TCF Canada Writing Sample Answers: Complete Model Texts for Tasks 1, 2 and 3
This article walks through one complete model answer for each of the three TCF Canada writing tasks, written the way examiners expect at a solid B2 level, with an honest explanation of why each sentence earns its place. After the models come the mistakes that most often drag a script from NCLC 8 down to NCLC 6.
If you want the full method behind each task before studying the samples, our detailed guides cover Task 1, Task 2 and Task 3 individually, and the TCF Canada Expression Écrite overview explains how the whole section fits together.
How the TCF Canada writing section is scored
The writing section lasts 60 minutes and always contains the same three tasks. Task 1 asks for a short message of 60-120 words, Task 2 for a description of an experience or event with your opinion in 120-150 words, and Task 3 for a text of 120-180 words in which you compare two viewpoints and defend your own position.
Scoring is holistic. A trained evaluator reads your three texts together and assigns a single level based on how well you complete each task, how clearly your ideas are organized, and how accurate and varied your French is. There is no separate grammar score to protect you: a well-structured Task 3 cannot fully compensate for a Task 1 that ignores half the prompt. The resulting level maps to the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC), the scale used by IRCC. As a reference point, a writing score of 10-11 out of 20 generally corresponds to NCLC 7, and 12-13 to NCLC 8, the range most Express Entry candidates aim for.
This is why studying model answers works better than memorizing grammar rules in isolation. A model shows you what "enough" looks like: how long each paragraph should run, which connectors carry the structure, and how much complexity a B2 script actually needs. Once you have internalized those proportions, you can reproduce them with any topic the exam throws at you.
Task 1 sample answer: the short message (60-120 words)
Task 1 tests everyday practical writing: an invitation, a request, an announcement or a suggestion, addressed to a friend, a colleague or a company. The word limit is 60-120 words, and about 15 minutes is a sensible time budget. Our Task 1 guide covers all four prompt types with templates; here we focus on one complete answer to a request-type prompt.
The prompt
Vous devez partir une semaine pour le travail. Vous écrivez à votre voisine pour lui demander de s'occuper de votre chat pendant votre absence. Précisez les dates de votre voyage, expliquez ce qu'elle devra faire et proposez quelque chose pour la remercier.
Model answer (about 95 words)
Objet : Petit service pendant mon absence
Bonjour Claire,
J'espère que tu vas bien. Je dois partir à Québec du 3 au 10 août pour le travail, et je cherche quelqu'un pour s'occuper de mon chat pendant cette semaine. Il suffit de lui donner à manger le matin et de changer son eau. Bien sûr, je te laisserai tout le nécessaire, et je rapporterai un petit cadeau pour te remercier.
Est-ce que cela serait possible pour toi ? Si tu es d'accord, je passerai te donner les clés jeudi soir.
Merci d'avance pour ton aide !
À bientôt, Amina
Why this answer works
Every element of the prompt is answered explicitly. The dates appear in the first sentence (du 3 au 10 août), the instructions are concrete (lui donner à manger le matin, changer son eau), and the thank-you element is handled naturally with je rapporterai un petit cadeau pour te remercier. Examiners check the prompt requirements one by one, so making each answer visible in a separate sentence is the safest strategy.
The register is consistent from the first line to the last. The writer uses tu throughout, opens with the friendly J'espère que tu vas bien and closes with À bientôt, which suits a message between neighbors. Grammar stays simple but controlled: a clean future tense (je te laisserai, je passerai), the useful structure il suffit de + infinitive, and a polite conditional in cela serait possible. At about 95 words, the message sits comfortably inside the 60-120 range with no padding.
The most common downgrades on Task 1
The first score-killer is a missed requirement. Prompts almost always contain three elements to cover, and skipping one caps your task-completion score no matter how elegant your French is. Read the prompt twice and tick off each element before you consider the message finished.
The second is register mixing: starting with Bonjour Madame and then switching to tu, or closing an email to a company with Bisous. Decide in the first ten seconds whether the situation is formal or informal and hold that choice for every sentence.
The third is word count. Under 60 words, the message cannot cover the requirements in enough detail; far beyond 120, you multiply error opportunities and signal that you cannot write concisely. Count roughly by lines during the exam rather than word by word.
Task 2 sample answer: experience plus opinion (120-150 words)
Task 2 asks you to describe an experience or event and add your personal reaction, usually in a blog or magazine format. The target length is 120-150 words in around 20 minutes. As our Task 2 guide explains, the winning formula is a story told in the past tenses followed by an evaluation and a piece of advice. The sample below follows that arc.
The prompt
Vous participez au blog de votre ville sur les transports. Vous racontez comment vous avez remplacé la voiture par le vélo pour aller au travail, vous décrivez les changements que cela a apportés dans votre quotidien et vous donnez un conseil aux lecteurs qui hésitent.
Model answer (about 140 words)
Il y a six mois, j'ai décidé de laisser ma voiture au garage et d'aller au travail à vélo. Au début, c'était surtout pour économiser de l'essence, mais cette décision a transformé mon quotidien.
Pendant les premières semaines, le trajet de vingt minutes me semblait difficile, surtout le matin. Pourtant, j'ai vite constaté que j'arrivais au bureau plus détendu et que je dormais mieux le soir. Grâce à cette habitude, j'ai aussi économisé près de cent dollars par mois.
Cependant, tout n'est pas parfait : quand il pleut ou qu'il neige, je dois reprendre le bus, ce qui demande un peu d'organisation. Malgré cela, je pense que le changement en vaut vraiment la peine.
À ceux qui hésitent, je conseille de commencer par deux trajets par semaine : c'est suffisant pour sentir les premiers bienfaits sans bouleverser ses habitudes.
Why this answer works
The structure mirrors what evaluators are trained to look for. Paragraph one sets the scene with Il y a six mois, j'ai décidé de..., which anchors the story in time and states the motivation. Paragraph two develops the experience with concrete, verifiable details: a twenty-minute commute, better sleep, a hundred dollars saved. Paragraph three introduces a limitation with Cependant and immediately weighs it against the benefits with Malgré cela, je pense que.... The final paragraph delivers the advice the prompt requested, with a realistic suggestion rather than a vague slogan.
The tense work is exactly what B2 requires: passé composé for completed actions (j'ai décidé, j'ai constaté), imparfait for background states (c'était, me semblait), and present tense for the ongoing evaluation. Connectors carry the structure (Au début, Pourtant, Grâce à, Cependant, Malgré cela) without ever feeling stacked. Admitting a drawback is a strength here: a text that claims cycling is perfect reads as less mature than one that concedes rainy days are a problem and moves on.
The most common downgrades on Task 2
The most frequent problem is a story with no opinion. Candidates narrate events chronologically and stop, leaving out the evaluation and advice the prompt explicitly demands. If your last paragraph contains no phrase like je pense que or je conseille de, the task is incomplete.
Tense confusion comes second. Mixing passé composé and imparfait at random, or drifting into the present tense mid-story, is one of the clearest markers separating B1 scripts from B2 scripts. Before the exam, drill the contrast until j'ai décidé versus je voulais feels automatic.
The third downgrade is generic content. A text that could have been written without reading the prompt ("sport is good for health") scores lower than one anchored in specifics like dates, amounts and named places. Invent precise details freely; no one will check whether your story is true.
Task 3 sample answer: two viewpoints and your position (120-180 words)
Task 3 is the most demanding text: you read two short opposing texts, summarize both positions in your own words, then defend your own view in 120-180 words. Plan on 25 minutes. The complete method, including three prompt sub-types, is in our Task 3 guide. Here is one full answer on a workplace topic.
The prompt
Le premier texte présente les avantages du télétravail : flexibilité, gain de temps, meilleur équilibre entre vie professionnelle et vie privée. Le deuxième texte insiste sur ses inconvénients : isolement des salariés, difficulté à séparer travail et vie personnelle. Écrivez un texte dans lequel vous résumez les deux points de vue, puis exprimez votre propre opinion en la justifiant.
Model answer (about 165 words)
Le télétravail divise aujourd'hui les avis. D'un côté, ses défenseurs soulignent la souplesse qu'il offre : moins de déplacements et une meilleure conciliation entre vie professionnelle et vie privée. De l'autre, ses détracteurs insistent sur l'isolement des salariés et sur la difficulté de séparer le bureau de la maison.
Personnellement, je considère que le télétravail présente plus d'avantages que d'inconvénients, à condition d'être bien encadré.
Tout d'abord, travailler à distance permet de gagner un temps précieux. Par exemple, une personne qui évite deux heures de transport par jour peut consacrer ce temps à sa famille ou à son sommeil, ce qui améliore sa qualité de vie.
Ensuite, il est vrai que l'isolement représente un risque réel. Cependant, des solutions existent : des journées de présence régulières au bureau ou des réunions d'équipe permettent de maintenir le lien social.
En définitive, je reste persuadé que le télétravail constitue un progrès, pourvu que les entreprises fixent des règles claires et gardent des moments collectifs.
Why this answer works
The summary paragraph proves reading comprehension without copying. The source texts talk about "flexibilité" and "isolement"; the answer reformulates with souplesse, conciliation and le bureau de la maison, using the balanced frame D'un côté... De l'autre and varied reporting verbs (soulignent, insistent sur). Reformulation is precisely what separates a summary from plagiarism in the examiner's eyes.
The position is stated in one clean sentence, and the nuance à condition d'être bien encadré announces a mature argument rather than blind enthusiasm. The two body paragraphs then do different jobs: the first develops a benefit with a concrete example introduced by Par exemple, while the second handles the opposing argument through concession — il est vrai que... Cependant... — which shows the examiner you can engage with the other side instead of ignoring it. The conclusion upgrades the register with En définitive, je reste persuadé que and the subjunctive after pourvu que, three signals of B2 control. At about 165 words, the text uses the available space without overshooting 180.
The most common downgrades on Task 3
Copying phrases from the source texts is the classic error. Evaluators have the source texts in front of them, and lifted sentences are excluded from the assessment of your level, which can shrink your effective word count below the minimum. Paraphrase everything, even simple ideas.
An unclear or missing position comes next. Some candidates summarize both views competently and then hedge until the end. Task 3 requires you to choose; a sentence built on je considère que or je suis favorable à must appear early and the conclusion must restate it.
The third downgrade is a wall of text. Answers written as a single paragraph lose structure points even when the sentences are individually correct. Four short paragraphs — summary, position, arguments, conclusion — make your organization visible at a glance.
How to adapt these models without memorizing them
Examiners read thousands of scripts and recognize recycled text immediately. A memorized answer that only half-fits the prompt is scored as off-topic content, so the goal is never to reproduce these models word for word. What you should extract instead is the skeleton: the fixed proportions and the connector framework that survive any change of topic.
A practical way to do this is to rewrite each model with different content. Keep the structure of the Task 2 answer — decision, development, drawback, advice — but tell a story about learning to cook or quitting social media. Keep the Task 3 frame — D'un côté... De l'autre, position, argument, concession, conclusion — but apply it to online courses or public transport. After three or four rewrites, the skeleton belongs to you.
Feedback closes the loop. Writing variations is only half the work; you also need to know whether your tenses held up and whether your connectors landed where they should. SavoirX's AI writing correction was built for exactly this: it evaluates TCF Canada practice texts against the exam criteria and returns corrections with level estimates in seconds, so you can run the write-review-rewrite cycle daily instead of waiting days for a tutor.
Frequently asked questions
How is TCF Canada writing scored?
One trained evaluator (with double marking for quality control) reads all three of your tasks and assigns a holistic score out of 20, based on task completion, coherence, vocabulary range and grammatical accuracy across the whole performance. The score is then mapped to an NCLC level for immigration purposes. There is no partial credit per task displayed; the three texts succeed or struggle together.
How long should TCF Task 2 be?
Between 120 and 150 words. Aim for around 140: enough room for a four-part structure (context, development, nuance, advice) while keeping a margin below the ceiling. Texts under 120 words usually cannot complete the task, and texts far over 150 accumulate unforced errors.
Can I reuse memorized sentences in the exam?
Short functional phrases, yes: connectors like tout d'abord or en définitive and openers like je considère que are expected furniture. Whole memorized paragraphs, no. They rarely match the exact prompt, and mismatched content is treated as off-topic. Memorize structures and transitions, improvise the substance.
What writing score do I need for NCLC 7?
On the published correspondence tables, a TCF Canada writing score of 10-11 out of 20 corresponds to NCLC 7, and 12-13 corresponds to NCLC 8. Express Entry candidates targeting maximum language points generally need NCLC 7 or higher in all four skills, so a stable B2 writing performance like the models above is the practical target.