Choosing the text type

Choose the right form — and write it: In Paper 1 (l'épreuve 1) you do one writing task, and the rubric is always «Utilisez, en fonction des propositions, le type de texte le plus approprié» — use the most appropriate text type. Each task offers a short situation, an instruction, and three text types to choose from (blog, lettre, article, interview, journal intime…). Your job is to pick the form that fits the audience and purpose, then write that form — never a generic essay. Text types fall into three families: personnels (un blog, un journal intime, un courriel à un ami), professionnels (une lettre formelle, un rapport, une proposition) and médias (un article, une critique, une interview, un discours, un dépliant). Each family has its own conventions and typical register, and getting them right protects Criterion C.

le type de texte

the text type — the form you must write (blog, lettre, article…)

le plus approprié

the most appropriate — choose the form that fits the audience & purpose

personnels

personal texts: le blog, le journal intime, le courriel à un ami

professionnels

professional texts: la lettre formelle, le rapport, la proposition

médias

mass-media texts: l'article, la critique, l'interview, le discours, le dépliant

les conventions

the conventions — the features that mark out each text type

le registre

the register — formal or informal, set by the form and the reader

The forms are printed — read them: Each task lists three text types underneath it (e.g. Blog · Lettre · Interview). Read the situation, decide who reads it and why, then pick the one form that fits and write it with its conventions. The word count is fixed — «Écrivez entre 450 et 600 mots» — so the real choice is which form. Writing the right form is the easiest way to bank Criterion C marks.

« Ce qu'on peut vous proposer à l'épreuve 1 »: Each task offers three text types to choose from — and they're drawn from a fixed menu you met in Unit 2. The table below is a reminder of the full range so nothing surprises you: glance at it, recognise the form named, and pick the one that fits the public and the but. (You don't need to memorise every form's conventions here — those live in Unit 2 — just know the menu and what each one is for.) Tap Voir la traduction on a row for the English.

You only ever write ONE — from the three on offer: This is the whole menu — but a single task only ever prints three of these forms, and you write one. So don't try to learn them all cold: recognise the form named, recall what it's for (this table), then check its conventions in Unit 2 and the conventions section next. Knowing the range means the printed options never catch you out.

Each form has its features: Each text type has key conventions — the features the examiner expects — and a typical register. Learn the handful you're most likely to be offered. The table gives the must-haves for four common forms.

Features before sentences: Blog → titre et s'adresser au lecteur · Lettre formelle → Madame, Monsieur et Veuillez agréer · Article → titre, accroche et intertitres · Journal intime → date, « Cher journal » et « je » intime. Sketch the features before you write a single sentence — they're the backbone the examiner looks for under Criterion C.

Choose it, then serve it: Handling the text type is the same routine every time: read the public (audience) and the but (purpose), choose the most appropriate of the three forms, recall its conventions and register, and frame the answer with the right opening and closing. Do this before you develop any content.

The frame protects Criterion C: Even a strong body scores poorly if the frame is missing — no title on a blog, no « Madame, Monsieur » on a letter. Set the opening and closing first: that frame is exactly what Criterion C (compréhension conceptuelle) rewards.

A task, decoded and answered: Here's a real-style Paper-1 task taken through the moves — choosing the most appropriate of the three forms, listing its must-have conventions, and then a model answer with what earns A/B/C marks, using the exact IB rubric «Utilisez le type de texte le plus approprié. Écrivez entre 450 et 600 mots.». Tap Voir la traduction for the English, or 🔊 to hear the French.

Conventions are non-negotiable: Once you've chosen the text type, its conventions are non-negotiable — a blog needs a title and a reader-address, a formal letter needs « Madame, Monsieur » and « Veuillez agréer ». List them in your plan and tick them off as you write to secure Criterion C — even a flawless paragraph in the wrong form scores low.

Right form vs costly mistakes: Marks lost on text type rarely come from weak French — they come from writing a generic essay, missing the conventions, or using the wrong register for the form. Here's the contrast.

A great essay can still score low: If the task asked for a blog and you wrote a polished dissertation, Criterion C drops — the examiner can't see the form. Choose the text type, then give it the features expected: a title, a reader-address, the right register. That alone protects those marks.