Every real piece of writing has a purpose (to inform, persuade, apply, ask), an audience (a friend, an employer, the readers of a local newspaper) and a form (an email, a letter, a survey, an opinion piece). Those three choices decide everything else: tu or vous, familiar or formal vocabulary, short or long sentences, which fixed formulas to use. This lesson works through three forms you are likely to need: a cover letter for a summer job or volunteer position, a survey for a community project, and an opinion text for a blog or a newspaper. French formal writing relies on set phrases more than English does, especially at the beginning and end of a letter, so learning them is not copying: it is exactly what a francophone writer does.
| Audience and purpose | Register | Choices |
|---|---|---|
| a friend: invite, share news | familier or courant | tu; Salut!; À plus!; idioms welcome |
| an employer: apply for a job | soutenu | vous; Madame, Monsieur,; the conditionnel of politeness; a fixed closing formula |
| the public: a survey | courant, neutral | vous; one idea per question; no loaded words |
| newspaper readers: persuade | courant to soutenu | a clear thesis; connectors; je is allowed but arguments rest on facts |
The cover letter
A cover letter goes with your CV (curriculum vitæ; the French word résumé means a summary, not a CV). In Canada it is usually called une lettre de présentation (also lettre d'accompagnement); in France, une lettre de motivation. It fits on one page and has three or four short paragraphs: why you are writing, what you offer, why this organisation interests you, and a request for an interview. Canadian French says une entrevue for a job interview; France says un entretien.
| Part | Formula | English |
|---|---|---|
| Place and date | Sudbury, le 5 octobre 2026 | Sudbury, October 5, 2026 (month in lower case, le before the day) |
| Subject line | Objet : Candidature au poste de moniteur de camp | Re: Application for the position of camp counsellor |
| Salutation | Madame, / Monsieur, / Madame, Monsieur, (name unknown) | Dear Madam / Sir; no Cher or Chère for someone you do not know |
| Opening | J'ai lu avec intérêt votre offre d'emploi publiée sur…, et je souhaite poser ma candidature au poste de… | I read with interest your job posting on…, and I wish to apply for the position of… |
| What you offer | Je suis actuellement en 11e année. L'été dernier, j'ai travaillé comme bénévole… Je suis bilingue, ponctuel(le) et… | I am currently in Grade 11. Last summer I volunteered… I am bilingual, punctual and… |
| Why them | Votre organisme m'intéresse particulièrement parce que… | Your organisation particularly interests me because… |
| Request | Je serais heureux / heureuse de vous rencontrer en entrevue. | I would be happy to meet you for an interview. |
| Closing formula | Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués. or Veuillez agréer, Madame, mes salutations distinguées. | Yours sincerely (literally: please accept, Madam, Sir, the expression of my distinguished sentiments) |
Three small things that make a letter look professional
Use the conditionnel of politeness for requests and availability: Je serais disponible à partir du 25 juin (I would be available from June 25), Pourriez-vous…? Keep vous everywhere, including possessives (votre offre, vos besoins). Avoid familiar words: not super, génial or job, but un emploi, un poste, enrichissant (rewarding). And since an English résumé is a French CV, never write mon résumé in a job application.
| Question type | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| closed (yes / no) | Utilisez-vous le transport en commun? | Do you use public transit? |
| multiple choice | Combien d'heures par semaine faites-vous du bénévolat? (a) aucune (b) 1 à 3 (c) plus de 3 | How many hours a week do you volunteer? (a) none (b) 1 to 3 (c) more than 3 |
| scale | Sur une échelle de 1 à 5, dans quelle mesure êtes-vous satisfait(e) des parcs de votre quartier? | On a scale of 1 to 5, to what extent are you satisfied with the parks in your neighbourhood? |
| opinion | Croyez-vous que la ville fasse assez pour les jeunes? | Do you believe the city does enough for young people? |
| open | Quels changements permettraient d'améliorer la bibliothèque municipale? | What changes would improve the public library? |
Neutral, not leading
A good survey question does not push the answer. Ne pensez-vous pas que ce projet coûteux est une perte de temps? (Don't you think this expensive project is a waste of time?) is leading: the negative question and the loaded words coûteux and perte de temps tell people what to answer. A neutral version: Que pensez-vous du projet de nouveau centre sportif? (What do you think of the new sports centre project?) Ask one idea per question, use vous for an anonymous public, and offer answer choices that do not overlap.
The opinion text
- Introduction: a hook (a question, a fact, a proverb), the context, then your thesis in one sentence: Selon moi, la ville devrait prolonger les heures d'ouverture de la bibliothèque.
- Arguments (two or three paragraphs): one argument per paragraph, each supported by an example or a fact: D'abord, … Par exemple, … De plus, …
- Concession and refutation: show you know the other side, then answer it: Certes, cela coûterait de l'argent, mais… / Il est vrai que…; cependant…
- Conclusion: restate the thesis in new words and end with a call to action or a wider thought: Bref, … J'invite donc le conseil municipal à…
| Function | Connectors | Example |
|---|---|---|
| add an argument | d'abord, de plus, en outre, également | De plus, la bibliothèque offre un lieu calme pour étudier. → Moreover, the library offers a quiet place to study. |
| contrast | cependant, pourtant, en revanche, par contre | Cependant, le budget est limité. → However, the budget is limited. |
| cause | parce que, puisque, car | …car beaucoup d'élèves n'ont pas d'endroit calme à la maison. → …because many students have no quiet place at home. |
| consequence | donc, c'est pourquoi, par conséquent | Par conséquent, il faut agir. → Consequently, we must act. |
| compare | comme, ainsi que, de même que, contrairement à, semblable à, pareil à | Contrairement à la ville voisine, notre ville ferme sa bibliothèque à 17 h. → Unlike the neighbouring town, our town closes its library at 5 p.m. |
| conclude | en conclusion, bref, en somme | Bref, c'est un investissement pour l'avenir. → In short, it's an investment in the future. |
Punctuation changes meaning
AThe colon: the chef is speaking
- Le chef dit : l'apprenti est bavard.
- → The chef says: the apprentice is talkative.
- On mange, les enfants!
- → Let's eat, kids! (the comma shows you are talking to the children)
BTwo commas: the apprentice is speaking
- Le chef, dit l'apprenti, est bavard.
- → The chef, says the apprentice, is talkative.
- On mange les enfants!
- → We're eating the kids! (no comma: the children become the meal)
Spaces around punctuation: Québec and France
French puts a space before a colon (Objet : candidature) and spaces inside guillemets (« Bonjour »). Before ; ! ? the conventions differ: the Office québécois de la langue française recommends no space (Vraiment?), though it accepts a thin space where your software has one, while typographic guides in France call for a thin space (Vraiment ?). Pick one convention and use it consistently through the whole text.
- Plan: name your purpose, audience and form; brainstorm; make an outline (thesis, arguments, examples).
- Draft: write quickly from the outline without stopping to correct.
- Revise (content): Is the thesis clear? Does every paragraph support it? Is the register right for the reader?
- Edit (language): accents, agreement of adjectives and past participles, verb tenses and moods (subjonctif after il faut que), tu / vous consistency, punctuation.
- Publish: clean final copy; read it aloud once more.
- Retelling from another point of view (a classic task): change the narrator and everything that follows from it, pronouns, possessives, what the narrator can know and feel. Le Tintamarre raconté par une grand-mère de Caraquet would use je, the imparfait for memories (Quand j'étais petite, on…) and her feelings.