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✍️ Writing 1: the guided task

💰 5 marks (Lettres) · 4 (Sciences, Technique) 📝 4 to 5 lines from notes Sport has no guided task, go to Writing 2

What it is

You get notes. You make sentences.

The task: "Use the notes or table to write a short paragraph (4 to 5 lines) about X." The ideas are given to you. The marks are for turning short notes into correct, joined sentences, and for using all the notes.

The marks. Use all the notes (2) plus correct language (2), and in Lettres one more for spelling and punctuation. If you miss a note, you lose marks. Tick each note as you use it.

The method

Notes into sentences, in 5 small steps

Notes leave out the small words. Your job is to put them back. For each note:

  1. Add "to be" if it is missing. This is the most common Tunisian mistake. "known / advances" becomes "He is known for his advances."
  2. Add "a, an, the" where English needs them.
  3. Choose the tense. A life story uses the past simple. A general fact uses the present simple.
  4. Add the "s" for he, she, it: "It aims to…", "He provides…".
  5. Join with linking words (and, so, then, before) so it reads like a paragraph, not a list.
Worked example, real Lettres 2025 (notes about Moungi Bawendi):
Notes: born 15 March 1961, Paris · Bachelor 1982 · Master, Harvard, 1983 · PhD 1988 · known / advances / quantum dots · Nobel Prize, Chemistry, 2023.
Moungi Bawendi was born on 15 March 1961 in Paris, France. He earned a Bachelor degree in 1982 and a Master degree from Harvard University in 1983, and then he got his PhD in 1988. He is known for his advances in the production of high quality quantum dots. In 2023, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Every note is used, verbs are added, articles are in, and the past simple runs through. That is full marks. REAL BAC

Keep these three templates in your head

Template 1: the charity or event profile (the most common)

Red Crescent, UNICEF, World Water Day, Road Safety Week. Same shape every time:

[Name] is a [charity or yearly event] founded in [year]. It aims to [goal]. It provides [help] and raises awareness of [cause]. It has [result, or "been awarded …"].

Template 2: the biography

[Name] was born on [date] in [place]. He or she studied [subject] and graduated in [year]. In [year], he or she [main success]. He or she was awarded [prize].

Past simple, with verbs like: was born, studied, graduated, founded, was awarded.

Template 3: the facts or numbers report

According to the [table or figures], [X] rose to / reached [number]. [Y] is also [going up or down]. These alarming numbers show that [short conclusion].

Useful verbs: rose, increased, reached, accounts for, costs.

One more real example

A definition or process paragraph

Real Sciences 2025 asked for a 4 line paragraph about Forest Therapy from notes (what it is, when it started, its good points, why it helps).

Forest Therapy is a way of relaxing in which people spend time in nature and use all five senses. It started in Japan in the 1980s. It encourages people to enjoy gentle activities such as walking and meditation. Above all, it gives an answer to the stress and the screen habits of our daily life.

Present simple (it is a general idea), articles added, every note used. REAL BAC

⭐ Practice: add the missing words

Turn these notes into a sentence

Notes: Red Crescent / charity / founded 1956 / help / families in need. Type the small word that is missing in each box.

The Red Crescent ______ a charity. (the verb)
It ______ founded in 1956. (the verb)
It help______ families in need. (add the right ending)

⭐ Practice: matching

Match each task to its first words

Pick the best opening for each kind of guided task.
A charity profile
A biography
A numbers report

Before you move on

Quick checklist for guided writing

Writing 1 in one line

Add the missing small words, choose the tense, use every note, and join into 4 or 5 lines. Pick the right template: profile, biography, or report. Now the big one, Writing 2, where you will also find ready essay paragraphs.