This exam tips covers Exam Tips & Common Errors within The 90-word task: three time frames, every bullet for GCSE French. Revise The 90-word task: three time frames, every bullet in Writing: 50, 90 and 150 Words + Translation into French for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 4 of 4 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- Plan in 2 minutes before writing — jot 3 ideas per bullet: one present, one past, one future idea
- Write your response bullet by bullet — complete bullet 1, then bullet 2, never mix them
- If you write a past tense, double-check: is it j'ai or je suis? (movement/change-of-state verbs use être: aller, venir, partir, arriver, rester)
- Add at least one opinion-justification pair per bullet: je trouve que… parce que…
- Avoid repeating the same verb — use aimer, adorer, préférer, détester, trouver, penser, estimer across different sentences
- Re-read your response and count: have you addressed both bullets? Do you have a past tense, a present and a future?
❌ Common error: Writing 90 beautiful words entirely about bullet 1 — detailed, tense-varied, opinionated — and then adding just one sentence for bullet 2 at the very end.
✓ Correct: Aim for roughly equal development of both bullets. 40 words on bullet 1, 50 words on bullet 2 is a balanced approach — both receive full consideration from the examiner.
Why it costs marks: Bullet 2 with one sentence scores at most Band 1 for that half of the communication mark, capping your total communication score at 3–4 out of 5 no matter how strong bullet 1 is.
Practice questions for The 90-word task: three time frames, every bullet
The 90-word writing task (Question 2, Paper 4) is worth how many marks in total?
What is the KEY difference between the 90-word task and the 50-word task in terms of mark scheme requirements?