French academic writing course
Annotated French academic writing and synthèse skills: hedges, model essay, error clinic, four-week plan.
Academic French vs chat
Ban bah / en gros / du coup from written tasks for two weeks. Replace with toutefois, par ailleurs, en somme, dans la mesure où. Synthèse forbids first-person stance; essai allows controlled argument with concession.
Annotated model essay
La mobilité urbaine est devenue un enjeu central des politiques locales. Les données disponibles suggèrent que l’amélioration des transports publics réduit, dans une certaine mesure, l’usage de la voiture aux heures de pointe. Toutefois, ces effets ne sont pas automatiques : ils dépendent de la fréquence et du prix. Dans la mesure où les villes combinent infrastructure et tarifs abordables, les résultats tendent à être plus nets. Selon les premiers éléments publiés par la municipalité, la question de la sécurité demeure déterminante. Il convient de noter que d’autres facteurs, comme l’urbanisme, restent hors du présent cadre.
Annotation: hedges + concession + attribution + scope close. Steal the skeleton; change only the facts.
Synthèse mini (weekly)
Two short sources → four shared facts → two tensions → 120–150 words → zero opinion. If a sentence is only your view, delete it. See DALF C1 guide.
Four-week plan
- Three synthèse minis.
- Formal email + academic paragraph on same topic.
- Essai with forced concession.
- Timed mix + oral exposé with signposting.
Error clinic
- faire une décision → prendre une décision
- actuellement = currently, not “actually”
- Opinion inside synthèse → reporting verbs only
- en gros in formal writing → en somme / dans l’ensemble
Worked drill 1
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 2
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 3
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 4
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 5
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 6
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 7
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 8
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 9
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 10
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 11
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 12
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 13
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 14
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 15
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 16
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 17
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 18
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 19
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 20
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Worked drill 21
Take a 90-word news summary in french and rewrite it as an academic paragraph: add one hedge, one concession, and one attribution. Speak the paragraph once. If you cannot say a clause, simplify the written version until speech and writing agree. Score task/register/markers/control (0–2 each).
Hedge quick list
- Il convient de noter que… — Formal pointer
- Les données suggèrent que… — Soft evidence claim
- Dans une certaine mesure… — Limit / concession
- Toutefois… — Formal contrast
- Dans la mesure où… — Conditional framing
Reporting verbs quick list
- Selon… — Source
- X affirme que… — Strong attribution
- X souligne que… — Emphasis attribution
Output workshop Academic register pack Collocations C1 assessed tasks
FAQ
- How should I practice this course?
- Follow the four-week plan: skeleton reuse, neutralize opinion, error clinic, then a timed essay plus oral summary. Score task/register/markers/control each Friday.
- Is this only for exams?
- No. Exam manuals are a gym. This course trains academic and formal writing you can reuse in study and work.