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Lesson 4 of 5La francophonie and Real-World Texts
Unit 5 · Lesson 4 of 5

Writing in French: From Ideas to a Polished Paragraph

Good writing in French is a process: plan for a purpose and an audience, sort your ideas with a graphic organiser, draft with opinion phrases such as à mon avis and il est important de, then revise the ideas and correct the language with a checklist.

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Key things to remember

  1. 1Five stages: planifier, rédiger un brouillon, réviser, corriger, publier — and go back as often as needed.
  2. 2Before writing, decide your purpose (informer, raconter, décrire, convaincre, divertir) and your audience (tu or vous).
  3. 3Opinion openers: À mon avis, Selon moi, Personnellement, Pour ma part, Quant à moi, followed by a comma and your sentence (no que).
  4. 4Il est important de + infinitive (d' before a vowel); il faut + infinitive; je pense / je crois que + sentence.
  5. 5Paragraph: opinion sentence → arguments with examples (D'abord, De plus) → the other side (Par contre, Cependant) → conclusion (Pour conclure, En résumé).
  6. 6Réviser = improve the ideas and organisation; corriger = fix agreement, accents, verb tenses and spelling.

Writing a paragraph in French can feel like doing two hard things at once: deciding what to say and figuring out how to say it in another language. Trying to do both at the same moment is why a blank page feels so heavy. Experienced writers split the job into stages. First they plan: why am I writing, who will read it, and what are my ideas? Then they write a fast draft without worrying about mistakes. Then they revise the ideas, and only at the end do they correct the grammar, accents and spelling. Working this way also protects you from a common trap: writing a long, complicated sentence in English and then translating it word by word into French, which almost always produces errors. Instead, you build your text from French structures you already control. This lesson walks through the five stages and gives you a set of opinion phrases that make your writing sound confident and organised.

Writing in French: five stagesStageWhat you doUseful Frenchgo back as needed1PlanifierplanPurpose: why am I writing?Audience: who will read it?Sort ideas: web, T-chartMon sujet: … = my topicMon but: … = my goalinformer, convaincre, raconter2Rédiger un brouillonwrite a draftWrite full sentences, fastMain idea, then reasonsFix errors later, not nowÀ mon avis, … = in my opinionPersonnellement, … = personallyPour ma part, … = for my part3Réviserrevise the ideasAdd, cut or reorder ideasLink ideas with connectorsVary how sentences startDe plus, … = moreoverPar contre, … = howeverIl est important de lire.It is important to read.4Corrigeredit the languageAgreement: le/la, -e, -sAccents and verb tensesSpelling: use a dictionaryles accordsles accentsles temps des verbesl'orthographe5PublierpublishWrite a clean final copyAdd a title and imagesShare it with your readerPour conclure, … = to concludeEn résumé, … = in short
Fig 1The five stages: planifier, rédiger un brouillon, réviser, corriger, publier. The dashed arrow is a reminder that you can go back to the draft as many times as you need.

Stage 1: Purpose and audience

Purpose (le but)Text formsUseful language
informer (to inform)un article, un rapport, une brochurefacts, numbers, il y a, par exemple
raconter (to tell a story)un récit, un blogue de voyagepassé composé and imparfait, d'abord, ensuite, enfin
décrire (to describe)un portrait, une annonceadjectives (with agreement), prepositions of place
convaincre (to persuade)une lettre d'opinion, une publicitéà mon avis, il faut + infinitive, il est important de + infinitive
divertir (to entertain)une histoire, une bande dessinéedialogue, humour, a surprise ending
Ask two questions before you write: why am I writing (purpose), and who will read it (audience)? A classmate gets tu and a relaxed tone; the city council, a camp director or any adult you do not know gets vous and full, careful sentences.

Stage 1, continued: Sort your ideas

  • La carte d'idées (idea web): put the topic in the middle and branch out with every idea you have. Good for brainstorming and description.
  • Le tableau en T (T-chart): two columns, pour and contre (for and against). Good for opinion writing, because you see both sides before you choose.
  • Le diagramme de Venn: two overlapping circles to compare two things (two cities, two cultures, two jobs).
  • Le plan (outline): a numbered list — introduction, argument 1, argument 2, conclusion. Turn your web or T-chart into a plan before you draft.
Pour (for a ban)Contre (against a ban)
Les bouteilles en plastique polluent les lacs.C'est pratique pendant un tournoi sportif.
L'eau du robinet est gratuite.Certains élèves oublient leur bouteille.
Une bouteille réutilisable dure des années.Il n'y a pas assez de fontaines d'eau.
A T-chart for the topic: should our school say no to plastic water bottles? Writing the ideas as short French sentences now saves you work when you draft.

Stage 2: Draft with opinion phrases

FrenchEnglishExample
À mon avis, …In my opinion, …À mon avis, le recyclage est essentiel.
Selon moi, …In my view, …Selon moi, les devoirs sont utiles.
Personnellement, …Personally, …Personnellement, je préfère l'eau du robinet.
Pour ma part, …For my part, …Pour ma part, je vais à l'école à pied.
Quant à moi, …As for me, … (contrasting with others)Mes amis prennent l'autobus. Quant à moi, je prends mon vélo.
Je pense que / Je crois que + sentenceI think / I believe that …Je pense que c'est une bonne idée.
Je suis d'accord / Je ne suis pas d'accord (avec …)I agree / I disagree (with …)Je suis d'accord avec Léa.
Il est important de + infinitiveIt is important to …Il est important de boire de l'eau.
Il faut + infinitiveWe have to … / One must …Il faut protéger les lacs.
Vary your opinion phrases: a paragraph that starts three sentences with je pense que sounds repetitive.
Three small words that matter
De after il est important: Il est important de recycler — not important pour or important à in front of the infinitive — and de becomes d' before a vowel: Il est important d'apprendre une autre langue. Que after penser and croire can never be dropped before a full sentence, even though English drops that: Je pense que c'est utile (I think it's useful). But à mon avis, selon moi and personnellement are followed directly by your sentence, with a comma and no que: À mon avis, c'est utile.

Stage 2, continued: Build the paragraph

  1. Une phrase d'introduction (topic sentence) that states your opinion: À mon avis, …
  2. Argument 1 with an example: D'abord, … Par exemple, …
  3. Argument 2 with an example: De plus, … or Ensuite, …
  4. Optional: the other side, and your answer to it: Par contre, … or Cependant, …
  5. Une conclusion that sums up or calls for action: Pour conclure, … or En résumé, …
Les bouteilles d'eau en plastique : non merci !
À mon avis, notre école doit dire non aux bouteilles d'eau en plastique. D'abord, ces bouteilles polluent les lacs et les océans, et beaucoup ne sont jamais recyclées. De plus, l'eau du robinet est gratuite et très bonne dans notre ville. Personnellement, j'apporte une bouteille réutilisable tous les jours, et c'est facile. Par contre, certains élèves oublient leur bouteille, alors il est important d'installer plus de fontaines d'eau dans l'école. Pour conclure, je pense que chaque élève peut faire un petit geste pour la planète.

Translation: In my opinion, our school must say no to plastic water bottles. First, these bottles pollute lakes and oceans, and many are never recycled. Moreover, tap water is free and very good in our city. Personally, I bring a reusable bottle every day, and it's easy. On the other hand, some students forget their bottle, so it is important to install more water fountains in the school. To conclude, I think every student can make a small gesture for the planet. Look at the structure: the first sentence gives the opinion, D'abord and De plus introduce two arguments, Par contre admits the other side and answers it, and Pour conclure wraps up. Every sentence uses grammar from this course — present tense, il est important de, je pense que — and nothing was translated word by word.

ABrouillon (first draft)
  • a mon avis, notre école doit dire non aux bouteilles.
  • Les bouteilles pollue les lacs.
  • L'eau du robinet est gratuit.
  • Il est important installer des fontaines.
  • Je pense c'est une bonne idée.
  • Beaucoup des élèves oublient leur bouteille.
BVersion corrigée (edited)
  • À mon avis, … — capital letter, and keep the accent on the capital À
  • Les bouteilles polluent les lacs. — a plural subject needs a plural verb
  • L'eau du robinet est gratuite. — eau is feminine
  • Il est important d'installer des fontaines. — de + infinitive, elided before a vowel
  • Je pense que c'est une bonne idée. — que is never dropped
  • Beaucoup d'élèves oublient leur bouteille. — beaucoup de, with no article
The Corriger checklist
Read your draft several times, looking for one thing at a time. 1. Les accords: does every adjective agree with its noun (la ville est belle), and every verb with its subject (les élèves sont)? 2. Les accents: é, è, à, ç, including on capitals (À mon avis). 3. Les temps des verbes: present for opinions, passé composé for single past events. 4. L'orthographe: check the gender and spelling of any noun you are unsure of in a dictionary. Finally, read the paragraph aloud: if a sentence makes you stumble, it probably needs fixing.

Worked examples

Reveal one step at a time and try to beat it to the next line.

Example 1
You want to ask your city council for more bike paths (pistes cyclables). Plan the text: purpose, audience, register and form.
Example 2
Write in French: I think it's important to walk to school.
Example 3
Correct the draft sentence: Personnellement, je pense que les pistes cyclable est important.

Where marks get lost

  • Writing Il est important pour recycler (copying English important for). The structure is il est important de + infinitive: Il est important de recycler.
  • Dropping que: Je pense c'est une bonne idée. French always needs it: Je pense que c'est une bonne idée.
  • Adding que after an opener: À mon avis que c'est utile. Openers take a comma, not que: À mon avis, c'est utile.
  • Writing the whole paragraph in English and translating it word by word. Plan in French with structures you know, and use the dictionary to check words, not whole sentences.
  • Switching between tu and vous in the same letter. Choose the register for your audience once and keep it all the way through.

Flashcards 8

The five stages of writing (in French)
un brouillon
In my opinion · Personally · For my part · As for me
It is important to recycle.
+ 4 more

Practice

1
Which phrase means As for me, used to contrast your view with other people's?
2
Fill in the missing word: Il est important ___ recycler le papier.
3
Write the missing word and the verb apprendre as one answer: Il est important ___ une autre langue.
4
You are writing to your city council to ask for a new skate park. What is your main purpose?
5
Which graphic organiser is best for sorting arguments for and against an idea?
6
Put the stages of the writing process in order.
  1. 1publier
  2. 2corriger
  3. 3réviser
  4. 4planifier
  5. 5rédiger un brouillon
7
Correct the adjective: L'eau du robinet est gratuit. Type only the corrected adjective.
8
Correct the verb: Les élèves est d'accord avec le projet. Type only the corrected verb.
9
Match each connector to its job in a paragraph.
D'abord
De plus
Par contre
Par exemple
Pour conclure
10
Which sentence is correct?
11
What is the difference between réviser and corriger in the writing process?

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