TCF Canada writing (expression écrite): tasks, scoring, NCLC

One 60-minute paper, three tasks

The TCF Canada writing test (expression écrite) has three tasks to complete in 60 minutes in total. The candidate handbook does not set a time per task: the 60 minutes are shared, and it is up to you to split them across the three texts.

Depending on the test centre, the paper is taken on paper or on a computer. The centre decides which. Either way, each task shows the word range you are expected to write.

The writing result is used, among other things, to support your French level in an Express Entry application. Managing time and word count therefore matters as much as the quality of your language: an answer judged non-compliant can lose most of its points.

The three tasks and their word ranges

The tasks get harder as you go, and the word ranges are tight: you need to say what matters without running over.

Before writing, pick out three things in each set of instructions: the recipient (or readers), the purpose of the task, and the information or ideas requested. That thirty-second read prevents most off-topic answers, one of the causes of a zero that the handbook lists.

• Task 1: 60 to 120 words. A message to a recipient whose identity is given in the instructions, to describe, tell or explain something.
• Task 2: 120 to 150 words. An article, letter or note for several readers: report an experience or tell about an event, with comments, opinions and arguments, serving a specific purpose (to protest, to make up, and so on).
• Task 3: 120 to 180 words. An article for a newspaper, a website or colleagues: compare the viewpoints of two documents on a social phenomenon, then give your own.

The word count can make or break your result

The candidate handbook states that if a task is not written with the required number of words, the answer can be rated “A1 not reached”, which means 0 points. It also lists going off topic, leaving a task out and, on paper, illegible handwriting.

Each task shows a minimum and a maximum, so going over the maximum is, in principle, also a failure to follow the instructions. Some candidates and prep sites mention a tolerance or a penalty beyond a 10% overrun, but we found no official confirmation, so stay inside the range. The exact way words are counted is not published; see our dedicated guide.

How your answers are marked

On the paper test, two raters assess your answers independently and blind. Since May 2024, on the computer-based test, your writing is assessed by one human rater and by FIDELIA, France Éducation international’s automated marking aid; if they disagree, a third human rater reviews it (source: France Éducation international’s official presentation of FIDELIA). Each task receives a CEFR level, from “A1 not reached” to C2, and these judgements are converted into a score out of 20 and a final level using calculation rules.

The handbook describes three broad families of criteria without publishing a scored grid. Candidates do not get their marked-up answers back, nor advice on how to improve.

Because there is no public scored grid and no officially marked answers freely available, no outside estimate, ours included, can reproduce an examiner’s score exactly. An estimate is mainly useful for spotting weak points and tracking progress.

• Linguistic: range of vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, spelling, sentence complexity.
• Pragmatic: coherence and flow of ideas, development of the topic.
• Sociolinguistic: fit with the communication context (recipient, purpose, register).

From the score out of 20 to NCLC

For Express Entry, IRCC converts the writing score out of 20 into an NCLC level using the table below.

The six judgements are first brought down to a score out of 20: for example, judgements mostly at B1 give a score of 6 to 8, and at B2 a score of 10 to 12. The NCLC 7 threshold is therefore 10 out of 20, and NCLC 6 starts at 7 out of 20.

Our tool’s estimates come from an AI: they follow the same approach (one level per task, then a conversion) but remain indicative. They are not an official result and do not replace an examiner’s marking.

• IRCC’s table stops at NCLC 4. A score below 4 out of 20 does not reach NCLC 4 (our own inference: IRCC does not list this case).

• Try a free practice with an AI estimate
• Browse the question bank
• Guide: how to write tasks 1, 2 and 3