Education and work: Extended writing (levelled)
Extended writing for Theme 3, 'Education and work', is the longest, highest-tariff GCSE writing task, and it is marked using levels rather than a simple points checklist: examiners place the whole answer into a level (typically Level 1 to Level 4) for content, a level for range of language, and a level for accuracy, then convert each level into a mark within that band, rather than awarding one mark per fact. It rewards a student who can write about school, work experience, part-time jobs and career ambitions using several tenses (present, perfect, imperfect, future and conditional), develop opinions with justification and a counterpoint, use complex sentences with subordinate clauses and impersonal structures, and sustain accuracy across a much longer piece of continuous writing than the shorter bullet-point tasks.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the task and the bullet points twice: the first time to understand the overall topic, the second time to underline the specific instruction in each bullet, since a levelled mark scheme still requires every bullet to be covered for the top content level.
- Plan before writing: allocate one short paragraph to each bullet point, and for each paragraph decide the main tense (present for current situation, perfect for a past event, imperfect for background description, near future/simple future/conditional for plans), so that by the end of the plan you can already see at least three different tenses used across the whole answer.
- Plan at least one developed opinion with a justification and, where the bullet allows, a counterpoint, e.g. 'je pense que ..., parce que ..., même si ...', since top-level content descriptors reward opinions that are developed rather than just stated.
- Build in structural range on purpose: at least one subordinate clause with qui, que, où, dont or parce que; at least one impersonal structure (il faut, il est important de, il est essentiel que plus a subjunctive); and, for the top range level, an attempt at the subjunctive or the pluperfect to show reach beyond core structures.
- Vary your connectives across paragraphs rather than reusing mais and donc throughout: use car, cependant, par contre, alors que, c'est pourquoi, de plus, to show a mark scheme's wide-range-of-connectives descriptor.
- Write in full paragraphs, not a list of short bullet-answers: link ideas within a paragraph so the piece reads as connected prose, which is itself part of what separates a top content level from a low one.
- Proofread specifically for accuracy once the content is complete: check every present-tense verb ending against its subject, every past participle agreement after être and after avoir with a preceding direct object, adjective agreement, and accents, since a levelled accuracy mark scheme caps the level when errors sometimes hinder communication, however good the content is.
- Count your words against the target (e.g. approximately 90 words for a Foundation-style task, up to around 150 words for a Higher-style extended task) and check the balance across bullets: a levelled mark scheme rewards an answer where every bullet is developed, not one where a single bullet is answered at great length and the others are one line each.
Worked example
Write approximately 150 words in French about education and work for your school's Higher-tier exam practice. Mention: your current studies and what you think of them; work experience or a part-time job you have had, and what you learned from it; a difficulty you have faced with school or work, and how you dealt with it; your plans for study or training after your GCSEs; your career ambitions and what matters most to you in choosing a career.
- PLAN the paragraphs: paragraph 1, present tense, current studies plus opinion; paragraph 2, perfect tense, work experience plus what was learned; paragraph 3, perfect/imperfect, a difficulty and how it was resolved; paragraph 4, near future/simple future, post-16 plans; paragraph 5, conditional plus a justified opinion, career ambition and what matters most.
- PLAN the range targets before writing a single sentence: tick off that the plan already includes present, perfect, imperfect, future and conditional; a subordinate clause with que; an impersonal structure with il est important de; and a subjunctive attempt with il faut que je plus a subjunctive, so range is built in rather than added afterwards.
- BUILD paragraph 1: 'En ce moment, j'étudie huit matières, dont les sciences, l'histoire et le français, et je trouve que les sciences sont les plus intéressantes parce que les expériences en laboratoire rendent les cours vivants.' - present tense, subordinate clause with dont, opinion with justification.
- BUILD paragraph 2: 'L'année dernière, j'ai fait un stage d'une semaine dans un cabinet d'architecte, ce qui m'a appris à travailler avec précision et à respecter des délais serrés.' - perfect tense, subordinate clause with ce qui.
- BUILD paragraphs 3 to 5: 'Au début de l'année, j'avais des difficultés à gérer mon temps entre les devoirs et mes activités, mais j'ai commencé à utiliser un agenda, ce qui a beaucoup aidé. Après mes examens, j'irai au lycée pour préparer un baccalauréat scientifique, puis j'espère aller à l'université. Plus tard, j'aimerais devenir ingénieur(e), car il est important pour moi de faire un métier utile à la société, même si cela signifie de longues études. À mon avis, il faut que je choisisse une carrière qui me passionne, plutôt qu'une carrière seulement bien payée.' - imperfect for background, perfect for the change made, simple future and conditional for plans, an impersonal structure, and a subjunctive for top-band range.
- Check accuracy across the whole piece: agenda, précision and délais keep their accents, avais and aidé are correctly formed, ingénieur(e) and choisisse are the correct irregular forms, and every paragraph is reread separately for verb-ending and agreement errors before the final version is written up.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Give the imperfect tense of 'avoir' for 'j'.'Show answer
Answer: j'avais (e.g. 'j'avais des difficultés au début de l'année').
Q2Give the present subjunctive of 'choisir' for 'que je'.Show answer
Answer: que je choisisse.
Q3Translate into French: 'It is essential that I find a career that suits me.'Show answer
Answer: Il est essentiel que je trouve un métier qui me convient.
Q4Give the pluperfect tense of 'arriver' for 'nous', and explain when it is used.Show answer
Answer: nous étions arrivé(e)s - used for an action that had already happened before another past action, e.g. 'nous étions arrivés en retard quand le cours a commencé.'
Q5Give one connective that signals a counterpoint is coming.Show answer
Answer: cependant (or même si, or par contre).
Q6Correct the error: 'Il faut que je suis plus organise.'Show answer
Answer: Il faut que je sois plus organisé(e) - il faut que triggers the subjunctive, so etre becomes sois, not suis, and organise needs its accent.
Q7Write one sentence linking a past difficulty to how it was resolved, using 'mais' and the perfect tense.Show answer
Answer: Au début, j'ai trouvé le travail de groupe difficile, mais j'ai appris à mieux communiquer avec mes camarades.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Write about school and work in French. Mention: your favourite subject and why; a part-time job or piece of work experience you have had; a difficulty you have faced at school; your plans for after your GCSEs. Write approximately 40 words in French.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 10 available
Write an article for a careers website. Mention: your current studies and your opinion of them; work experience or a part-time job you have had and what you learned; a challenge you overcame at school or work; your plans for study or training after your GCSEs; what you think matters most when choosing a future career. Write approximately 90 words in French.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 20 available
Write approximately 150 words in French for a school leavers' magazine on education and work. Mention: a detailed account of your studies now, including strengths and weaknesses; work experience or a part-time job, described in detail, and its impact on you; a significant difficulty you have faced in your education or work, and how you resolved it; your detailed plans for study, training or an apprenticeship after your GCSEs, with reasons for your choice; your long-term career ambitions and a justified opinion on what matters most in choosing a career.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 25 available
See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the education and work: extended writing (levelled) worksheet pack - 3 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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