the prompt asks for, and it is where opinions belong.
5. The recommendation
Close by telling the reader what to do. Je vous conseille vivement d’y aller au printemps.
Passé composé and imparfait, the decision in one line
If the sentence answers what happened next, use the passé composé. If it answers what things were like, or what used to happen, use the imparfait. Description, background, weather, age, feelings that lasted and repeated habits are all imparfait. Single completed actions are passé composé.
The two tenses interlock: the imparfait paints the frame and the passé composé drops events into it. A paragraph written entirely in one of them is the clearest sign to an examiner that the distinction is not yet secure.
Setting the scene
- Il y avait beaucoup de monde. there were a lot of people
- L’ambiance était chaleureuse. the atmosphere was warm
- Nous étions une dizaine. there were about ten of us
Telling the events
- Tout a commencé quand…
- Ensuite, nous avons décidé de…
- Finalement, tout s’est bien passé.
Reacting and recommending
- Ce qui m’a le plus marqué, c’est…
- J’ai été un peu déçu par…
- Je vous le recommande sans hésiter.
Before you move on to tâche 3
- Between 120 and 150 words, with a short title.
- A visible plan: setting, events, reaction, recommendation.
- Both passé composé and imparfait present, each doing its own job.
- Past participles agreed where the auxiliary is être.
- At least three connectors carrying the story forward.
- A closing sentence addressed to the reader, not to yourself.
The full conjugation of both tenses, including the être verbs and the agreement rules, is in the passé composé and imparfait sections of the conjugation guide. For the linking words that hold a narrative together, see connectors.
Questions people ask
Does the article need a title?
A short title helps and costs almost nothing. It signals to the examiner that you understood the genre, and it usually counts towards your words. Keep it to four or five words.
How personal should the article be?
Personal in the events, public in the tone. You are recounting something that happened to you, but you are writing it for readers you do not know, so avoid private references and explain anything a stranger would not understand.
Which tenses does this task really need?
Passé composé for the events that move the story forward, imparfait for the setting, the weather, the mood and habits, and the present for your commentary and your recommendation at the end.