Hola mis amigos 👋🏽

Today we're writing a complete letter together: a letter from your sister about the day she arrived late for a very important exam. And we're going to use it to get comfortable with the two past tenses in Spanish, the preterite and the imperfect.

In English, "I looked at the clock" could be one quick look or something you kept doing. In Spanish you have to choose: miré or miraba. In a story about the past, you make that choice again and again, and the choice changes what the sentence means.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Differentiate between the imperfect and preterite;

• form the imperfect of any regular verb, plus ser, ir and ver, the only three verbs that break the pattern;

• set the scene of a story in the imperfect: the weather, the time, what people were doing;

• move the story forward in the preterite, one event after another;

• say that something happened while something else was going on, in one sentence;

• say how you were feeling at the time and how you reacted at one moment, each in the tense it needs;

• write a complete letter of 130 to 150 words that tells a story in the past and ends with what happens next.

In the full lesson you'll hear me read the whole letter, then we look at what every verb in it is doing. You'll practise both tenses on a new story and write a new letter of your own, with my answers at the end.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already one of my students, keep going.

Grab a pen. ¡Vamos! ✍🏽

Subscribe now

Read more

Bonjour mes amis 👋🏽

Today we're going to tackle a French essay together. We'll start where every good essay starts: understanding the question before we plan or write a single word of French.

One of the biggest mistakes a student can make in these essays is writing about the general topic instead of answering the specific question. For instance, you might know plenty about unemployment, technology or social media. You might even have a well-prepared essay on the topic. But if the question asks you to examine a particular claim, explain a relationship or consider a specific problem, that's what your answer needs to address.

It's not just about understanding the question. You also need to develop your arguments, support them with relevant examples and organise your ideas clearly in French.

A good essay isn't simply about how much you know. It's about how well you use what you know to answer the question.

That's why, before we start planning paragraphs or writing an introduction, we're going to learn how to break down an essay question and work out exactly what it requires.

Essay questions are not always structured the same way. Some give you a statement to evaluate, while others ask you to examine an issue, explain a relationship or propose solutions. What they have in common is an instruction that tells you what to do, and key words that determine the scope of your answer. Two questions on the same topic can require very different essays.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• identify and interpret common task words or exam instructions, including Discutez, Commentez, Donnez votre opinion, Justifiez and Montrez;

• recognise key words and expressions, such as jamais, seul and donc, that influence the meaning of a question;

• identify the central issue or argument you are being asked to examine;

• distinguish between questions that require you to evaluate different perspectives, defend a position, explain a relationship or propose solutions;

• explain, in French, exactly what your essay needs to address before you begin writing.

In the full lesson, we'll examine CAPE essay questions, word by word. I'll also show you how changing just the task word can change what an essay needs to do. Then, it's your turn to practise. We'll touch on essay planning here, but we'll explore how to build a complete essay plan in a separate lesson.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already one of my students, keep going.

Grab a pen. Allons-y! ✍🏽

Subscribe now

Read more

Bonjour mes amis 👋🏽

Your CSEC French oral is one of the most exciting — and daunting — parts of the exam. It's your chance to show how well you can actually speak French. But unlike the written papers, there's no time to carefully work out your answers. You have to listen, think and respond on the spot.

The good news? You can prepare for that, and that's exactly what we're going to do.

We'll work through questions about your daily routine, sports and free time, learning how to recognise what's being asked, organise your thoughts and respond clearly and naturally in French. We'll also tackle some essential pronunciation rules to help you speak with greater confidence. You'll learn how to:

• Recognise what each question requires.

• Give direct answers and develop them with relevant details.

• Move naturally between the present, past and future.

• Apply essential French pronunciation rules.

• Listen to your own responses and identify areas for improvement.

You'll listen, speak, record your answers and compare them with mine. The goal isn't to memorise answers. It's to become more comfortable thinking and speaking in French.

If you're reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to open the full lesson. If you're already one of my students, keep going.

Put your headphones in and get your phone ready to record. Allons-y! 🎧

Subscribe now

Read more

Bonjour mes amis, 👋🏽

Directed Situations are a key section in your CSEC French exam. You'll be given a short situation in English and asked to write an appropriate response in French. Usually, you only get one sentence to do it.

That might sound simple. But these questions aren't only testing your French. They're testing whether you understand the situation before you answer. Who is speaking? Who are they speaking to? What has happened? What exactly needs to be said? Get one of those things wrong and you can write a perfectly good French sentence that still doesn't answer the question. So before we worry about the French, we're going to learn how to decode the situation properly.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• identify who is writing and who will read the message, even when the writer isn't you;

• choose tu or vous based on who you're addressing;

• include every detail the situation asks for;

• keep your answer to one sentence, or just a few words when a sign or a card is enough;

• tackle five new situations on your own, covering school, home, shopping and sport.

In the full lesson, we go through real situations together, one at a time, and you'll hear me say every answer. Then you'll try five new ones and check your answers against mine.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already one of my students, keep going.

Grab a pen. Allons-y ! Here are the instructions. ✍🏽

Subscribe now

Read more

An essay can get every fact right and still sit in the middle. It tells the story clearly and names a technique, and it never says what any of it shows.

So in this lesson we’ll read a complete top essay on Animal Farm. Then we’ll go back through it and see what each paragraph adds.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• see what a top paragraph does that a middle one doesn’t

• turn a paragraph that tells the story into one that argues

• say what a technique does, as well as naming it

• keep what the novel says apart from what it only suggests

• lift a middle paragraph on a new question, then write the whole essay

In the full lesson, you’ll read the whole essay first. Then we’ll go back through it one paragraph at a time, and you’ll finish by lifting a paragraph on a question you haven’t seen here.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the question.

Read more

It’s easy to treat the opening, the links and the ending as extras you add around the real paragraphs. Then the opening says one thing, the paragraphs drift away from it, and the ending repeats the opening word for word or says something new.

Where you struggle is keeping one answer running from the first sentence to the last. So that’s what we’ll work on today, with Twelfth Night.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• write an opening that answers the question straight away and sets out the essay

• start a paragraph with a sentence that carries the question’s key word

• end with a close that answers the question again, sharper, with nothing new

• check all three by reading only those sentences

In the full lesson, you’ll see one essay’s weak frame beside a strong one. Then we’ll frame three more real questions, and you’ll frame one yourself.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the question.

Read more

After you describe your incidents, the question asks you to discuss ONE of them. In this lesson, that means how a character is affected by it, or how they respond to it. It’s easy to tell the incident again in new words. It’s just as easy to say how the character feels, “shocked” or “angry”, and stop there.

Where you struggle is proving the response and saying what it means. So that’s what we’ll work on today, with Twelfth Night.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• keep the whole paragraph on one character’s response

• make a clear claim about how that character is affected or reacts

• prove it with what the character says and does

• say what the response shows about the question

In the full lesson, you’ll see a paragraph that retells a moment beside one that discusses it, on Viola and the ring. Then we’ll discuss three more characters, and you’ll write a discuss paragraph yourself.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the question.

Read more

When you know a line well, it’s tempting to drop the whole thing into your essay on its own and move on. Then the quotation just sits there, and whoever reads your essay has to work out why it’s there.

Where you struggle is making the quotation part of your own sentence. So that’s what we’ll work on today, with Twelfth Night.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• pick the few words that prove your point

• build them into a sentence that still reads correctly

• copy them exactly, with a slash where a line of verse ends, and give the act and scene

• say straight after what the words show about the question

In the full lesson, you’ll see a quotation dropped in beside one that’s built in. Then we’ll build three more sentences together, and you’ll fix six weak ones yourself.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the question.

Read more

In the exam you have about 45 minutes for each essay. It’s tempting to start writing straight away and work out your answer as you go. Then the essay follows the story, and the discuss and technique parts get squeezed in at the end.

Where you struggle is knowing what the whole essay will say before you write it. So that’s what we’ll work on today, with Twelfth Night.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• turn an essay question into a five-line essay map

• choose two moments that fit the question, and pick which one gets the discuss part

• choose a technique you can show in one of your moments

• write your opening line and your closing line before the essay starts

• do all of it in about five minutes

In the full lesson, you’ll see a plan that lists the story beside a map that answers the question. Then we’ll map three more real questions, and you’ll map a new one against the clock.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the question.

Read more

Your essay question starts by asking you to describe. Describing sounds easy, so it’s tempting to start at the top of the scene and tell everything that happens in order. By the end of the paragraph you’ve told the story, and the question is still waiting for an answer.

Where you struggle is choosing what to leave out. So that’s what we’ll work on today, with Twelfth Night.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• open on your moment, using the question’s key word

• give only the details that show that key word

• build short, exact quotations into your sentences

• end the paragraph on the question, not on the plot

In the full lesson, you’ll see a paragraph that retells a scene beside one that describes it. Then we’ll describe three more moments for three different questions, and you’ll write one yourself.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the move.

Read more

Once you’ve named a technique and said what it does, it’s hard to know what to write next. “This is very effective” feels like the end of the paragraph.

There is more to say, and it’s the part that shows what you think. The next step is to judge the technique, which means giving your opinion of the writer’s choice. So that’s what we’ll work on today, with the text behind every opinion.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• say how well a technique works, and point to the words that make it work

• suggest why the writer might have chosen it at that moment

• say what the scene would lose without it

• give your own response, marked as your view

• link one moment to the whole play or novel

In the full lesson, we’ll take one real Animal Farm question and put a weak paragraph beside a strong one. Then we’ll judge two more techniques in Twelfth Night, and you’ll write your own on the text you choose.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the question.

Read more

When a question asks you to discuss a character, it’s easy to pick a side early and stay on it. Malvolio is a proud killjoy, so whatever happens to him is funny. A paragraph like that is quick to write, and it shows only half of what you know.

The harder part is showing the other side and still saying what you think, while you keep answering the question you were asked. So that’s what we’ll work on today.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• explain exactly what the discuss part of a question asks about

• look at it from more than one side

• back each side with exact evidence from the text

• say where you stand, and give your reason

• keep your view apart from what the text actually says

In the full lesson, we’ll take one real question and put a one-sided paragraph about Malvolio beside a balanced one. Then we’ll weigh up a moment in Animal Farm, and you’ll try it yourself on a new question.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the question.

Read more

In the last part of an essay, it’s easy to name a technique and leave it there. “This is dramatic irony.” “Orwell uses repetition.” Those sentences show that you know the word. The name is only the start.

What counts is the next sentence. It says what the technique does to the audience or reader, and why that matters to the question. I call it the so what. So that’s what we’ll work on today, in Twelfth Night and in Animal Farm.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• build a device paragraph with the five S’s

• say what a technique does to the audience or reader at one moment

• tie that effect to the words of the question

• write the so what yourself on a moment you haven’t practised

In the full lesson, you’ll see a weak device paragraph beside a strong one on the opening lines of Twelfth Night. Then we’ll work through three more moments across both books, and you’ll write the so what yourself.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here’s the move.

Read more

Before you write a word of a Twelfth Night essay, you have to choose your scenes. A scene you remember well can still be the wrong one for the question.

Each question tells you who has to be in your scenes and how many you need. So we'll start there, list the scenes that might work and test each one.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• find the characters and the numbers a question asks for

• list the scenes that might answer it

• test each scene and drop the ones that don't fit

• explain your choice of scene in two or three sentences

• spot when a scene you know well is a poor choice

The full lesson works through a real question from start to finish. You'll see which scenes I'd use, which I'd leave out and why, and then you'll choose scenes for a new question yourself.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here's the question.

Read more

Two essay questions on Animal Farm can both ask for TWO incidents and ONE technique and still want different essays. If you write the essay you expected instead of the one in front of you, a lot of what you know won’t answer the question.

So today we’ll work on reading the question before you plan anything.

Here, you’ll take a question apart before you plan, so that your essay answers what was asked.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• find every instruction in an essay question, including small words like ONE, TWO and EACH

• say what describe, discuss and examine ask you to do

• choose the main point your whole essay will prove

• pick incidents that fit the question and leave out the ones that don’t

• turn a new question into an essay outline and write one part of it

In the full lesson, we’ll break down two real Animal Farm questions that look alike and see how the same incident has to be explained differently for each one. Then you’ll do it yourself on a question you haven’t seen here.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here are the two questions.

Read more

Naming the themes of Twelfth Night takes a few seconds. Love, disguise, class. Saying what the play says about each one takes longer, and that is what your essay needs.

So today we’ll go through the themes one at a time, with the moments and lines that carry each one, and turn them into arguments.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• tell a topic from a theme

• give the main themes of the play, each with moments and exact lines that prove it

• use the play’s background in a sentence, only where it helps

• turn a theme into the view your essay argues

In the full lesson, we take each main theme in turn, then the background that helps. Then you’ll plan an essay on a practice question.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. We’ll start with one word.

Read more

A Twelfth Night question will often name a character, or ask how one character is affected by another. Knowing what each person does is the start. The harder part is saying what kind of person they are, how they change, and how Shakespeare lets you see it.

So in this lesson we’ll go through the main characters, with exact lines to back up each point.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• say what each main character wants and how they change

• name a character’s trait in a word and back it up with a moment from the play

• show how Shakespeare reveals a character

• write a paragraph about how one character responds to another

In the full lesson, we start with Malvolio in full, then go through the others in the same shape. Then you’ll see a paragraph about how Viola responds to Olivia, and write one of your own.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Let’s start with how a play shows you a person.

Read more

Twelfth Night has a girl dressed as a boy, twins who look alike and three stories running at once. It's easy to mix up who did what, and in which act. An essay question can ask about moments from anywhere in the play.

So before we look closely at any one scene, we'll get the whole story straight.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• tell the whole play in five sentences, one for each act

• say who knows each of the play's secrets, and when it comes out

• put any key moment in its act and scene

• read a page of the script and put a line of Shakespeare into your own words

In the full lesson, we go through the play act by act, with the lines to know for each big moment. Then you'll tell the story from memory and pick moments for a real question.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here's the whole play in one minute.

Read more

Bonjour mes amis 👋🏽

Today we're writing a complete CSEC letter together: a letter to your cousin about the summer job you've just got. And we're going to use it to practise something you need to get comfortable doing in French: moving between tenses. In this letter, you're asked what the job is like now, what happened on your first day and what you're going to do with your pay. That's three different time frames — present, past and future — in about 150 words.

Today you'll write the whole letter, one point at a time, with each part in the tense it requires.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• write a French letter about a job that answers all four points, with the date, the opening and the ending in French;

• say what your job involves, your hours and your pay;

• say what you like and what you don't like about the job, and why;

• tell the story of your first day, with the right past tense for what happened and for how things were;

• say what you're going to do with your pay, in a tense that points to the future;

• keep the whole letter between 130 and 150 words.

In the full lesson you'll hear me read a complete letter. Then you'll plan a new letter out loud and write it on your own.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already one of my students, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here's the task. ✍🏽

Subscribe now

The task

This is a letter task from a past exam. Read it slowly, twice.

Use the following outline as a guide to write a letter in FRENCH, of NO MORE THAN 130–150 words.

You have just completed your exams and got a summer job. Write a letter to your cousin in France. Be sure to include

(i) details of the job (what it entails, salary, hours)

(ii) what you like and do not like about the job

(iii) a description of your first day on the job

(iv) what you will do with your salary.

(Do NOT write your real name and address, but include the date in FRENCH and use the appropriate beginning and ending.)

Before you write a word, look at what the task asks for.

You're writing to your cousin, so you use the tu forms all the way through: tu, te, ta, ton, tes.

Point (i) asks for three things: what you do, how much you earn and when you work. Leave one out and point (i) isn't finished.

Point (ii) asks for what you like and what you don't like. You need both.

Points (iii) and (iv) are where the tense changes. Your first day is over, so it goes in the past. Your salary plans haven't happened yet, so they point to the future.

A complete letter 🎧

Here's a letter I wrote for this task. I wrote it as a boy called Jordan, so the endings are masculine. If you're a girl, some words change, and I'll show you which ones.

Listen once without reading. Then listen again and read along.

Arima, le 18 juillet 2027

Chère Camille,

Comment vas-tu ? Mes examens sont finis et j'ai trouvé un petit boulot dans un camp de vacances pour enfants. Je surveille les petits et j'organise des jeux. Je travaille du lundi au vendredi, de huit heures à quinze heures, et je gagne vingt-cinq dollars de l'heure.

J'adore mon travail parce que les enfants sont drôles. Par contre, je n'aime pas me lever à six heures, et le bruit me fatigue.

Le premier jour, je suis arrivé à sept heures. J'étais très nerveux et il faisait chaud. La directrice m'a présenté aux autres moniteurs. À midi, un petit garçon est tombé. J'ai eu peur, mais il n'a pas pleuré.

Avec mon salaire, je vais acheter un ordinateur pour mes études. Je vais aussi mettre de l'argent de côté pour venir te voir en France l'été prochain.

Écris-moi vite !

Grosses bises,

Jordan

The whole letter is 147 words, counting the date, the opening and the ending.

If you need the English, here it is:

Arima, 18 July 2027. Dear Camille, How are you? My exams are over and I've found a summer job at a holiday camp for children. I look after the little ones and I organise games. I work Monday to Friday, from eight o'clock to three o'clock, and I earn twenty-five dollars an hour. I love my job because the children are funny. On the other hand, I don't like getting up at six o'clock, and the noise makes me tired. On the first day, I arrived at seven o'clock. I was very nervous and it was hot. The manager introduced me to the other camp leaders. At midday, a little boy fell. I got scared, but he didn't cry. With my salary, I'm going to buy a computer for my studies. I'm also going to put some money aside to come and see you in France next summer. Write back soon! Lots of love, Jordan

How the letter answers each point

I gave each point its own paragraph. You don't have to, but it makes the four points easy to see, and you can check each one before you finish.

Look at the verbs in each paragraph.

• Point (i), the job: je surveille, j'organise, je travaille, je gagne. All present, because this is what Jordan does every day.

• Point (ii), likes and dislikes: j'adore and je n'aime pas. Still present, because he still feels this way.

• Point (iii), the first day: je suis arrivé, m'a présenté, est tombé, j'ai eu peur for what happened. J'étais and il faisait for how things were.

• Point (iv), the salary: je vais acheter, je vais mettre. Aller in the present, then the verb you'd use.

The first line, j'ai trouvé un petit boulot, is in the past too. Jordan found the job before he wrote the letter, but he's still doing it, so everything else about the job stays in the present.

A quick layout check

Three things to get right before the first point.

The date. Write the town, a comma, then le, the number and the month. The month has no capital letter: Arima, le 18 juillet 2027. For the first of the month, write le 1er juillet.

The opening. Cher for a boy, Chère for a girl: Cher Lucas, Chère Camille. Check this one. It's easy to forget the second e.

The ending. One short line, then a goodbye, then a first name. The task says not to use your real name, so sign with any first name. For a cousin, Grosses bises or Je t'embrasse works. For a pen pal, Amitiés.

Point (i): the job, in the present

Jordan's job is still going on, so he describes it in the present. You need three details: what you do, your hours and your pay.

These words help with any job. They're a start, not a full list:

un petit boulot a summer or part-time job · le salaire the pay · les heures the hours · le patron / la patronne the boss · les clients the customers

For the hours and the pay, these patterns do the work:

Je travaille du lundi au vendredi.

Je travaille de huit heures à quinze heures.

Je gagne vingt-cinq dollars de l'heure / par semaine.

Here's a second job, at a hotel:

Je travaille dans un hôtel à Tobago. Je réponds au téléphone et j'accueille les clients. Je travaille de sept heures à quinze heures et je gagne quatre cents dollars par semaine.

And a third, at a garage:

Je travaille chez mon oncle qui est mécanicien. Je lave les voitures et je range les outils. Je commence à huit heures, je finis à midi, et il me donne deux cents dollars par semaine.

Each one says what the person does, when they work and what they earn. That's point (i) finished.

Point (ii): what you like and what you don't

You need both halves. J'aime or j'adore for the part you like, then je n'aime pas or je déteste for the part you don't. Give a reason with parce que where you can.

After j'aime, j'adore, je n'aime pas and je déteste, the next verb stays in the infinitive — the basic, unconjugated form of the verb you'd find in the dictionary:

Je n'aime pas me lever à six heures.

J'adore jouer avec les enfants.

The ne … pas goes around aime, and the verb after it stays as it is: je n'aime pas travailler.

Here's how the hotel worker might say it:

Ce que j'aime, c'est parler avec les touristes, parce que je pratique mon français. Mais je n'aime pas travailler le dimanche.

And the garage worker:

J'aime bien apprendre à réparer les moteurs. Par contre, je déteste avoir les mains sales.

Par contre (on the other hand) and mais (but) move you from the good part to the bad part.

Point (iii): your first day, in the past

This is the one point that needs two past tenses. Watch the card. The things that happened drop onto the line one after the other. The things that were true the whole time sit underneath.

The passé composé is for what happened: actions completed in the past that move the story forward.

je suis arrivé · la directrice m'a présenté · un petit garçon est tombé · j'ai eu peur · il n'a pas pleuré

The imparfait is used to describe how things were while those events took place: the weather, how you felt all morning, what the place was like. In other words, it sets the scene rather than moving the story forward.

j'étais très nerveux · il faisait chaud · il y avait beaucoup d'enfants

A feeling can go either way. J'étais très nerveux is how Jordan felt all morning, so it's imparfait. J'ai eu peur is what he felt at the moment the boy fell, so it's passé composé.

Most verbs use avoir in the passé composé: j'ai eu, il a pleuré. A few use être, and you'll need some of them to describe what happened on your first day at the job: arriver, partir, aller, venir, tomber, rester, entrer, sortir. So do verbs with me, te or se: je me suis levé.

With être, the ending matches the person. If you're a girl, you write je suis arrivée, with an extra e. The same goes for nerveux, which becomes nerveuse. And in la directrice m'a présentée, if the m' refers to a girl, you add the e there too. There's more on direct and indirect object pronouns in a later lesson.

Here's a second first day, at the hotel:

Le premier jour, il pleuvait et j'étais en retard. Quand je suis arrivée, la patronne m'a montré la réception.

And a third, at the garage:

Le premier jour, mon oncle m'a expliqué le travail. L'atelier était petit et il y avait beaucoup de bruit. Vers dix heures, j'ai cassé une bouteille d'huile.

Find the imparfait in each one before you move on. (pleuvait, étais; était, avait.)

Point (iv): your plans, with aller + infinitive

Your plans haven't happened yet. The simplest way to say what you're going to do is the present of aller, then the verb in the infinitive:

je vais acheter · je vais mettre de l'argent de côté · je vais donner un peu d'argent à ma mère

To say what you're not going to do, the ne … pas goes around vais:

Je ne vais pas tout dépenser.

You can also use the future tense (j'achèterai, je donnerai). If you do, check the accent on achèterai. I'd use aller + infinitive in this letter. It's easier to get right when you're writing quickly.

Give this point two or three sentences, with a reason. Jordan says what he'll buy, then what else he'll do with the money, and why.

Here's a second way to answer point (iv):

Avec mon salaire, je vais aider mes parents à payer mes livres. Je ne vais pas tout dépenser, parce que je veux faire des économies.

And a third:

Je vais acheter un téléphone, et je vais offrir un cadeau à ma grand-mère pour son anniversaire.

Count your words

I count every word I write, including the date, the opening and the ending, and I keep the total between 130 and 150. Count j'ai or l'heure as one word, the way it's written.

Plan your space before you start. Jordan's four points take 46, 24, 38 and 27 words. Point (i) is the longest because it has three details in it. Point (iv) still gets two full sentences.

If you go over 150, cut a detail from point (i) or (iii). Don't cut a whole point.

Practise one step at a time ✍🏽

Write your answers first. The answers are at the end of the lesson.

Listen and sort. 🎧 Play the recording. You'll hear six sentences. After each one, pause and say which part of the letter it belongs to: point (i), the job now; point (iii), the first day; or point (iv), your plans.

Put the verb in the right tense.

1. Je (travailler) _ dans un hôtel tous les jours sauf le dimanche.

2. Le premier jour, je (arriver) _ en retard.

3. Ce matin-là, il (pleuvoir) _ et il y (avoir) _ beaucoup de clients.

4. Le patron m'(expliquer) _ mon travail.

5. Avec mon salaire, je (acheter) _ un téléphone.

6. Je (gagner) _ trois cents dollars par semaine.

7. Ce jour-là, à midi, nous (manger) _ ensemble.

8. L'année prochaine, ma sœur (chercher) _ un petit boulot aussi.

Grow the last point. Point (iv) asks what you're going to do with your pay. Look at this answer:

Avec mon salaire, j'ai acheté des vêtements.

It has two problems. Find them, then rewrite point (iv) in two or three sentences.

Three mistakes to fix

1. The last point gets one sentence.

You write a lot for points (i) and (ii), then run out of words or ideas, and point (iv) gets one line. Point (iv) is where you can show the future tense, so give it room.

The fix: plan your words before you start, and keep about 25 to 30 words for point (iv).

✗ Avec mon salaire, je vais acheter un ordinateur.

✓ Avec mon salaire, je vais acheter un ordinateur pour mes études. Je vais aussi mettre de l'argent de côté pour venir te voir en France l'été prochain.

2. The passé composé for something that happened once in the past.

In English, "fell" and "was falling" both look like the past, so it's easy to grab the wrong French tense. If it happened once, as one step in the story, it's passé composé. Check the auxiliary verb too: tomber and arriver take être.

✗ À midi, un petit garçon *tombait.

✓ À midi, un petit garçon est tombé.

If you're describing background information on how things were at the time that something else happened, you use the imparfait.

3. Plans written in the past.

When you've spent the whole of point (iii) in the past, it's easy to stay there. But your salary hasn't been spent yet.

✗ Avec mon salaire, *j'ai acheté un vélo.

✓ Avec mon salaire, je vais acheter un vélo.

Your turn: a new letter

This is a new task I wrote in the same format. This time the job is in a shop.

Use the following outline as a guide to write a letter in FRENCH, of NO MORE THAN 130–150 words.

You have just finished your exams and got a part-time job in a shop. Write a letter to your pen pal in Guadeloupe. Be sure to include

(i) details of the job (the kind of shop, what you do, your hours and pay)

(ii) what you like and do not like about the job

(iii) a problem with a customer last Saturday and how you dealt with it

(iv) whether you will keep the job in September, and why.

(Do NOT write your real name and address, but include the date in FRENCH and use the appropriate beginning and ending.)

Look at what changed. Point (iii) is still a story in the past, but now it's about a customer. Point (iv) asks about September, and it asks why, so it needs a reason.

Say it first. 🎧 Play the recording. I'll ask you five questions about your shop job. Pause after each one and answer out loud in French. Then write.

Now write the letter. Don't look back at Jordan's letter while you write. When you've finished, check it:

• The date, the opening and the ending are in French.

• Point (i) has the kind of shop, what you do, your hours and your pay.

• Point (ii) has something you like and something you don't.

• Point (iii) tells what happened in the passé composé and how things were in the imparfait.

• Point (iv) says what you're going to do, and why.

• You used tu with your pen pal all the way through.

• The whole letter is between 130 and 150 words.

Then read your letter aloud once. You may catch an ending you missed.

Answers

Listen and sort.

1. Je vais mettre de l'argent de côté. (point iv: your plans)

2. Je suis arrivée à huit heures. (point iii: the first day)

3. Je travaille à la caisse. (point i: the job now)

4. Il y avait beaucoup de clients. (point iii: the first day)

5. Je gagne quatre cents dollars par semaine. (point i: the job now)

6. Je vais acheter un vélo. (point iv: your plans)

Put the verb in the right tense.

1. travaille (something you do every week, so present)

2. suis arrivé (a boy) or suis arrivée (a girl) (it happened once, and arriver takes être)

3. pleuvait, avait (how things were that morning, so imparfait)

4. a expliqué (one thing the boss did)

5. vais acheter (a plan). achèterai is also right.

6. gagne (your pay now)

7. avons mangé (one thing you did that day)

8. va chercher (a plan). cherchera is also right.

Grow the last point. There are two problems. J'ai acheté is in the past, but the salary plans haven't happened yet, and the whole point is one sentence. Here's one way to fix it:

Avec mon salaire, je vais acheter des vêtements pour l'école. Je vais aussi donner un peu d'argent à ma mère, parce qu'elle m'aide beaucoup.

Your version can be different. Check that it uses aller + infinitive, has at least two sentences and gives a reason.

Your new letter. Here's one possible letter. I wrote it as a girl called Tamara. Yours will say different things, and that's how it should be. Check your letter against the list above.

Chaguanas, le 2 août 2027

Chère Inès,

Merci pour ta lettre. J'ai un petit boulot dans un magasin de chaussures. J'aide les clients à trouver leur taille et je travaille à la caisse. Je travaille le vendredi et le samedi, de neuf heures à dix-huit heures, et je gagne cinq cents dollars par semaine.

J'aime parler avec les clients et mes collègues sont sympas. Par contre, je n'aime pas rester debout toute la journée.

Samedi dernier, il y avait beaucoup de monde. Une dame voulait rapporter des sandales, mais elle n'avait pas son ticket de caisse. Elle s'est fâchée et j'étais stressée. J'ai appelé la patronne, et la dame a choisi une autre paire.

En septembre, je vais garder ce travail, mais seulement le samedi, parce que je vais retourner à l'école. J'aurai besoin d'argent pour mes livres. Et toi, tu travailles ?

Amitiés,

Tamara

That's 144 words. Look at the tenses in point (iii). Il y avait, voulait, n'avait pas and j'étais are how things were. S'est fâchée, ai appelé and a choisi are what happened. Elle s'est fâchée uses être because of the se, and it ends in -e because the customer is a woman.

If a tense was wrong in your letter, go back to the point it belongs to and read that part of the lesson again. Then write that paragraph a second time.

Bring your letter to your live class. If you're not in a class, post it in the chat. I'll check the tense in each paragraph first. 👀

À très bientôt !

— Saf 💚

Got questions? Join the chat and let’s discuss.

You can write a good paragraph on each part of the question and still end up with an essay that reads like separate answers. Each paragraph starts from nowhere. Then the last paragraph says it all again, or stops without saying anything.

So in this lesson we'll work on the sentences that join your paragraphs, and on the paragraph that finishes the essay.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• start a paragraph with a sentence that shows why it follows the one before

• use words like "because", "so" and "but" for the reason they stand for

• write a conclusion that says what your paragraphs add up to

• write the links and the conclusion for an essay you haven't seen before

The full lesson takes real links and endings from two complete essays, one on Twelfth Night and one on Animal Farm, and shows what makes each one work. Then you'll write the missing links and the ending for a new Animal Farm essay.

If you are reading the free preview, subscribe to Arc to unlock the complete lesson. If you are already a paid member, keep going.

Grab a pen. Here's the first link.

Read more