Writing — Task 2 (8 marks), in the spirit of the 2023 contrôle paper
II. WRITING — Task 2 (8 marks)
During the winter holidays, you spent a long weekend with your family in a small family-run guesthouse in the mountains of Ain Draham, in the north-west of Tunisia. It was a trip you will never forget.
Back home, you want your friends to live the same experience. Write a post for your blog in which you describe your stay and give at least three reasons why you recommend this guesthouse. Do not exceed 12 lines.
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1. Read the instruction as a checklist. Idea: the adherence marks reward what the instruction asks and counts, so list its parts before planning: (a) describe the stay — when, where, with whom, what you did; (b) at least three reasons to recommend this guesthouse — features of the place, not a general praise of the region; (c) the genre — a blog post, with a title and readers addressed as friends; (d) the limit — twelve lines at most.
2. Share the twelve lines. Idea: decide before writing how many lines each part gets, so that the account does not eat the reasons.
| Lines | Content |
|---|---|
| title | a short title that names the place |
| 1–3 | the stay: when, where, with whom (past simple) |
| 4–10 | three reasons, each linked to something you lived there |
| 11–12 | the recommendation proper and one practical tip for the readers |
3. Model post (twelve handwritten lines at most).
Winter magic in Ain Draham
During the winter holidays, my parents, my sister and I spent three days at a small family-run guesthouse in the forests of Ain Draham, and I am still dreaming about it. Here are three reasons why you should book it for your next trip. First, the setting is magical: our room looked out on the cork oaks, and on the second morning we woke up to snow on the hills. Second, the owners made us feel at home. Mrs Ayari cooked delicious traditional dishes with vegetables from her garden, and her husband took us on a long walk to a viewpoint over the valley. Third, the prices are reasonable and breakfast and dinner are included, so it is perfect for a family on a budget. If you love nature and peace, go there in winter or spring, and book early — there are only six rooms!
4. What is credited — criteria printed for task 2 of the scientific paper in the official corrections (2019 principale, 2022 principale):
- Adherence to task and content adequacy (3 marks). The stay is described (winter holidays, the family, three days, the walk, the snow) and three distinct reasons are counted — the setting, the welcome, the price — each backed by a detail that was lived; the post has a title, speaks to its readers (you should book it) and stays within twelve lines.
- Lexical appropriacy and grammar accuracy (3 marks). Past simple for the account (spent, woke up, cooked, took), present simple for what the place offers (the prices are reasonable), should and imperatives for the advice (go there, book early); travel words (book, guesthouse, room, trip).
- Mechanical accuracy (punctuation, capitalization and spelling) (2 marks). Capitals for Ain Draham, Mrs Ayari and the title, a comma after First and Second, the spelling of delicious, reasonable, guesthouse.
5. A copy that tells but does not recommend. Idea: compare with a copy whose English is correct but which spends every line on the account.
During the winter holidays, I went to Ain Draham with my family. We left Tunis early in the morning and arrived at noon. The guesthouse was in the forest. On the first day we walked in the forest and we ate a lot. On the second day it snowed and we played in the snow. On the third day we went back home. It was a very nice trip and the place is beautiful.
The account is clear, in the right past tenses, but the recommendation shrinks to « the place is beautiful »: one vague reason instead of at least three, and nothing that tells the reader why this guesthouse. With no title and no you, it reads as a diary entry, not a blog post, so the adherence marks go even though the grammar is clean.