This exam tips covers Exam Tips & Common Errors within The 150-word task for GCSE French. Revise The 150-word task in Writing: 50, 90 and 150 Words + Translation into French for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. 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 your structure — 5 minutes planning saves 10 minutes of rewriting mid-task
- Front-load your best structures — examiners are influenced by strong openings
- Use different opinion verbs: penser, croire, trouver, estimer, avoir l'impression que, être convaincu(e) que — variety shows range
- Check every adjective for gender/number agreement before you finish — un problème grave not un problème graves
- A single well-handled subjunctive (bien que ce soit, pour que nous puissions) is worth more than ten correctly used present tenses for range marks
- If you use si + imparfait → conditionnel, check: the verb after si must be imparfait, NEVER conditionnel (si j'avais ✓ / si j'aurais ✗)
❌ Common error: Writing 150 words entirely in the present tense with simple sentences and basic vocabulary — content is relevant and both bullets are addressed, but language is all simple structures.
✓ Correct: Even one conditional sentence, one relative clause, and one discourse marker like cependant lifts the language band significantly. Quality of structures matters as much as quantity of words.
Why it costs marks: A present-tense-only response is capped at Band 2 for language (maximum 2/5) regardless of how accurately it is written. The 150-word task explicitly tests range. No range = no Band 3 or 4.
Practice questions for The 150-word task
In the AQA Higher Paper 4 (Writing), how many marks in total is the 150-word task worth?
Which sentence uses 'bien que' correctly to mean 'Although it is tiring, it is rewarding'?