TCF Canada Writing Task 1 looks simple because the response is short. That is precisely why missing one instruction can be costly.
You normally have only 60–120 words to write a message, email or announcement for a named reader. Within that limited space, you may need to describe a place, organise an event, answer a request, recount an experience or explain a decision. A polished paragraph that omits the price, meeting time or requested opinion is still incomplete.
Your first decision should be communicative, not grammatical:
Who am I writing to?
Why am I writing?
Which facts must the reader receive?
What response or action do I want from the reader?
The 20 situations below were associated with TCF Canada sessions and preparation-community archives during 2025–2026.
About the Prompts
These topics were collected from candidate discussions and recent exam-preparation community archives. The wording has been paraphrased or reconstructed. These are not official examination papers, and future prompts may differ. They are provided as illustrative training material to help you understand the types of situations you may encounter.
How to Use This Topic Bank
For each prompt, practice:
Identifying the reader and choosing the appropriate register
Covering every required detail
Staying within the 60–120 word range
Ending with a clear action or next step
The “Do not overlook” notes highlight the most common mistakes candidates make with each prompt.
1. Selling a Used Bicycle
Paraphrased prompt: Someone has posted an advertisement looking for an affordable bicycle in good condition. Write an email describing the bicycle you want to sell, proposing a price and arranging a test ride.
Sujet (FR) : Quelqu’un a publié une annonce cherchant un vélo abordable en bon état. Écrivez un email décrivant le vélo que vous voulez vendre, en proposant un prix et en organisant un essai.
Reader and purpose: Potential buyer; respond to an advertisement and make a practical offer.
Required details: Type or condition of bicycle, useful features, price, proposed date and place for the test ride.
Do not overlook: The meeting arrangement is part of the task. A detailed product description alone is incomplete.
2. Recommending a Local Gym
Paraphrased prompt: A friend wants to begin exercising. Recommend a gym near your home and provide useful information about it.
Sujet (FR) : Un ami souhaite commencer à faire du sport. Recommandez une salle de sport près de chez vous et donnez des informations utiles à son sujet.
Reader and purpose: Friend; make a practical recommendation.
Required details: Location, activities or classes, opening times or facilities, membership price and reason for recommending it.
Do not overlook: Give usable facts. Saying only that the gym is modern and excellent does not answer the request.
3. Planning a Group Birthday Present
Paraphrased prompt: A close friend’s birthday is approaching. Write to your group of friends proposing a shared present and explain how everyone can participate.
Sujet (FR) : L’anniversaire d’un ami proche approche. Écrivez à votre groupe d’amis pour proposer un cadeau commun et expliquer comment chacun peut participer.
Reader and purpose: Friendship group; coordinate a collective purchase.
Required details: Proposed gift, reason it suits the recipient, approximate cost or individual contribution and the next step.
Do not overlook: You must organise participation, not merely suggest a gift.
4. Helping Friends with Your Move
Paraphrased prompt: Your friends have agreed to help you move home. Send them a group message with all the practical information.
Sujet (FR) : Vos amis ont accepté de vous aider à déménager. Envoyez-leur un message de groupe avec toutes les informations pratiques.
Reader and purpose: Friends; organise the moving day.
Required details: Date, meeting time, old and new locations, expected duration, transport and jobs to complete.
Do not overlook: Make the sequence operational. Your friends should know where to go first and what they need to do.
5. Describing Your New Neighbourhood
Paraphrased prompt: You recently moved to another city. Write to a friend describing your new living environment.
Sujet (FR) : Vous avez récemment déménagé dans une autre ville. Écrivez à un ami pour décrire votre nouvel environnement de vie.
Reader and purpose: Friend; give a personal update and description.
Required details: Neighbourhood, accommodation, neighbours, nearby shops or services and your first impression.
Do not overlook: Describe the immediate living environment rather than turning the message into a general presentation of the city.
6. Announcing a New Job
Paraphrased prompt: You found a new job. Write to a French-speaking friend to announce the news and describe it.
Sujet (FR) : Vous avez trouvé un nouvel emploi. Écrivez à un ami francophone pour lui annoncer la nouvelle et la décrire.
Reader and purpose: Friend; share news and explain the new situation.
Required details: Position, employer or sector, workplace, colleagues, starting date and your reaction.
Do not overlook: The prompt asks for the workplace and colleagues as well as the job title.
7. Replying About Your New Workplace
Paraphrased prompt: A friend asks how your new job is going and whether you are satisfied. Reply with details about your professional environment and feelings.
Sujet (FR) : Un ami vous demande comment se passe votre nouveau travail et si vous êtes satisfait. Répondez avec des détails sur votre environnement professionnel et vos sentiments.
Reader and purpose: Friend; answer questions and evaluate a new job.
Required details: Workplace, atmosphere, colleagues, duties or schedule and clear level of satisfaction.
Do not overlook: Answer the opinion question directly. Description without a personal assessment does not fully respond.
8. Describing Your New University
Paraphrased prompt: A friend asks about the university you have recently joined. Write back describing your studies and new environment.
Sujet (FR) : Un ami vous interroge sur l’université que vous venez de rejoindre. Répondez en décrivant vos études et votre nouvel environnement.
Reader and purpose: Friend; provide an update about student life.
Required details: Programme or courses, teachers, other students, facilities or activities and your first impression.
Do not overlook: Select several aspects of university life instead of discussing only your academic subject.
9. Explaining Your Arrival in a New Country
Paraphrased prompt: You recently arrived in another country. Send friends a message explaining your arrival and how you feel during your first days.
Sujet (FR) : Vous venez d’arriver dans un autre pays. Envoyez un message à vos amis pour expliquer votre arrivée et comment vous vous sentez durant vos premiers jours.
Reader and purpose: Friends; recount an arrival and share an emotional reaction.
Required details: Journey or arrival, first practical steps, new surroundings, difficulty or surprise and current feelings.
Do not overlook: Include both what happened and how you feel. The task is not only a travel itinerary.
10. Recommending Places in Your Region
Paraphrased prompt: A friend wants to discover the region where you live. Write a message recommending several interesting places to visit.
Sujet (FR) : Un ami souhaite découvrir la région où vous habitez. Écrivez un message pour recommander plusieurs endroits intéressants à visiter.
Reader and purpose: Visiting friend; give personalised tourism advice.
Required details: Two or three places, what can be seen or done there, practical location information and reasons they suit the visitor.
Do not overlook: Explain why each place is worth visiting instead of listing attractions without guidance.
11. Explaining Transport for a Weekend Visit
Paraphrased prompt: A friend will spend the weekend in your city and asks how to get around. Reply with information about the available transport.
Sujet (FR) : Un ami passera le week-end dans votre ville et vous demande comment se déplacer. Répondez avec des informations sur les transports disponibles.
Reader and purpose: Visiting friend; provide practical travel guidance.
Required details: Suitable transport options, routes or areas served, ticket price or pass, operating times and your recommendation.
Do not overlook: Compare the options briefly and tell the visitor which one is most useful.
12. Inviting Friends to a Tourist Site
Paraphrased prompt: Invite friends to visit a tourist site you particularly like. Describe it and organise the outing.
Sujet (FR) : Invitez des amis à visiter un site touristique que vous aimez particulièrement. Décrivez-le et organisez la sortie.
Reader and purpose: Friends; persuade and coordinate.
Required details: Site and location, attractive features, proposed date and time, transport and accommodation if required.
Do not overlook: This combines description with planning. Do not use all your words praising the destination.
13. Giving Directions to a Wedding Venue
Paraphrased prompt: A friend invited to your wedding does not know the venue. Write back describing where it is and how to reach it.
Sujet (FR) : Un ami invité à votre mariage ne connaît pas le lieu. Répondez en décrivant où il se trouve et comment y accéder.
Reader and purpose: Wedding guest; provide directions and useful arrival information.
Required details: Location, landmark, route, transport choices, travel time and any arrival or parking advice.
Do not overlook: Write directions the guest could actually follow rather than an attractive description of the venue.
14. Proposing a Weekend Trip
Paraphrased prompt: You want to spend a weekend away with friends next month. Present your plan in a group message.
Sujet (FR) : Vous souhaitez passer un week-end entre amis le mois prochain. Présentez votre plan dans un message de groupe.
Reader and purpose: Friends; propose and organise a short trip.
Required details: Destination, dates, transport, accommodation or budget, planned activities and request for confirmation.
Do not overlook: End with a clear action: ask who is available or set a deadline for replies.
15. Inviting a Friend to a Concert
Paraphrased prompt: Write to a friend proposing that you attend a concert together and provide the information needed to decide.
Sujet (FR) : Écrivez à un ami pour lui proposer d’assister à un concert ensemble et fournissez les informations nécessaires pour décider.
Reader and purpose: Friend; invite and make arrangements.
Required details: Performer or type of music, date, venue, start time, ticket price or duration and meeting proposal.
Do not overlook: An invitation needs concrete logistics, not only enthusiasm about the artist.
16. Recounting a Countryside Weekend
Paraphrased prompt: Write to a friend about a weekend you have just spent in the countryside and explain what happened.
Sujet (FR) : Écrivez à un ami à propos d’un week-end que vous venez de passer à la campagne et expliquez ce qui s’est passé.
Reader and purpose: Friend; recount a short personal experience.
Required details: Place, companions, main events or activities, memorable moment and reaction.
Do not overlook: Use a simple chronology. A disconnected list of rural activities does not form a clear account.
17. Describing Sport in Your Daily Life
Paraphrased prompt: A television website is collecting testimonies about amateur sport. Send a short contribution explaining the role sport plays in your routine.
Sujet (FR) : Un site de télévision recueille des témoignages sur le sport amateur. Envoyez une courte contribution expliquant la place que le sport occupe dans votre quotidien.
Reader and purpose: Media audience; provide a concise personal testimony.
Required details: Activity, frequency, location or companions, motivation, benefits and any difficulty maintaining the routine.
Do not overlook: The reader is public, not a close friend. Use a neutral, accessible tone and develop your personal experience.
18. Reviewing a Language-Learning App
Paraphrased prompt: You recently used an artificial-intelligence application to learn a language. Write to a group of friends about your experience and give your opinion.
Sujet (FR) : Vous avez récemment utilisé une application d’intelligence artificielle pour apprendre une langue. Écrivez à un groupe d’amis pour raconter votre expérience et donner votre avis.
Reader and purpose: Friends or social-media group; describe use and evaluate the tool.
Required details: Language, app function, how you used it, useful feature, limitation and overall opinion.
Do not overlook: Give evidence for the opinion. “It was useful” needs a concrete example.
19. Introducing Yourself to a New Group
Paraphrased prompt: You have joined a neighbourhood, student or leisure group. Post a short message introducing yourself to the other members.
Sujet (FR) : Vous avez rejoint un groupe de quartier, étudiant ou de loisirs. Publiez un court message pour vous présenter aux autres membres.
Reader and purpose: Unfamiliar group members; establish contact and encourage interaction.
Required details: Name, origin or current situation, work or studies, interests, reason for joining and a friendly opening for future contact.
Do not overlook: Adapt the personal details to the group. A generic biography does not show why you are writing there.
20. Asking About a Course or Activity
Paraphrased prompt: You saw an announcement for a course or local activity. Write to the organiser requesting the information you need before registering.
Sujet (FR) : Vous avez vu une annonce pour un cours ou une activité locale. Écrivez à l’organisateur pour demander les informations nécessaires avant de vous inscrire.
Reader and purpose: Organiser; make a polite information request.
Required details: Course or activity, your interest or level, dates, schedule, location, price, equipment and registration procedure.
Do not overlook: Use direct, specific questions and an appropriate semi-formal or formal register.
What These Reported Topics Reveal About Task 1
The subjects vary, but the communication patterns repeat. Most of the reported prompts ask you to perform one of five actions:
| Communication pattern | Typical topics | Essential move |
|---|---|---|
| Inform or describe | New home, job, university | Select concrete details and add a reaction |
| Recommend | Gym, region, transport | Provide facts and justify the recommendation |
| Organise | Move, birthday gift, trip | State who, what, where, when, cost and next action |
| Invite or propose | Concert, tourist visit | Make the idea attractive and include logistics |
| Request or reply | Course information, visitor question | Answer or ask every practical question clearly |
This is more useful than memorising twenty complete answers. On exam day, the surface topic may change, but you will still need to inform, recommend, organise, invite, request or reply.
How to Practise These Task 1 Prompts
For each topic, follow this short routine:
Circle the reader. Friend, group, organiser and public website require different levels of formality.
Underline every requested detail. Convert the instruction into a four-to-six-point checklist.
Choose realistic facts quickly. Invent simple dates, prices and places you can explain accurately.
Write 75–100 words. This gives you space to complete the task without drifting beyond 120 words.
Check communication before grammar. Confirm the purpose, reader, requested details and final action first.
Do not write the same memorised introduction for every situation. A message arranging a move should become practical immediately; a personal update can begin more warmly; a request to an organiser needs polite, precise questions.
Task 1 Final Checklist
Before moving to Task 2, ask:
Did I stay within 60–120 words?
Is my relationship with the reader clear?
Did I complete every requested content point?
Is the purpose visible in the opening lines?
Did I use a suitable greeting and closing?
Are my dates, prices, locations and arrangements consistent?
Did I include the requested reaction, reason or opinion?
Can the reader understand what should happen next?
Next Steps
Choose a prompt and identify the reader, purpose and required details before writing.
Time yourself—allow approximately 12–15 minutes for the response.
After writing, check whether you covered every required detail.
Count your words—aim for the 60–120 range.
Review your register—does it match the intended reader?
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