TEF Canada Writing Section A: the fait divers template that works

Section A of the writing test gives you the opening lines of a short news item — a fait divers — and asks you to continue it in about 80 words. You have roughly 20 minutes. It is the most template-friendly task in the entire exam: the register, the structure, and even the tenses are predictable. Candidates who walk in with a rehearsed skeleton consistently outperform stronger writers who improvise.

What the task rewards

• •Journalistic, neutral register — you are a reporter, not a storyteller.
• •Logical continuation of the given opening — same facts, same tone.
• •Past-tense narration: passé composé for events, imparfait for context, plus-que-parfait for background.
• •Precise details: times, places, ages, quantities make the text credible.
• •A tight word count — around 80 words, not 150.

The four-move template

Useful connectors for the genre: en effet, à la suite de, selon les témoins, cependant, par ailleurs. A quote adds authenticity: « Nous ferons toute la lumière sur cette affaire », a déclaré le responsable.

• •Move 1 — Set the scene: when and where the events happened, who was involved (one sentence).
• •Move 2 — What happened: the core event, narrated factually in passé composé.
• •Move 3 — Reaction or consequence: witnesses, authorities, results — often with reported speech.
• •Move 4 — What's next: an investigation, a decision, an expected outcome (conditional or future).

The mistakes that cost points

• •Switching to first person or opinions — a fait divers reports; it never says 'je pense'.
• •Present-tense narration where past tenses are expected.
• •Contradicting the given opening instead of continuing it.
• •Writing double the word count — length is not rewarded; control is.

How to practise

Write one Section A task per day under a 20-minute timer. Check yourself against three questions: did I follow the four moves, did I stay in journalistic register, did I land near 80 words? Then compare with a model answer for the same prompt and note the structures it used that you didn't. After ten timed attempts with model comparison, the template becomes automatic — which frees your attention for accuracy on exam day.