Short answer
In TEF Canada writing Section B, you answer one sentence taken from a newspaper. Say whether you agree, then defend that position with arguments and examples. The sample instruction calls this a letter to the paper. The provider’s preparation note says a formal letter is not obligatory, and an official header earns no point.
As of 2 November 2026, the test provider’s pages put Section B at 35 minutes and 200 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 news-story half of the same test, use TEF Canada writing Section A. 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.
If that newspaper sentence is already on a Canadian site, select it instead of retyping it. Add Apprendr to Chrome.
What Section B is asking you to do
The expression écrite sample booklet (CCI Paris Île-de-France / Le français des affaires, October 2024) calls Section B a sentence taken from a newspaper. The typical instruction is:
- You read this statement in a paper: “sentence from a newspaper article”.
- Write a letter to the paper saying what you think, in at least 200 words.
- Develop at least three arguments to defend your point of view.
The same provider’s preparation article on Section B (23 June 2020, still on that site on 2 November 2026) corrects the nickname. People call this section “the letter”. The article says that is wrong: you do not have to write the argument as a letter. You have 35 minutes to explain why you agree or why you do not, with arguments and examples.
That article also says what the evaluators take into account:
- whether the information fits the subject
- the quality of the arguments: development, detail, illustration
- whether the text holds together
- cohesion, from one sentence to the next
- the sentences and the vocabulary: variety, accuracy, precision, fit with the subject
- spelling and punctuation
It does not publish a rule that says “the subjunctive is worth N points” or “250 words is NCLC 7”.
The same note gives three pieces of advice from the teaching lead:
- A formal letter with an official header earns no point.
- Long introductions and conclusions that would work for any topic are not taken into account.
- Spend the time on your own arguments, and develop them.
Section A is the other job. There you continue a fait divers in neutral third person. An opinion in Section A, or a news story in Section B, answers the wrong task. The steps for the news story are in the Section A guide.
Time and length, from the official pages
Checked on 2 November 2026 against TEF Canada — Passer le test and the expression écrite sample booklet.
| 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 B. Two hundred words is a floor, not a score.
The preparation article says this Section B task appears on the TEF, TEF Canada, and TEFAQ, with the same 35 minutes. TEF Canada is administered by the CCI Paris Île-de-France. The figures above are from those pages.
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 2 November 2026, IRCC’s Express Entry language-test page (modified 16 October 2026) 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.
Writing has its own column. A speaking result does not fill it. 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 and the NCLC 7 reading practice page.
A structure you can reuse
Use the 35 minutes in this order. The labels are a plan, not sentences you paste in.
- Name the sentence and your position. One or two lines. Agree, disagree, or agree with a limit. Quote or reformulate the statement so a reader knows which sentence you mean.
- Argument 1. A reason, then one concrete example: a person, a place, a time of day.
- Argument 2. A different reason. If it repeats argument 1 in new words, it is still one argument.
- Argument 3, with a limit. Say what you do not accept. Toutefois, en revanche, or il est vrai que… does this job.
- One closing sentence that only this topic could use. “En conclusion, il est important de réfléchir à cette question” fits every prompt. The preparation article says evaluators do not take that kind of ending into account.
Leave four or five minutes to reread agreements, accents, and the words you added while rushing.
Connectors in a Section B answer
These are the moves, not a list to insert in order. One connector per move is enough.
| French | Job | English gloss |
|---|---|---|
| Pour ma part | State your position | for my part |
| Je ne suis pas d’accord | Refuse the statement | I do not agree |
| D’abord / Ensuite | Order the arguments | first / next |
| En effet | Give the reason you just claimed | in fact / indeed |
| Par exemple | Attach a concrete case | for example |
| De plus | Add a different point | in addition |
| En revanche | Set a contrast or a limit | by contrast |
| Il est vrai que | Concede a point | it is true that |
| Toutefois | Take the concession back | however |
| C’est pourquoi | Close on this topic | that is why |
En effet means “in fact” or “indeed”. It does not mean “because”, and it does not start a new argument by itself.
A model answer
Invented for this guide. This sentence is not a TEF item. In the exam, the sentence is given to you. You write the response.
The sentence:
Les villes devraient rendre le transport en commun gratuit pour les moins de 18 ans.
Model answer (269 words):
J’ai lu dans votre journal l’affirmation suivante : « Les villes devraient rendre le transport en commun gratuit pour les moins de 18 ans. » Pour ma part, je suis d’accord, mais seulement pour les trajets de fin de journée en semaine.
D’abord, le prix du billet décide de qui peut sortir de son quartier. Un adolescent qui doit payer le bus pour aller à la bibliothèque, au sport ou à un stage renonce souvent quand l’argent manque à la maison. La gratuité retire cette barrière. Par exemple, un jeune qui habite loin du métro, à Montréal ou à Laval, dépend d’un seul bus : sans billet, il reste chez lui.
Ensuite, un réseau déjà financé par les impôts sert mieux quand les sièges vides de l’après-midi sont occupés. Les écoles finissent en milieu d’après-midi. Si les moins de 18 ans voyagent sans billet entre 15 h et 19 h, ces bus ont une raison de circuler. En revanche, une gratuité à l’heure de pointe du matin peut remplir des véhicules déjà pleins et retarder les personnes qui vont au travail.
Il est vrai que la mesure a un coût. Toutefois, ce coût est limité et visible : la ville sait combien de titres pour les jeunes elle ne vend plus. C’est plus simple qu’une aide versée trop tard aux familles qui en ont besoin. De plus, l’adolescent qui voyage ainsi peut garder cette habitude une fois adulte, au lieu de demander la voiture dès ses dix-huit ans.
C’est pourquoi je défends la gratuité pour les moins de 18 ans les soirs de semaine, et le tarif normal quand le réseau est déjà saturé.
Annotations
- The first two sentences name the claim and the position, including the limit. There is no letterhead and no “Madame, Monsieur”.
- Paragraph 2 is the first argument: the fare decides who can leave the neighbourhood, with a place and a person.
- Paragraph 3 is a second argument, about empty afternoon buses, and it refuses all-day free travel. That refusal is the limit, not a fourth topic.
- Paragraph 4 answers the obvious objection (the city loses fare revenue) and adds one consequence. The last sentence could only close this subject.
The position is partial agreement. Full disagreement is allowed. The preparation article asks you to explain why you agree or why you do not. It does not ask you to oppose the newspaper.
Paste the position line into Apprendr if you want the grammar at your level: Pour ma part, je suis d’accord, mais seulement pour les trajets de fin de journée en semaine.
Common mistakes
- Writing the fait divers. “Hier matin, un adolescent a pris le bus…” is Section A. Section B stays a position. The news-story shape is in the Section A guide.
- An official letterhead. The preparation article says a formal header earns no point. Name, address, place, and date do not defend the sentence.
- A reusable introduction. “De nos jours, ce sujet est au cœur de l’actualité” fits every prompt. The same article says evaluators do not take that kind of opening or ending into account.
- One idea, three times. “C’est important. De plus, c’est essentiel. Enfin, c’est nécessaire.” is one argument. The sample instruction asks for at least three.
- Reasons with no example. “Les jeunes sont l’avenir” does not show a person, a place, or a time. The published criteria include detail and illustration.
- Stopping at 200 words. Those pages publish a minimum, not a maximum. Finish the third argument and the limit, then reread.
- Treating length as a level. The model above 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 first lines name the newspaper sentence and say whether you agree.
- There are at least three arguments, and they are not the same idea repeated.
- Each argument has a reason and one concrete detail.
- One sentence limits the claim (toutefois, en revanche, or il est vrai que).
- The last sentence could only belong to this topic.
- There is no letterhead, and the opening would not fit a different sentence.
- 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 200 while the third argument was still a label.
Practise reading real Canadian French
The most useful Section B material is a real French opinion, read often enough that the shape becomes familiar: a position near the start, a reason, an example, and a limit. Radio-Canada and Le Devoir publish editorials and reader letters every day. Read the connectors, then close the article and write your own position on that sentence for 35 minutes.
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 opinion pieces, come back to a timed 35-minute response, then read another document on the NCLC 7 reading practice page. The argument is easier to write when you have already seen how a Canadian paper builds one.
Common questions
Do I have to write a formal letter?
The sample booklet’s typical instruction says to write a letter to the paper, of at least 200 words, with at least three arguments. The preparation article says a letter is not obligatory, and a formal header with an official letterhead earns no point. Write the position, the arguments, and the examples. A one-line opening that names the sentence is enough.
How many arguments do I need?
The sample booklet says at least three. The preparation article judges the quality of those arguments: development, detail, and illustration. Three headings with no example are thinner than two developed reasons. Aim for three, and give each one a concrete case.
How long should Section B be?
As of 2 November 2026, the official pages say 35 minutes and a minimum of 200 words. They do not publish a maximum. Finish the arguments, including the limit, and keep time to reread. The model above is an illustration of that shape, not a length you have to hit.
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 the argument, coherence, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation. Use the subjunctive when the sentence needs it, as in Je ne pense pas que la gratuité totale soit utile à l’heure de pointe (ne pas penser que + subjunctive). A subjunctive forced into a sentence that does not take one is just an error.
Can I agree with the sentence?
Yes. The preparation article says you explain why you agree or why you do not, with arguments and examples. Agreement still needs reasons, an example, and a limit. A paragraph that only says “je suis tout à fait d’accord” has not answered the task.