TCF Canada writing · task 3
Low-cost flights: the task 3 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)
Les vols low-cost : avantages et limites
Document 1. Je voyage souvent avec des compagnies aériennes à petit prix. Les compagnies low-cost proposent des billets beaucoup moins chers que les compagnies classiques. Parfois, cela me revient même moins cher que de voyager en voiture ou en train. Mais avec ces tarifs très bas, il y a forcément un inconvénient : aucun service n’est inclus à bord (pas de repas ni de boissons). À mon avis, ce type de vol n’est donc pas adapté aux longs trajets.
Document 2. Dernièrement, j’ai décidé d’arrêter de voyager avec les compagnies aériennes low-cost. Après mûre réflexion, ce choix m’a paru évident : les sièges sont inconfortables, les employés travaillent dans des conditions difficiles et les avions semblent parfois trop vieux pour garantir une bonne sécurité. Désormais, pour mes déplacements, je préfère utiliser la voiture ou le train, qui permet d’admirer de beaux paysages. Pour les longs trajets, je choisirai plutôt une compagnie aérienne classique.
Translation
Low-cost flights: advantages and limits
Document 1. I often travel with budget airlines. Low-cost companies offer tickets that are much cheaper than traditional airlines. Sometimes it even costs me less than travelling by car or by train. But with such low fares there is inevitably a downside: no service is included on board (no meals or drinks). In my opinion, this type of flight is therefore not suited to long journeys.
Document 2. Recently, I decided to stop flying with low-cost airlines. After careful thought, the choice seemed obvious: the seats are uncomfortable, the staff work in difficult conditions and the planes sometimes seem too old to guarantee good safety. From now on, I prefer to travel by car or by train, which lets me admire beautiful scenery. For long journeys, I will choose a traditional airline instead.
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
- Present the first point of view in your own words: the price, sometimes lower than the car or the train, but no service on board.
- Present the second: lack of comfort, the staff’s working conditions, planes that seem old, hence the return to train and car.
- Spot the common ground: both writers advise against low-cost for long journeys. Saying so shows a careful reading.
- Take a position and defend it with an argument of your own: the environment, hidden fees, your own experience.
Who you are writing to. The prompt names no addressee: an argued text in a neutral tone, without « tu ». « À mon avis » or « pour ma part » make your position clear.
A plan in six steps
About 155 words, for a range of 120 to 180. The numbers for each step are guides; the word range itself is part of the instructions, and every point asked for must be covered. Suggested split: about 40 to 60 words to present the two documents, 80 to 120 for your opinion.
- Document 1. The price and the lack of services. about 25 words
- Document 2. Comfort, staff, the age of the planes, and the common ground. about 30 words
- Your position. One clear sentence, at the start of your part. about 15 words
- Your argument. A reason and an example that do not come from the documents. about 40 words
- The concession. What the other side gets right, then back to your position. about 30 words
- Conclude. A sentence that closes, or opens up. about 15 words
Vocabulary for this topic
B1 to B2 words and phrases to use in your text, not to pile up.
- une compagnie aérienne à bas prixa budget airline
- un billet bon marchéa cheap ticket
- les frais supplémentairesextra fees
- le confort à bordon-board comfort
- les conditions de travail du personnelthe staff’s working conditions
- une flotte vieillissantean ageing fleet
- garantir la sécuritéto guarantee safety
- un trajet court, un vol long-courriera short trip, a long-haul flight
- rendre le voyage accessible àto make travel affordable for
- le rapport qualité-prixvalue for money
- l’empreinte carbonecarbon footprint
- certes…, mais…admittedly…, but…
- il n’en reste pas moins quethe fact remains that
Three pitfalls on this topic
Copying the documents
« Les sièges sont inconfortables, les employés travaillent dans des conditions difficiles » is the document’s own sentence. Rephrase it: « le second auteur déplore le manque de confort et les conditions de travail du personnel ».
Missing the common ground
Both writers agree on one thing: no low-cost for long journeys. Pointing it out in one sentence is worth more than another line of summary.
Overstating what the writer says
The second document says the planes « semblent parfois trop vieux » to guarantee safety, not that they are dangerous. Keep the nuance: « selon lui, la sécurité ne serait pas toujours assurée ».
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.
- Le premier document met en avant le prix des vols à bas coût, parfois inférieur à celui du train ou de la voiture, tout en regrettant l’absence de services à bord.The first document highlights the price of budget flights, sometimes lower than the train or the car, while regretting the lack of on-board services.
- L’auteur du second texte, lui, y a renoncé : il juge les sièges inconfortables et s’inquiète des conditions de travail du personnel comme de l’âge des avions.The author of the second text has given them up: he finds the seats uncomfortable and worries about the staff’s working conditions as well as the age of the planes.
- Pour ma part, je pense que ces compagnies ont rendu le voyage accessible à beaucoup de gens, mais qu’elles ne conviennent qu’aux trajets courts.For my part, I think these airlines have made travel affordable for many people, but that they are only suitable for short trips.
Write it, then read your report
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