French ab intio Written Assignment – Some more points to keep in mind

- Good WAs tend to be those where good research is done and where aspects that are
precise and different have been compared. If there is more contrast in the two cultures
there is more to comment on, more comparison possible and more analysis possible to
try and explain the differences.

- Examples of popular topics: food related (meals, good manners, table etiquette) religious
festivals, other festivals, education (student life, education system, funding for university,
school uniform), transport (trains in India and France)

- Some topics are not suitable for WA because they are too broad or vague eg. Health of
French, Different activities of France, Holidays in France, or because they don’t allow an
intercultural understanding eg. The geography of France, the climate of France, The
seasons of France.

- Names of countries being compared must be mentioned.

- Factual information should be in description, not comparison.

- You must copy the sub headings and the 3 questions in the reflections.

- In bibliography mention date of reference (date de consultation), web address of page

consulted, in case of books page no, title of article.

- Do not choose source texts that are too difficult or too long. Avoid sources which are long
lists of festivals or fruits.

- In description must have sufficient information relevant to francophone country.

- Do not choose topics which are very broad.

- Comparison should not be superficial.

- Reflection should be developed.

- In comparison section use comparative terms, make sure structure is clear, don’t give
more factual information here or repeat information given in description without
comparing or developing it.
- Reflection has maximum marks so one sentence is not enough for each question. Do not
repeat here information already given earlier. Need to give developed and in depth
answer.

- Do not make silly grammar mistakes.