Everything you plug into an opinion letter: connectors by function, ways to state and soften an opinion, the concession move that lifts you to CLB 7, letter formulas, and safe "expert-sounding" phrases. French terms, English glosses.
Grouped by the job they do. Pick a different one for each argument — variety is a graded criterion. Terms marked + subj force the subjunctive after them.
Keep your position visible without repeating "je pense que" five times. Mix a strong-conviction phrase in the thesis with hedged phrases in the body.
Admit the other side, then answer it. This is the single move that separates a CLB 7 letter from a CLB 5 one — the grader looks for it. The pattern is always acknowledge → but → rebut.
Certes, [the opposing point is true]… néanmoins / cependant, [why your side still wins]. — Use this as your third body paragraph and you've built a real argument, not just a list.
bien que, quoique, pour que, afin que, à condition que, avant que all take the subjunctive. Learn a small safe set (e.g. bien qu'il soit, bien que ce soit) rather than improvising and slipping.
You don't need all of these. Lock in one opening (Madame, Monsieur, — J'ai lu avec intérêt…) and one closing (Je vous prie d'agréer… salutations distinguées.) so you can write them without thinking on exam day.
Semi-fixed expressions that raise your register with almost zero risk of error. Drop them into any topic. These read as B2 vocabulary to a grader.
faire une décision → prendre une décision (make a decision). · les médias sociaux → les réseaux sociaux (social media). Fixing your top literal-translation errors is worth more than learning new fancy phrases.
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