TCF Canada writing · task 2
A car-free week: the task 2 topic, and how to handle it
What it really asks, a plan, the vocabulary and the pitfalls, explained in English. No model answer to copy: you write the text yourself.
At a glance
The prompt, as candidates report it (in French, as on the exam)
Partagez votre expérience lors de l’événement « Une semaine sans voiture », incluant les dates, le lieu et les activités proposées, tout en donnant votre avis sur cette initiative.
Translation: Share your experience of the “Car-free week” event, including the dates, the place and the activities offered, while giving your opinion on this initiative.
Word counts: France Éducation international, the body that designs the TCF Canada. Reports: a public archive of topics reported by candidates since 2023, explained in the study of 642 topics.
What the prompt really asks
- The dates of the event.
- The place: your city, your neighbourhood, downtown.
- The activities offered: two or three, specific ones.
- Your experience: what you did, how you got around.
- Your opinion of the initiative, with one reason and one limit.
Who you are writing to. The prompt does not name the medium: write as if for readers (a blog, the local paper). « Vous » or an impersonal tone, never « tu ».
A plan in five steps
About 140 words, for a range of 120 to 150. The numbers for each step are guides; the word range itself is part of the instructions, and every point asked for must be covered.
- The setting. The dates, the place, who organized it. about 25 words
- The activities. What was on offer. about 30 words
- Your experience. Your own week, in the past tense. about 35 words
- Your opinion. What the initiative does well, then its limit. about 35 words
- Wrap up. A suggestion for what comes next. about 15 words
Vocabulary for this topic
B1 to B2 words and phrases to use in your text, not to pile up.
- une initiative de la mairiea city hall initiative
- du lundi 16 au dimanche 22 septembrefrom Monday, September 16 to Sunday, September 22
- le centre-ville était réservé aux piétonsdowntown was reserved for pedestrians
- les transports en commun étaient gratuitspublic transit was free
- une piste cyclablea bike lane
- un atelier de réparation de vélosa bike repair workshop
- se déplacer à pied, à véloto get around on foot, by bike
- laisser sa voiture au garageto leave one’s car at home
- l’air était plus respirablethe air was easier to breathe
- sensibiliser les habitants àto raise residents’ awareness of
- une mesure symboliquea symbolic measure
- à condition que + subjonctifprovided that
- prolonger l’expérienceto extend the experiment
Three pitfalls on this topic
Leaving out a listed point
The dates, the place, the activities: the prompt names them. A lively story that never says where or when does not answer the task.
An opinion with no reason
« C’est une bonne idée » is not enough. Say why, then what is missing: one week a year, and then what?
Writing a task 3 instead
This topic is not a debate about cars in cities. It is first a lived experience, in the past tense; the opinion comes after, and it is about this particular event.
B2-level sentences to inspire you
Two or three sentences, not a full answer: borrow the idea, not the words, and write the rest yourself.
- Du 16 au 22 septembre, notre centre-ville a été entièrement réservé aux piétons et aux cyclistes.From September 16 to 22, our downtown was reserved entirely for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Pour la première fois, j’ai laissé ma voiture au garage et je suis allé au travail à vélo : vingt minutes de trajet, sans un seul embouteillage.For the first time, I left my car at home and cycled to work: a twenty-minute ride without a single traffic jam.
- L’initiative est excellente pour sensibiliser les habitants, à condition qu’elle ne reste pas un simple événement d’une semaine par an.The initiative is excellent for raising residents’ awareness, provided it does not remain a one-week event once a year.
Write it, then read your report
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