Short answer
In TEF Canada writing Section A, you continue the news story. Briefly tying your first line to the scene is enough; copying the prompt to fill space does not add the new information the task asks for. Say who was involved, what happened next, where and when it ended, and how people reacted, in neutral journalistic third person. Use the passé composé for the events and the imparfait for background, states, and habits.
As of 30 October 2026, the test provider’s pages put Section A at 25 minutes and 80 words minimum, inside a one-hour writing test. This is a study guide, not a scored sample and not immigration advice. Apprendr is not affiliated with IRCC, the CCI Paris Île-de-France, or TEF Canada.
For the rest of the test, use the TEF Canada and TCF Canada study guide. For the reading half of an NCLC 7 profile, use TEF and TCF reading practice.
What Section A is asking you to do
The official sample booklet calls Section A the start of a press article from the faits-divers column. The instruction is to finish that article: add at least 80 words, in several paragraphs. You are transmitting information, the way a short news item does.
That is a different job from Section B. Section B gives you a sentence from a paper and asks you to write to the editor, take a position, and defend it. An opinion essay in Section A answers the other task.
The provider’s preparation note on the fait divers says three things plainly:
- Do not copy the opening. It uses time and does not earn a point.
- Do not summarize or reformulate the text you were given.
- Add new information. The title sometimes tells you where the story can go.
A name or a short clause that keeps the same people in view (“L’enfant…”, “La passante…”) connects your paragraphs to the scene. That is not a second copy of the paragraph on the screen.
The same note lists what markers look at: whether the information fits the subject, whether you develop it with detail, whether the text holds together, and the quality of the sentences, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation. It does not publish a rule that says “the subjunctive is worth N points” or “120 words is NCLC 7”.
Time and length, from the official pages
Checked on 30 October 2026 against TEF Canada — Passer le test and the expression écrite sample booklet (CCI Paris Île-de-France / Le français des affaires).
| Section A | Section B | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 25 minutes | 35 minutes |
| Minimum length | 80 words | 200 words |
| Document | The start of a press article (faits-divers) | A sentence taken from a newspaper |
| Your job | Continue the article, in several paragraphs | Give your point of view and justify it |
The writing test as a whole is one hour, and the time is limited per section. Those pages do not state a maximum word count for Section A. Eighty words is a floor, not a score.
The 2025 supervisor booklet still posted on that site says that if you click “Terminer” before Section A’s time is up, you move on to Section B and you cannot return. Leave a few minutes to reread before you leave the section.
Where NCLC 7 fits
NCLC 7 is a level on a score table. It is not a feeling you get from a clean paragraph, and this checklist does not award it.
As of 30 October 2026, IRCC’s Express Entry language-test page says TEF Canada levels for Express Entry come from the Équivalence ancien score column. In that table, NCLC 7 for writing (expression écrite) is 310–348. Do not type the “Score / 699” column into an Express Entry profile. IRCC says those figures are not compatible with the system.
The same page is explicit that the level is per ability. A strong speaking result does not replace writing. Category-based selection (page updated 16 October 2026) requires French-language test results of at least 7 in all four abilities for the French-language proficiency category, plus the instructions for that round. Quebec and other programs publish their own grids. Use the table for the program you are actually applying to.
Nothing in a practice paragraph predicts 310. For what an NCLC 7 reading text looks like, see the 27 October 2026 French-draw note.
A worked example
Invented for this guide. This opening is not a TEF item, and the event did not happen. In the exam, the opening is given to you. You write only the continuation.
Title: La glace cède au parc
Hier matin, vers huit heures, un enfant de six ans est tombé dans le canal du parc municipal, là où la glace était encore mince. Sa mère a appelé les secours. Avant leur arrivée, une passante et son chien se sont approchés du trou.
Model continuation (112 words):
D’abord, la passante a demandé à l’enfant de ne plus bouger. Ensuite, elle a étendu son manteau sur la glace pour lui donner un appui. Alors que son chien restait couché au bord du trou, deux voisins sont arrivés et ont formé une chaîne. Ils ont ramené l’enfant sur la berge.
Selon un porte-parole des secours, l’enfant a été transporté à l’hôpital. Il était conscient, et son état n’inspirait pas d’inquiétude. Finalement, les secours ont fermé ce tronçon pour la matinée et ont rappelé que la glace n’était pas encore sûre.
La passante a refusé de donner son nom. Elle a dit que son chien s’arrêtait à cet endroit tous les matins.
Connectors in that continuation
| French | In this sentence | English gloss |
|---|---|---|
| d’abord | D’abord, la passante a demandé… | first |
| ensuite | Ensuite, elle a étendu son manteau… | next |
| alors que | Alors que son chien restait couché… | while that was happening |
| selon | Selon un porte-parole des secours… | according to |
| finalement | Finalement, les secours ont fermé… | finally |
The events (a demandé, a étendu, sont arrivés, ont formé, ont ramené, a été transporté, ont fermé, a refusé) are in the passé composé. The background is in the imparfait: the dog restait there while the neighbors arrived, the child était conscious, his condition n’inspirait pas concern, the ice n’était pas safe, and the dog s’arrêtait at that spot every morning.
You do not need a fancy connector in every sentence. One order word per move is enough: first the warning, then the coat, while the dog stayed, according to the spokesperson, finally the closure.
Paste the warning line into Apprendr if you want the grammar at your level: D’abord, la passante a demandé à l’enfant de ne plus bouger.
Common mistakes
- Rewriting the theme as an opinion. “Je pense que les parcs devraient…” belongs in Section B. Section A stays a news story.
- Copying the prompt to reach 80 words. The preparation article says that does not earn a point. Count only the words you add.
- One block of text. The sample instruction asks for several paragraphs. The model above uses three: the rescue, the official outcome, the witness.
- A chain of future tense. Les secours vont arriver et ils vont le sauver never lands the story. Say what happened.
- Leaving Section A early. The supervisor booklet says “Terminer” before the clock ends sends you to Section B for good.
- Treating length as a level. 112 words is simply above the published minimum. It is not a predicted score.
NCLC 7 self-check
Use this on a practice text before you look anything up. Ticking every line does not mean the text is NCLC 7. The 310–348 band above is an IRCC conversion of a marked exam, not a list you can satisfy at home.
- The continuation adds facts that were not in the opening.
- A reader can name who, what, where, when, how it ended, and one reaction.
- The copied prompt is not doing the work of the word count.
- There is more than one paragraph, and each one moves the story.
- Completed events are in the passé composé. Background, states, and habits are in the imparfait.
- The voice is third person and neutral. Nobody is lecturing the reader.
- Order is visible (d’abord, ensuite, finalement, or the same job with other words), and one line reports a source or a reaction (selon, a déclaré, a rappelé).
- Spelling and agreements were reread in the minutes you kept back. The public criteria include them.
- You did not stop because the word counter passed 80 while the child was still in the water.
Practise on a real fait divers
The most useful Section A material is a real French news brief, read often enough that the shape becomes familiar: a time, a place, what happened, who responded, how it ended. Radio-Canada and Le Devoir publish that kind of story every day. Read the connectors and the tense shift, then close the article and write the next paragraph yourself.
When the sentence is already on the page, you do not need to retype it. The Apprendr Chrome extension runs on the news site: select the line, and it explains the grammar and vocabulary at the level you set. If you are signed in, vocabulary from that explanation can be kept for review. The extension does not mark TEF Canada writing and it does not estimate an NCLC level.
After a few real briefs, come back to a timed 25-minute continuation, then read another document on the NCLC 7 reading practice page. Writing gets easier when the news shape is already in your reading.
Common questions
Do I rewrite the prompt?
No. The sample instruction says to finish the article by adding a text of at least 80 words, in several paragraphs. The preparation article adds: do not copy the opening, and do not summarize or reformulate it. Write what happens next.
Does repeating the given information lose points?
The provider does not publish a numbered deduction for a repeated sentence. It does say that copying the start does not earn a point, and that the task is new information: detail, development, and a text that fits the subject. A paragraph that only restates the prompt is time spent on something the marker is not being asked to reward.
Do I need the subjonctif for NCLC 7?
No public TEF or IRCC page says the subjunctive is required to reach NCLC 7. The published writing criteria are about information, coherence, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation. Use the subjunctive when the sentence needs it, as in Les secours ont demandé que les curieux restent à distance (demander que + subjunctive). A subjunctive forced into a sentence that does not take one is just an error. A correct indicative news story can be complete without one.
How long should Section A be?
As of 30 October 2026, the official pages say 25 minutes and a minimum of 80 words, in several paragraphs. They do not publish a maximum. Finish the story, including the outcome and a reaction, and keep time to reread. The 112-word model above is an illustration of that shape, not a length you have to hit.
Can I write Section A in the first person?
The document you are continuing is a news article. Third person fits that document. A first-person witness account (“je promenais mon chien…”) changes the task into a personal story. Save je and your opinion for Section B, where the instruction is to say what you think and defend it with arguments.