Part one (40-60 words) sums up both viewpoints neutrally. Part two (80-120 words) is your own reasoned opinion with connectors and examples.
Question models
No question models added yet. Hand me one of your files for this task and I will format it as a model page here.
undefined
A two-part text, and the two parts are not equal
Tâche 3 gives you two short documents that take opposing positions on a social question, and asks for one text in two movements. First you report both views without taking sides, then you argue your own. The two movements must be visibly separate, ideally in two paragraphs, because a grader is checking that both were done.
This is the highest level task in the writing test, and it is the one that rewards structure most. A candidate with modest vocabulary who summarises fairly, announces a position and supports it with two clear arguments will beat a fluent candidate who writes an unstructured opinion piece and forgets the summary.
1. Frame the debate in one sentence
Les deux documents s’interrogent sur… Name the question, not the answer.
2. Report the first view
Le premier document défend l’idée que… car… One reason is enough. Stay neutral: report, do not judge.
3. Report the second view
En revanche, le second souligne que… The contrast connector does the work of showing that these are two positions.
4. Announce your position
Pour ma part, je pense que… One sentence, unambiguous, at the start of the second paragraph.
5. Two arguments with an example each
D’une part… Par exemple… D’autre part… The example is what turns an assertion into an argument.
6. Concede, then conclude
Certes…, mais… then En définitive… A short concession is the cheapest way to sound B2.
Reporting without taking sides
The whole first paragraph rests on a small set of reporting verbs and impersonal turns. They let you attribute an idea to a document rather than assert it yourself, which is exactly the distinction the task is testing.
Watch the tense. Report in the present, because the documents say something now, not in the past: l’auteur affirme, not l’auteur a affirmé.
Reporting verbs
- l’auteur affirme / soutient que…
- le document met en avant…
- selon le premier texte,…
Marking the contrast
- en revanche · à l’inverse
- alors que · tandis que
- le second document nuance ce point de vue
Arguing your side
- Pour ma part, il me semble que…
- Certes…, mais il ne faut pas oublier que…
- En définitive, je suis convaincu que…
Checklist for tâche 3
- Between 120 and 180 words, in two clearly separated paragraphs.
- Both documents reported, both in your own words.
- No opinion of yours anywhere in the first paragraph.
- One explicit statement of your position.
- Two arguments, each with an example, and one concession.
- Present tense for reporting, and the subjunctive only where you are sure of it.
The connectors and cause structures this task depends on are collected in the connectors section of the grammar guide, and the comparison forms are in comparison. If you want to see the same six-step method applied to a full worked prompt, the two model pages for tâche 1 and tâche 2 show what a finished answer looks like.
Questions people ask
Do I have to choose a side?
Yes. The second part asks for your own reasoned position, and a text that stays neutral to the end scores badly because it has not done what the instruction asked. A nuanced position is fine, an absent one is not.
Can I copy sentences from the two documents?
No. Reusing whole sentences is treated as not producing language of your own. Reformulate: change the subject, change the verb, change the structure, keep only the technical words that have no synonym.
How do I split 120 to 180 words between the two parts?
Roughly 40 to 60 words for the neutral summary of both views and 80 to 120 for your own argued position. Write the summary first and keep it tight, because the marks for level sit in the second part.