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Whether it's sending a text, making a shopping list, or replying to a work email, writing is essential to everyday life. Wouldn't you love to have that same level of easy confidence in your French writing skills?
Then you need to practise!
But not all practice is beneficial. If you try to write in French on your own, you could end up reinforcing your mistakes.
So what's the best way to improve your French writing skills?
It's a combination of techniques and methods that we've outlined below. Read on to learn the best ways to improve your writing in French.
French Writing Practice Techniques
Whichever method you use to exercise your writing in French, make sure you use the following techniques:
Recall and Reconsolidation
Rather than rereading or revising what you already know, test whether you can recall it. When writing, this could be recalling a grammar rule or sentence structure you need to use rather than looking it up. This method of reinforcing your knowledge is up to 300% more effective than revising what you already know!
Reconsolidation is recalling your knowledge in different contexts. For example, rather than rewriting a sentence over and over to learn how to correctly use a certain phrase, use the phrase in different sentences. This method of recall can help you learn twice as fast!
Corrections and Feedback
The most crucial element of writing practice is receiving corrections effectively. Otherwise, you won't know where or how to improve. While you can do some writing practice alone, make sure you use resources that offer corrections and timely feedback.
Keep reading for some suggestions.
How to Practise French Writing Skills
Now that you know which techniques to use, where should you start? Here are some effective methods for French writing practice that use the above techniques to help you improve:
Writing Exercises
Online writing exercises usually come in two forms:
In the first, you're presented with an English text and challenged to write it in French. In the second, you're presented with a French audio file and challenged to transcribe it accurately.
Both styles of exercise test your recall and reconsolidate your knowledge. Most importantly, they correct your mistakes. Progress with Lawless French's exercises even point you towards concise, expert-created lessons that will help you better understand the areas where you went wrong.
Bilingual Texts
Similarly to translation exercises, bilingual texts are a great way to test your writing skills. Start with material that has been professionally translated, such as a well-known novel.
You can try translating sentences from the English text into French, then compare with the official version. Keep in mind that, while this helps reinforce knowledge, it's essential to remember that multiple translations can be correct. If your version varies from the official one but still conveys the original idea and respects French grammar, it's likely just as valid.
This is probably easier with our own writing exercises since our expert French teachers always include as many translations as possible in order to give you accurate feedback about your translation.
Journaling
While translation and copying are great practice methods, you also need to practise writing production. That is, creating written text yourself. This skill is essential if you want to be able to write in French spontaneously and confidently.
Journaling is a great daily habit that can help with writing production. The risk, though, is that there's a chance you might make and then reinforce a mistake. So try to seek out corrections, either from a native speaker you know or via online forums.
We have a Q&A forum for language questions where you can ask any question you might get while writing by yourself. The best part is that you'll get answers from experienced French learners and our expert native French teachers.
There are also plenty of online communities that can offer comments on longer texts.
Reading
French reading practice lets you get used to common French sentence structures. It also helps you learn new phrases and expressions that you can then incorporate into your writing.
Reading practice doesn't have to mean burying your head in a long textbook. For a more relaxed approach, turn on French subtitles when you watch TV to see how translators phrase English expressions. They may not use a direct translation, but this can still help you reinforce French grammar and syntax.
All Four French Skills
Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are so intertwined that practising just one isn't enough. In this article, we've explained how listening exercises can test your writing skills and how reading can improve them. So challenge yourself on all four language skills to keep improving at a steady rate.
Progress with Lawless French has lessons, exercises, and kwizzes that fine-tune your reading, writing, and listening. And we partner with Languatalk to offer one-on-one speaking practice. Access all our free resources by signing up for a free account today!
