Charity and Voluntary Work
GCSE French's writing task on charity and voluntary work covers helping in the local community, volunteering for a cause, and raising money for good causes in the UK or in French-speaking countries. Examiners test whether a student can describe volunteering habits in the present tense, narrate a specific act of charity or a fundraising event in the perfect tense, and set out future volunteering plans in the near future or conditional, while giving a justified opinion on why charity work matters, using a subordinate clause, connectives and an impersonal structure such as il faut or il est important de, and keeping verb endings, agreement and accents accurate.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Underline what each bullet requires (a volunteering habit, a past fundraising event, an opinion on charity, a future plan) before planning your sentences.
- Assign a tense per bullet: present tense for regular habits (je fais du bénévolat, je donne de l'argent), perfect tense for a specific past event (j'ai participé, nous avons organisé une collecte), and near future or conditional for a future plan (je vais aider, j'aimerais faire du bénévolat).
- Give an opinion with je pense que or à mon avis plus parce que, e.g. 'à mon avis, il est essentiel d'aider les autres parce que tout le monde mérite du soutien.'
- Add a subordinate clause with qui, que or pour qui, e.g. 'je fais du bénévolat dans un refuge pour animaux qui a toujours besoin de volontaires.'
- Vary connectives (mais, donc, de plus, par exemple, ainsi) and vocabulary of helping (aider, soutenir, faire un don, collecter de l'argent, sensibiliser).
- Include an impersonal structure such as il faut, il est important de or on devrait to make a general point about charity.
- Check verb endings on -er verbs like donner and collecter, agreement on any être verbs in the perfect tense, and accents on words like bénévolat, généreux and association before the final draft.
Worked example
Write about charity and voluntary work in French. Mention: whether you do any voluntary work and what it involves; a fundraising event you took part in recently; why you think charity work is important; something you would like to do to help others in the future. Write approximately 40 words.
- Plan: bullet 1 = present tense; bullet 2 = perfect tense; bullet 3 = opinion with an impersonal structure; bullet 4 = conditional or near future.
- Build bullet 1: 'Je fais du bénévolat dans une banque alimentaire une fois par mois.' - present tense, specific frequency.
- Build bullet 2: 'Le mois dernier, mon école a organisé une collecte de fonds pour une association caritative.' - perfect tense with avoir.
- Build bullet 3: 'À mon avis, il est essentiel d'aider les personnes dans le besoin parce que la solidarité rend la société plus juste.' - impersonal structure, justification.
- Build bullet 4: 'Un jour, j'aimerais faire du bénévolat à l'étranger pour aider des enfants défavorisés.' - conditional, purpose clause with pour plus infinitive.
- Check accuracy: organisé keeps its accent and the correct -é ending after avoir, bénévolat and caritative are spelled with the right accents, and défavorisés agrees with the plural noun enfants before the final write-up.
Practice questions
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Q1Give the perfect tense of 'organiser' for 'nous'.Show answer
Answer: nous avons organisé.
Q2Translate into French: 'I would like to volunteer at a hospital.'Show answer
Answer: J'aimerais faire du bénévolat dans un hôpital.
Q3Give one French phrase meaning 'to raise money'.Show answer
Answer: collecter de l'argent (or faire une collecte de fonds).
Q4Fill the gap: 'Chaque année, mes camarades et moi ___ (organiser) une vente de gâteaux.'Show answer
Answer: organisons - the nous form of organiser.
Q5Give a French word for 'generous'.Show answer
Answer: généreux (masculine) / généreuse (feminine).
Q6Correct the error: 'Il faut aider les gens qui ont besoins d'aide.'Show answer
Answer: Il faut aider les gens qui ont besoin d'aide - besoin is invariable in this expression and does not take a final s.
Q7Write one sentence explaining why volunteering can benefit the volunteer as well as others.Show answer
Answer: Faire du bénévolat permet non seulement d'aider les autres, mais aussi de se sentir utile et de rencontrer de nouvelles personnes.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Write about charity work in French. Mention: any voluntary work you do and how often; a charity event you took part in recently; your opinion on why charity work is important; how you would like to help others in the future. Write approximately 40 words in French.
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Write an article for a charity newsletter. Mention: what motivates you or young people in general to help others; a specific example of voluntary work or fundraising you or your school has done; the impact this had on the people helped; your opinion on whether schools should make voluntary work compulsory; your plans to continue helping others in the future. Write approximately 90 words in French.
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See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the charity and voluntary work worksheet pack - 8 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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