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Formal letters in French test answer key with scoring for French 4 (free PDF download)

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Writing Polite Formal Letters and Emails – French 4 test answer key with Zoé, the Français PDF coach

The questions are on the Formal Letters In French test. Take it under real conditions before reading the answer key.

Quick answer: A formal French letter follows a fixed order: sender, recipient, place and date, subject line, greeting, body, closing formula and signature. This scoring guide gives the expected answers and the points for the 8 questions of the French 4 test on formal letters in French, from greeting and closing pairs to write an email, with the equivalent answers to accept.

Accept any answer that respects the formal register and has correct agreement. Award full points only when the greeting and closing match. For the writing question, grade structure first, then grammar.

Level: French 4 (high school, ACTFL Intermediate Mid) · Standards: ACTFL Intermediate Mid, WL 1.2 Interpretive, WL 1.3 Presentational, WL 4.1 Language Comparisons, WL 2.1 Cultural Practices

Question 1 Greeting and closing pairs (2 points)

a) Madame, Monsieur, … Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées. b) Monsieur le Maire, … Je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur le Maire, l’expression de ma haute considération.

Scoring: 1 point per matching pair; no credit if the closing title differs from the greeting.

Question 2 Make it polite (2 points)

a) Pourriez-vous me donner le prix ? b) Pourriez-vous confirmer ma réservation ?

Scoring: 1 point each; accept any polite vous form.

Question 3 Conditional forms (2 points)

a) souhaiterions b) Auriez

Scoring: 1 point each; half a point if the ending is right but the stem is wrong.

Question 4 Read the email (3 points)

a) The helmet arrived with a broken buckle. b) An exchange for another helmet. c) Dans l’attente de votre réponse, je vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguées.

Scoring: 1 point per part.

Question 5 Correct the formula (2 points)

a) Cher Monsieur le Directeur, b) mes salutations distinguées

Scoring: 1 point each.

Question 6 Translate into French (3 points)

a) Je voudrais recevoir plus d’informations. b) Pourriez-vous confirmer la date de l’entretien ? c) Je vous écris pour me plaindre de ma commande.

Scoring: 1 point each; deduct half for a spelling error.

Question 7 Soften the tone (2 points)

a) Je vous serais reconnaissant de bien vouloir me rembourser. b) Je regrette de n’avoir reçu aucune réponse.

Scoring: 1 point each for a formal and correct sentence.

Question 8 Write an email (4 points)

Model: Objet : demande de carte de bus. Madame, Monsieur, je suis élève d’échange au lycée cette année. Pourriez-vous m’indiquer comment obtenir une carte de bus ? Je voudrais aussi connaître son prix. Je vous remercie d’avance de votre réponse. Cordialement, Dana Cooper.

Scoring: 1 point layout (subject, greeting, closing); 1 point polite request; 1 point grammar; 1 point vocabulary and length.

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