EDU-HEducation, Lifelong Learning and Careers

Guided writing: a five-line biography from notes

Idée directrice

Task 1 of the Writing section sometimes replaces the campaign table with the life of a person: a playwright, the first Tunisian woman doctor, a Nobel-prize chemist. The notes give birth, education, career and achievement; the paragraph must turn them into five connected lines in the past tense, in chronological order, without adding a fact the table does not contain.

Signature de reconnaissance — l'énoncé se trahit ainsi

« Use the notes below to write a short biography of » ; « Use the notes below to write a five-line paragraph about Tawhida Ben Sheikh » ; « write a five-line biography of the Tunisian chemist »

Sujet principal

Writing — Task 1 (guided writing, 5 marks)

1 questionCorrigé masqué

II - Writing (Task 1, 5 marks). Use the notes below to write a five-line biography of Marie Curie.

Birth	7 November 1867 / Warsaw, Poland
Studies	student of physics and mathematics / Sorbonne, Paris / 1891–1894
Career	physicist and chemist / research on radioactivity with her husband Pierre
Achievements	Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 / Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911 / first person to win two Nobel Prizes
Death	4 July 1934 / France

Use all the prompts, respect the chronological order and add nothing that is not in the table. Marks: adherence to task and use of the prompts (2), language (2), mechanics (1).

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Model paragraph

Marie Curie was born on 7 November 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. From 1891 to 1894 she studied physics and mathematics at the Sorbonne in Paris. She became a physicist and a chemist and carried out research on radioactivity with her husband Pierre. Her work earned her the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911, which made her the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. She died in France on 4 July 1934.

Move 1 — Appropriate use of the prompts (EN-WRIT-01). Five rows, five sentences, in the order of the table: birth, studies, career, achievements, death. Every date and place of the notes is reused; no invented detail about her childhood or her daughters.

Move 2 — Language, grammar and vocabulary (EN-WRIT-03). A biography lives in the past simple (was born, studied, became, earned, died); the relative clause which made her… links the two prizes to the record; carried out research replaces the bare note research.

Move 3 — Mechanics of writing (EN-WRIT-04). Capital letters on names, cities, months and Nobel Prize; commas after the dates; one sentence per line, no slashes copied from the table.

Exercices d'entraînement — une nuance à la fois

Entraînement 01 / 02

Drill EDU-H.1 — A Tunisian pioneer

1 questionCorrigé masqué

II - Writing (Task 1, 5 marks). Use the notes below to write a five-line paragraph about Tawhida Ben Sheikh.

Birth	2 January 1909 / Tunis
Studies	medical student / Paris / graduated 1936
Career	first Tunisian woman doctor / paediatrics / family planning
Recognition	portrait on the 10-dinar banknote / 2020
Death	6 December 2010 / Tunis

Use every prompt in chronological order and invent nothing.

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Model paragraph

Tawhida Ben Sheikh was born in Tunis on 2 January 1909. She studied medicine in Paris and graduated in 1936, becoming the first Tunisian woman doctor. During her career she worked in paediatrics and devoted herself to family planning. In 2020, Tunisia honoured her by putting her portrait on the 10-dinar banknote. She died in Tunis on 6 December 2010.

Move 1 — Appropriate use of the prompts (EN-WRIT-01). Every row appears once and in order; the recognition row is placed after the career because the table gives it that way, even though the date follows her death.

Move 2 — Language, grammar and vocabulary (EN-WRIT-03). Past simple throughout, a participle clause (becoming the first…) to avoid a fourth short sentence, devoted herself to for the bare note family planning.

Move 3 — Mechanics of writing (EN-WRIT-04). Capital letters on Tunis, Paris, Tunisia; figures written as in the notes; no slash left in the text.

Entraînement 02 / 02

Drill EDU-H.2 — A statesman in five lines

1 questionCorrigé masqué

II - Writing (Task 1, 5 marks). Use the notes below to write a short biography of Nelson Mandela.

Birth	18 July 1918 / Mvezo, South Africa
Studies	law student / University of the Witwatersrand
Career	lawyer / leader of the struggle against apartheid
Imprisonment	27 years / released 1990
Achievements	Nobel Peace Prize 1993 / first Black president of South Africa 1994–1999
Death	5 December 2013 / Johannesburg

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Model paragraph

Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in Mvezo, South Africa. He was a law student at the University of the Witwatersrand, then became a lawyer and the leader of the struggle against apartheid. Because of this fight he spent 27 years in prison and was released in 1990. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and served as the first Black president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He died in Johannesburg on 5 December 2013.

Move 1 — Appropriate use of the prompts (EN-WRIT-01). Five rows in order, every figure reused; the cause link Because of this fight is allowed because it only connects two rows of the table.

Move 2 — Language, grammar and vocabulary (EN-WRIT-03). Passive voice where the notes imply it (was released, was awarded), served as for the presidency, from … to for the dates.

Move 3 — Mechanics of writing (EN-WRIT-04). Capital letter on Black as printed in the notes, commas after the dates, no abbreviation.

Méthode / Automatismes

Order the rows in time before writing: birth → studies → career → achievements → death.
One row = one sentence in the past simple; join two short rows with and or a relative clause.
Turn note verbs into full forms: research → carried out research, award → was awarded.
Reuse every figure and place name exactly; the marker ticks the prompts one by one.
Stop at five lines: more sentences mean invented facts.

Pièges classiques

Copying the notes with their slashes (physicist / chemist / radioactivity) is the commonest loss: the task is a paragraph, not a card. The second is the present tense (She is born in 1867) or a wrong passive (She awarded the Nobel Prize).