9716 s15 Er PDF

Cambridge International Advanced Level
9716 French June 2015

Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
FRENCH
Paper 9716/01
Speaking
Key messages
For teacher/Examiners:
• keep to the timings prescribed for the examination (see below) and, if necessary and appropriate,
interrupt the Topic Presentation if it overruns significantly.
• if necessary, prompt candidates to ask questions during/at the end of each conversation section –
but answer briefly.
• cover a range of topics in the General Conversation, some in depth, vary questions and topics from
one candidate to another, be prepared to identify and follow the interests and passions of the
candidate (not your own), and keep your own contributions to a minimum.
• create as natural a conversation as possible, interact with the candidate and avoid lists of pre-
prepared questions, especially those which elicit a one-word or purely factual answer.
For candidates:
• make sure that the presentation is not just factual, but contains ideas and opinions and also allows
further discussion in the Topic Conversation.
• ask questions of the teacher/Examiner in both conversation sections and make every effort to ask
more than one question on the topic or topics under discussion in order to be awarded maximum
marks.
• remember that the Topic Presentation must make clear reference to a francophone culture or
society: The presentation must demonstrate the candidate’s knowledge of the contemporary society
or cultural heritage of a country where the target language is spoken. This must be more than a
passing reference and candidates who live in a francophone country and who speak about an aspect
of their own culture must make it clear beyond doubt to which country they are referring.
General comments
It is important for teacher/Examiners to remember that this examination is an opportunity for candidates to
show what they have learnt and a chance for them to express and develop their ideas and opinions.
Teacher/Examiners should see their role as providing and facilitating this opportunity.
The way in which a teacher/Examiner asks a question can make a huge difference to how a candidate is
able to respond – teacher/Examiners need to be aware that very long, complex questions or closed
questions often prompt short answers, sometimes just yes or no, whereas open questions such as
Comment? or Pourquoi? may allow a candidate the freedom to answer at much greater length and in greater
depth.
The examination should be a conversation, which can only be achieved by engaging with and responding to
what the candidate says, not by asking a series of entirely unrelated questions with no follow-up. Going
through a list of pre-prepared questions rarely results in a natural conversation.
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Administration
Recordings this year were mainly clear, though there are still examples of faulty recording equipment and of
the microphone favouring the teacher/Examiner rather than the candidate. There were a number of cases
where recorded material was unplayable or where the recording had not been transferred correctly or where
the original recording was inaudible or where the CD was damaged in transit or faulty. Teacher/Examiners
must check the equipment before using it and ensure that the microphone favours the candidate without
losing the teacher/Examiner’s own contribution.
A number of recordings presented problems because of the recording format chosen. Where Centres use
digital recording software, each candidate’s file must be saved individually, as .mp3, and finalised correctly,
so that each candidate’s examination can be accessed for moderation. Files should be identified using
precise candidate details rather than just “number 1, 2” etc.
Please ensure that all recording material (including CD and cassette cases) is labelled with details of the
Centre, syllabus, and candidates, listed with their names and candidate numbers in the order of recording.
Where a Centre has candidates at both A and AS, they should be recorded on separate CDs or cassettes. If
using cassettes, only ONE candidate should be recorded per side of a 60 minute cassette and a maximum of
TWO candidates per side of a 90 minute cassette. It is very disruptive to candidates for the teacher/Examiner
to have to turn over a cassette in the middle of an examination - with the inevitable result that parts of the
conversation are lost.
Centres are reminded that the sample of recordings they send should represent candidates throughout the
range of the entry, from highest to lowest. There were one or two cases this session where there were
significant gaps in the range, which impaired the moderation process.
Care should also be taken with the packaging of recorded material – CDs are not unbreakable and there
have been a few cases of inadequately packaged CDs so damaged in transit that it has been impossible to
listen to candidates. Please also avoid sticky tape or labels coming into contact with the recording side of
CDs, as this makes them unplayable and runs the risk of damaging the equipment on which they are played.
There were a number of clerical errors, either in the addition of marks or in transcribing them to the MS1 -
this should be checked carefully before submission and all paperwork enclosed with the recordings. For the
size of sample needed, please see the details in the syllabus booklet.
Some Centres awarded half marks, even though there is no provision for half marks in the Mark Scheme and
several awarded marks out of 10 for Providing and/or Seeking Opinions, when the maximum is 5.
Centres are reminded that for moderation, in addition to the recordings, they need to send the Working Mark
Sheet, the MS1 (computer mark sheet or equivalent), the Attendance Sheet and any other relevant
paperwork.
Format of the examination
There are 3 distinct parts to the speaking test:
Presentation – to last 3 to 3½ minutes;

Topic Conversation – to last 7 to 8 minutes;
General Conversation – to last 8 to 9 minutes.
In order to be fair to all candidates across the world, these timings should be observed – where examinations
are too short, candidates are not given opportunities to show what they can do, and where conversations are
over-extended, an element of fatigue creeps in and candidates sometimes struggle to maintain their level of
language. Teacher/Examiners must also remember that the longer their own contributions, the less time
candidates have to develop their ideas. Responses to questions asked by candidates should be kept brief.
Presentation (3 to 3½ minutes)
In this part of the examination, the candidate gives a single presentation, lasting about three minutes, on a
specific topic of his or her choice, taken from one of the topic areas listed in the syllabus booklet. This is the
only prepared part of the examination and the only part for which candidates are able to choose what they
want to talk about.
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The topic list gives candidates a very wide choice – the most popular this year, at both A and AS Levels,
remained Le sport, Le conflit des générations, La famille, La cuisine française and La pollution. There were a
number of the usual favourites, such as drugs, unemployment, marriage, violence in society, discrimination,
racism and immigration, some dealing with culture or politics in a French-speaking country, personal
interests such as art or music. There were few topical presentations this session. Some of the most
interesting presentations managed to relate their chosen topic to a whole range of social and political issues.
For the most part, candidates were clearly aware of the need, stated in the syllabus, that the presentation
must demonstrate the candidate’s knowledge of the contemporary society or cultural heritage of a country
where the target language is spoken. Where this is not the case, candidates will have their mark for
Content/Presentation halved (see Speaking Test mark scheme).
Since the topic is chosen beforehand, candidates usually research quite widely, and have to select and
structure their material to fit into 3 to 3½ minutes – additional material which cannot not be included in the
actual presentation because of the time constraint may well prove very useful in the topic conversation
section. In general, candidates had no problem speaking for the required time and many were able to give
full and interesting presentations.
Candidates are advised to steer clear of very factual subjects – the mark scheme criteria for the
Content/Presentation element makes it clear that in order to score well, the presentation should contain not
just factual points, but ideas and opinions. Candidates need to think carefully before making their final choice
and consider whether it will be possible to develop and expand their chosen topic.
Candidates only present ONE topic and the Topic Conversation which follows will seek to develop that same
topic. A few candidates presented two topics instead of one as prescribed in the Syllabus.
Topic Conversation (7 to 8 minutes)
In this section, candidates have the chance to expand on what they have already said and develop ideas
and opinions expressed briefly during the presentation. Teacher/Examiners need to beware of merely asking
questions which allow a repetition of the same material already offered – their aim should be to ask more
probing questions in order to give candidates opportunities to expand on their original statements and then
respond to what the candidate says. There are not necessarily “right” answers either here or in the General
Conversation section and it is in the nature of a genuine conversation that those taking part may not agree
with opinions expressed. However, differences of opinion can create lively debate (if handled sensitively and
purposefully by the teacher/Examiner) and can give candidates the opportunity to defend their point of view.
At both A and AS Level, questions should go beyond the sort of questions appropriate at IGCSE Level.
Candidates need to be able to show that they are capable of taking part in a mature conversation. In some
cases, candidates were not able to offer much development or sustain the level of language used in their
presentation, but many were successful in expressing additional ideas and seeking the opinions of the
teacher/Examiner.
In each conversation section there are 5 marks available for questions the candidates ask of the
teacher/Examiner: candidates should ask more than one question and teacher/Examiners must prompt them
to do so. Teacher/Examiners should make sure that they do not spend too long on their own answers to
candidates’ questions, thereby depriving candidates of valuable time.
Teacher/Examiners should note that it is helpful both to candidates and Moderators to signal the end of the
Topic Conversation and the beginning of the General Conversation.
General Conversation (8 to 9 minutes)
The General Conversation is the most spontaneous section of the examination. Candidates will have
prepared their own choice of topic for the Topic Presentation (to be continued in the Topic Conversation), but
here they do not know what the teacher/Examiner will choose to discuss (and it is the teacher/Examiner who
chooses, not the candidate). Clearly the areas of discussion will be those studied during the course and
there were many varied and interesting discussions heard. In a Centre with a number of candidates,
candidates should not all be asked to talk about the same list of subjects – themes should be varied from
candidate to candidate and should on no account return to the original subject of the presentation.
© 2015
This section is intended to be a conversation between teacher/Examiner and candidate, so it is not
appropriate for the teacher/Examiner to ask a series of unrelated questions, to which the candidate responds
with a prepared answer, after which the teacher/Examiner moves on to the next question on the list.
Teacher/Examiners should display sensitivity in asking questions about topics of a personal nature i.e.
religion and personal relationships and should try to keep their questions general rather than moving
inappropriately into personal areas.
Teacher/Examiners should aim to discuss a minimum of 2 to 3 areas in depth, giving candidates

opportunities to offer their own opinions and defend them in discussion. Although the section may begin with
straightforward questions about family, interests or future plans, which can, in themselves, be developed
beyond the purely factual (questions asking “Why?“ or “How?”), candidates at both A and AS Level should
be prepared for conversation to move on to current affairs and more abstract topics appropriate to this level
of examination.
Candidates should be prompted to ask questions of the teacher/Examiner in order to give them the
opportunity to score marks for this criterion, though teacher/Examiners should once again be wary of
answering at too great a length.
Assessment
Across the vast majority of the entry, moderation saw marks either not adjusted at all or adjusted by less
than 10%, although there were a few cases of adjustment of 10-20%. The greatest causes of difference were
where marks had been awarded for asking questions where none had actually been asked or where topics
did not relate to a francophone country. A handful of teacher/Examiners also found it difficult to establish an
acceptable level for Comprehension/Responsiveness, Accuracy and Feel for the Language, while others
found it tricky to differentiate between the bands for Pronunciation/Intonation.
Where candidates ask questions during the course of conversation, this should clearly be rewarded, but
teacher/Examiners must remember to prompt candidates to ask questions in both conversation sections if
candidates forget to do so: the mark scheme gives the criteria for awarding marks for this element of the
examination and these marks should be awarded regardless of whether questions are spontaneous or
prompted, provided that they are relevant to the topic under discussion.
Centres are reminded that if at all possible, they should engage only one teacher/Examiner per syllabus. In
cases where the engagement of two or more teacher/Examiners on the same syllabus is unavoidable, the
teacher/Examiners must co-ordinate with each other to establish an agreed standard. Otherwise, Moderation
is extremely difficult. All Centres are asked to advise CIE, using form NOE, about the teacher/Examiners
they intend to use.
In rare cases, teacher/Examiners misapplied the mark scheme, most frequently by awarding marks out of 10
for those categories like Pronunciation/Intonation and Seeking Opinions which carry a maximum of 5 marks.
Teacher/Examiners at Centres with a large entry of able candidates should be aware that marks may be
bunched and that it is impossible to differentiate between candidates to a greater degree than the Mark
Scheme allows.
In Centres with a number of candidates, teacher/Examiners were generally able to establish a logical rank
order and appropriate marking pitch, but this is more difficult to achieve where Centres only have one or two
candidates. Teacher/Examiners should be congratulated on their efforts to apply the criteria of the mark
scheme so conscientiously.
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FRENCH
Paper 9716/21
Reading and Writing
Key messages
● In Question 1, the word or words chosen as the answer must be interchangeable in every respect
with the word or words given in the question. Adding or omitting words invalidates the answer.
● In Question 2, candidates are required to manipulate the sentence grammatically, not to alter its
vocabulary or meaning unnecessarily.
● In Questions 3 and 4, candidates should not simply ‘lift’ (copy/cut and paste) words or phrases
unaltered from the text. They need to manipulate the text in some way, re-phrasing by using different
vocabulary or structures.
● In Questions 3 and 4, candidates should not copy out the question as a preamble to their answer.
● In Question 5, any material over the word limit is ignored.
● In Question 5b, candidates should be encouraged to venture some brief relevant ideas of their own
without confining themselves to the material contained in the text.
General comments
The paper was felt to be a very similar in overall level of difficulty to previous years, producing a good spread
of marks and giving stronger candidates an opportunity to display their ability whilst remaining accessible to
the majority. There were however some, whose level of linguistic competence was over-stretched by what
was being asked of them.
The stronger candidates knew how to tackle the different types of questions, revealing a good level of
familiarity with the format of the paper and the required tasks. Where candidates scored consistently poorly,
it was quite often because they copied phrases unaltered from the texts in Questions 3 and 4.
The practice of copying out the question in Questions 3 and 4 as a preamble to the answer is a waste of
time for both candidate and marker, as well as potentially introducing linguistic errors which detract greatly
from the overall impression for the quality of language mark: e.g. Les télétravailleurs peuvent-ils être
désavantagés parce que…. (4c) or Le télétravail peut-il provoquer des tensions parce que …. (4d). Answers
beginning with parce que are quite in order, indeed usually preferable.
Candidates would do well to look at the number of marks awarded for each question (indicated in square
brackets) as a guide to the number of points to be made.
In Questions 3 and 4, it is encouraging to note that copying wholesale from the text has diminished
considerably in recent sessions, with candidates understanding how to ‘work’ the text to avoid it, but it
remains a common feature amongst the weaker candidates. It is important to remember that simply ‘lifting’
sections directly from the text, even if they include more or less correct information, does not demonstrate
understanding and therefore does not score marks. Candidates must show that they can manipulate the text
in some way (even in a minor way) to provide the correct answer. They should try to express the relevant
points using different vocabulary or structures. There is an encouraging trend for the stronger candidates to
understand how to do this quite simply, avoiding unnecessary over-complications. Even quite small changes
(e.g. transforming nouns into verbs or finding a simple synonym) or extensions to the original can show that
candidates are able to handle both the ideas and the language – see specific comments on Questions 3
and 4 below.
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Question 2, on the other hand, is not the time to attempt to find other words for straightforward vocabulary
items used in the original sentence. This question is a test of grammatical manipulation, not of an ability to
find alternative vocabulary for its own sake. Candidates should therefore aim to make the minimum changes
necessary, whilst retaining as many elements of the original as possible. They need to be aware, however,
that alterations made to one part of the sentence are likely to have grammatical implications elsewhere,
particularly in matters of agreement.
In Question 1, candidates nowadays appear more aware of need for the words given as the answer to be
interchangeable in every respect with the word or words given in the question – i.e. the word or words to be
inserted must fit precisely into the ‘footprint’ of the word or words which they are replacing.
In Question 5, candidates should realize the importance of the word limits clearly set out in the rubric: a total
of 140 words for both sections, 90-100 words for the summary of specific points made in the original texts
and 40-50 words for the response. Material beyond the word limit is ignored and scores no marks. This
means that those candidates who use up the entire allocation of words on the Summary automatically
receive none of the 5 marks available for their Personal Response. Although there has been a very marked
improvement in this respect in recent sessions, candidates from some Centres still write answers in excess
of the word limit, sometimes by a large margin, meaning that too many good answers to the Personal
Response cannot be awarded any marks since the word limit has been exceeded before it starts.
These limits are such that candidates cannot afford the luxury of an introductory preamble, however
polished. It appears that candidates are unnecessarily afraid of being penalized for not introducing the topic
(no doubt because of different practices in other subjects), but it is easy to waste 25% of the available words
on this for no reward. The word limit is already quite tight to achieve ten points, so, from the very outset,
candidates need to make the point as succinctly as possible and move on to the other nine. It is a
summary/résumé of specific points from the texts that is requested in the first part of Question 5, not a
general essay.
It is strongly recommended that candidates count carefully the number of words that they have used as they
go through the exercise and record them accurately at the end of each of the two parts, if only in order to
highlight to themselves the need to remain within the limits. For the purpose of counting words in this
context, a word is taken to be any unit that is not joined to another in any way: therefore il y a is three words,
as is Qu’est-ce que c’est? The most successful candidates often showed clear evidence of planning and
editing their material with the word limit in mind.
Comments on specific questions
Question 1
This exercise was well handled by the stronger candidates, who scored highly. Others thought that chez soi
and chez moi were interchangeable for Item (a) or did not include à and/or la before maison, both of which
were needed (see Key message 1). Croissance was often correctly identified as a synonym for
augmentation in ltem (b), but fewer appeared to understand the sense of rendu possible in (c), or perhaps
ruled out facilité thinking it was a noun. In (d), some candidates felt that they needed to include n’est plus in
the answer (which would have given n’est plus n’est plus de rigueur) or didn’t include the de before rigueur
(sometimes wrongly spelled). Item (e) was the most successfully handled of all.
Question 2
There were some good answers to this question, but as usual, the task proved demanding for candidates
with an inadequate command of grammatical structures.
Item 2(a) required the à of the original to be replaced by de in the reworked version. This was recognised by
a significant number, but others either left the à unchanged, replaced it with pour or simply left it out.
Item 2(b) proved the most demanding of the Items. Quite a number merely rearranged the words in an order
which meant nothing, whilst others who had done the difficult bit by re-structuring the sentence didn’t remove
the e from conçue.
Item 2(c) required more than one element to be adjusted in the transformation into indirect speech. Many
handled this successfully but some left chez moi unaltered (or changed to chez soi/lui).
© 2015
In Item 2(d), required a transformation into the passive, which stronger candidates took in their stride, but a
good number couldn’t make donnée agree.
Item 2(e) required a subjunctive, which was again well recognised by the stronger candidates, although
some spoiled things by forming it as tennions or by thinking that compte was a verb which needed to be put
into the subjunctive.
Question 3
Item 3(a) The candidates who scored best on this opening question were those who realised that they could
avoid ‘lifting’ (see Key message 3) temps épargné, stress diminué, frais supprimés and efficacité améliorée
by the simple technique of rephrasing using finite verbs or infinitives: Elle épargne du temps / d’épargner du
temps; elle diminue son stress / de diminuer son stress; elle supprime les frais …; elle améliore son
efficacité.
Item 3(b) offered a similar opportunity to avoid la création de mon propre horaire … l’harmonisation des
responsabilités … l’allocation de plus de temps … by re-phrasing using the verbs créer, harmoniser and
allouer, even if it was not always clear whether candidates necessarily understood their meaning. The
problem was that the verbs offered sometimes bore an unfortunate resemblance to English: créater or
allocater.
Item 3(c) The advantages of working from home were generally well understood and it was not difficult to
score the marks by finding alternatives to tranquillité (on est plus tranquille), interruptions, distractions (on
peut travailler sans être interrompu) and une meilleure concentration (on peut se concentrer …). A significant
minority misinterpreted le salarié as salary, claiming that teleworkers earn more.
Item 3(d) Most appeared to understand that the advantages included less crowded public transport and
fewer cars on the road (thus less CO2) even if their powers of expression were sometimes heavily taxed.
There was also a common misconception that transports … moins surchargés referred to surcharges which
meant that public transport would cost less. The point about saving office space was relatively infrequently
found for the third mark.
Item 3(e) The question began A part les handicapés …, which meant that answers which talked about the
disabled were not rewardable. Otherwise, many found a variety of very straightforward ways of re-phrasing
les habitants des régions rurales (e.g. les gens qui habitent à la campagne) and … obligation de se déplacer
vers les centres urbains (e.g. ils ne sont pas obligés de venir en ville).
Question 4
Item 4(a) Many candidates appeared to appreciate the risk of the teleworker feeling isolated and losing
perspective, without always being able to express it clearly. Some thought isolation was the same as
isolement, and there was some uncertainty about the meaning of perspective.
Item 4(b) was again best handled with verbs, as indicated by the question (… permet à Yves de faire). So
the very straightforward échanger les idées, travailler en équipe et se réunir avec des camarades scored all
three marks.
Item 4(c) was generally successfully handled, with candidates able to identify the disadvantages for
teleworkers. Some were worried about l’assurance, others about teleworkers’ sécurité in general.
Item 4(d) depended on candidates identifying the danger of work invading family life without resorting simply
to lifting déborder – e.g. envahir, affecter, intervenir dans, devenir intrusif dans, se mélanger/confondre avec
…, but not interrupter). The two remaining marks were scored by a good number of candidates who saw the
need to establish des règles/limites/frontières/normes and to create a separate space in which to work or
store working materials.
Item 4(e) was an uncomplicated final question requiring candidates simply to name three personal qualities
needed by the teleworker. It was not always obvious that candidates understood the use of the word qualités
in this context, but those who simply opted for la motivation, la discipline et l’organisation scored all three
marks.
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Question 5
This Question asked the candidates to summarise the positive and negative aspects of teleworking and then
to consider whether a similar arrangement could be applied to schools.
Being concise is part of the task. See General Comments at the start of this report for the need for
candidates to embark directly on identifying and giving point-scoring information without a general
introduction. The word limit is becoming much better respected, but it is a pity to see occasional candidates
still wasting over a quarter of the word limit by starting with: Les arguments pour et contre le télétravail sont
présentés dans ces deux textes. Dans le premier texte on parle des avantages et dans le deuxième texte on
parle des inconvénients. Considérons d’abord les avantages présentés dans le premier texte … However
worthy, this scores no marks.
The mark scheme identified 16 rewardable points of which a good number of candidates managed perhaps
7 or 8, with some reaching an impressive 10. Others spent too long making and re-making a single point or
on irrelevant material. A handful misunderstood the requirements of this exercise and gave their own opinion
on the subject. The most commonly identified positives included the positive impact on the quality and
quantity of the work produced, on family life/life-work balance, less stress and less traffic/CO2. The most
commonly identified negatives were isolation, lack of dialogue/perspective and the need for
discipline/motivation/organisation.
There is no specific penalty for ‘lifting’ in this exercise as far as content is concerned, but excessive reliance
on the language contained in the text is liable to result in a lower quality of language mark.
The Personal Response gives candidates the chance to express their feelings on a specific topic, which
some of the stronger candidates did convincingly, assuming they had not exceeded the word limit by this
stage. A few were very enthusiastic about the idea of distance-schooling and on-line courses, but the
majority thought that candidates would not be mature or disciplined enough to profit. More importantly for
some, they would simply miss out on one of the main reasons for coming to school – to be with other
candidates and to learn to interact socially and intellectually. Weaker candidates tended to seek refuge in the
text and ventured little, resulting in some rather unambitious and derivative responses, but others were
rewarded for introducing a relevant idea or personal slant of their own.
It is acceptable to offer the Personal Response (5 marks) before the Summary, but it does not make sense to
do so if the candidate is going to run out of words available for the Summary (10 marks).
Quality of Language
The quality of language varied from the excellent to the very poor. The very weakest found it difficult to
express their ideas in a comprehensible form, with verbs (even entirely regular ones) as usual being far the
most common sources of error. The notion of agreement of verb with subject seemed to be foreign to the
weakest, and even when an attempt was made, it could result in the plural of elle travaille emerging as elles
travailles. Inconsistency of pronouns did not help in this respect: a sentence could start with il, change to ils
and finish with on or nous. Basic agreements of adjectives too were simply routinely ignored by weaker
candidates.
There was sometimes a phonetic approach to spelling, even with very common words e.g. pars que; part
tous (partout); qu’elle que jours; maichant; éde (aide). Ce/se/ceux were apparently interchangeable in the
weaker scripts, as were sont/son, est/et, on/ont, ses/ces/c’est/sais enfants. Accents were sometimes largely
ignored or scattered at random, most seriously in the omission of the acute accent on past participles:
organisé, discipliné.
Spanish words made regular appearances in some Centres: ser, hacer, compartir, interrumpir, di(s)minuir,
disfrutar, while the reflexive se often appeared in a position more compatible with Spanish structure than with
French. Attempts to use the construction tener (que) rendered phrases such as il tient que être organisé
incomprehensible.
English hovered very closely beneath the surface in other Centres: l’avoidance; les disabilités; commuter;
promoter; distracter; interrupter; involver; emitter; displacer; balance/imbalance, un border; dévoter; allocater;
silente.
The choice of leur/leurs/ses was far more often incorrect than correct, as was the spelling of travail as a noun
and travaille as a verb: ils faisent ses travailles.
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Constructions with certain common verbs as usual caused regular problems: permettre, aider, encourager,
empêcher, demander, obliger.
A cause de and parce que were often confused, as were peu and un peu, and temps and fois.
That said, the linguistic ability of a good number of the candidates certainly enabled them to transmit the
required facts and opinions effectively, whilst the best wrote idiomatic, fluent and accurate French which
made very good reading.
© 2015
FRENCH
Paper 9716/22
Reading and Writing
Key messages
● In Question 1, the word or words chosen as the answer must be interchangeable in every respect with
the word or words given in the question. Including additional words invalidates the answer.
● In Questions 3 and 4, candidates should not simply ‘lift’ (copy/cut and paste) phrases unaltered from
the text. They need to manipulate the text in some way, re-phrasing by using different vocabulary or
structures.
● In Question 5, any material in excess of the prescribed word count (total for parts (a) and (b) combined)
is ignored.
● In Question 5(b), candidates should be encouraged to venture some brief relevant ideas of their own
General comments
This was felt to be a fair test, very comparable in overall level of difficulty to previous years, and one which
produced a wide spread of marks. There were some very good scripts from able and well prepared
candidates who handled all the tasks with commendable fluency and accuracy, whilst there were some at the
other end of the range whose level of linguistic competence was over-stretched by what was being asked of
them.
The topic generally appeared to be one to which candidates could relate.
The better candidates knew how to set about tackling the different types of questions, revealing a good level
of familiarity with the format of the paper and the required tasks. Where candidates scored consistently
poorly, it was often because they copied material unaltered from the texts in Questions 3 and 4.
Most candidates managed to attempt all questions although a few of the weaker ones wrote rather short
summaries and personal responses. Quite a lot of answers in Questions 3 and 4 were unduly lengthy,
however, with candidates perhaps attempting to strike lucky by casting the net as widely as possible. Some
candidates still neglect the straightforward answer and look to over-complicate things.
from the overall impression for the quality of language mark. Ce stéréotype a-t-il dû être modifié parce que ...
3(c) ; Les femmes sont-elles vulnérables aux accidents … 3(e) ; Les hommes peuvent-ils causer des
accidents … 3(f) ; Les adolescents y sont-ils plus prédisposés parce que … 4(d). Answers beginning with
parce que are quite in order, indeed usually preferable.
Candidates would do well to look at the number of marks awarded for each question (indicated in square
brackets) as a guide to the number of points to be made.
In Questions 3 and 4, it is encouraging to note that copying wholesale from the text has diminished in recent
sessions, with more candidates understanding how to ‘work’ the text to avoid it, but it remains a common
feature amongst the weaker candidates. It is important to remember that simply ‘lifting’ items directly from the
text, even if they include more or less correct information, does not demonstrate understanding and therefore
does not score marks. Candidates must show that they can manipulate the text in some way (even in a
minor way) to provide the correct answer. Candidates should try to express the relevant points using different
vocabulary or structures. There is an encouraging trend for the stronger candidates to understand how to do
© 2015
this quite simply, avoiding unnecessary over-complications. Even quite small changes (e.g. transforming
nouns into verbs or finding a simple synonym) or extensions to the original can show that candidates are
able to handle both the ideas and the language – see specific comments on Questions 3 and 4 below.
Question 2, on the other hand, is not the time to attempt to find other words for straightforward vocabulary
items used in the original sentence. This question is a test of grammatical manipulation, not of an ability to
find alternative vocabulary for its own sake. Candidates should therefore aim to make the minimum changes
necessary, whilst retaining as many elements of the original as possible. They need to be aware, however,
that alterations made to one part of the sentence are likely to have grammatical implications elsewhere,
particularly in matters of agreement.
In Question 1, candidates nowadays appear more aware of need for the words given as the answer to be
interchangeable in every respect with the word or words given in the question – i.e. the word or words to be
inserted must fit precisely into the ‘footprint’ of the word or words which they are replacing.
In Question 5, candidates should realise the importance of the word limits clearly set out in the rubric: a total
of 140 words for both sections, 90 – 100 words for the summary of specific points made in the original texts
and 40-50 words for the response. Material beyond the word limit is ignored and scores no marks. This
means that those candidates who use up the entire allocation of words on the Summary
automatically receive none of the 5 marks available for their Personal Response. Although there has
been a marked improvement in this respect in recent sessions, candidates from some centres still write
answers in excess of the word limit, sometimes by a large margin, meaning that too many good answers to
the Personal Response cannot be awarded any marks since the word limit has been exceeded before it
starts.
These limits are such that candidates cannot afford the luxury of an introductory preamble, however
polished. It appears that candidate are unnecessarily afraid of being penalised for not introducing the topic
(no doubt because of different practices in other subjects), but it is easy to waste up to a third of the available
words on this for no reward: Les points forts et faibles des quatre catégories de conducteurs (femmes,
hommes, seniors, jeunes) sont présentés dans les deux textes. Dans le premier texte il s’agit des femmes et
des hommes, et dans le deuxième il s’agit des seniors et des jeunes. Considérons d’abord les femmes:
However worthy, this sort of introduction merely wastes words for no reward. The word limit is already quite
tight to achieve ten points and, from the very outset, candidates need to make the point as succinctly as
possible and move on to the other nine. It is a summary/résumé of specific points from the texts that is
requested in the first part of Question 5, not a general essay.
as is Qu’est-ce que c’est?
The most successful candidates often showed clear evidence of planning, drafting and editing their material
with the word limit in mind.
Question 1
This relatively straightforward first exercise was quite successfully negotiated by the majority, with a good
number of candidates scoring well. D’après was the least well identified item (c), sometimes because of a
failure to include the d’. If all else fails, looking for past participles with feminine agreements might have
nudged candidates towards réalisée for (a) and partagée for (e). A similar tactic with infinitives might have
narrowed the field towards démentir (b) and constater (d). For some reason, constater appeared as the
response to most of the other items at one stage or another.
Question 2
There were some very good answers to this question from the strongest candidates, but, as usual, the task
proved demanding for candidates with an inadequate command of grammatical structures.
© 2015
Item 2(a) offered a very simple first mark which was gratefully accepted by most, apart from by those who left
dangereuses unaltered (or altered it to dangereus) or who did not see the need either to change plus to
moins or to insert a negative.
In Item 2(b) the past participle agreement was not made by some. Others lost the mark by making the verb
plural (presumably because of the plural des accidents), or by changing the tense unnecessarily. Even more
unnecessary was the common addition of par nous at the end.
Item 2(c) required a straightforward transformation to the active, which was very successfully handled by
those who remembered to remove the e from faite.
Item 2(d) was the least well done, with ses recherches being very common indeed, as well as an occasional
change of tense. Some candidates left out any mention of d’après leurs recherches.
Item 2(e) required the subjunctive. For a significant number, this appeared to be uncharted territory, but
others knew how to go about it, even if some spoiled things by writing soit or occasionally soyient.
Question 3
Item 3(a) required candidates to find another way of expressing les femmes au volant, most successfully
done but those who used some part of the verb conduire, less successfully by those who thought that volant
here was part of the verb voler. There were many successful attempts to render sous prétexte d’humour :
pour faire rire, rigoler, plaisanter, être drôle, amuser les gens etc.
Item 3(b) required candidates to make two fairly straightforward comparisons which stronger candidates did
efficiently, avoiding ‘lifting’ taux de collisons supérieur and kilomètres parcourus/parcourant …). Others
suggested that women cause (font/causent) more accidents, rather than simply being involved in them
(ont/sont impliquées dans plus d’accidents).
Item 3(c) rewarded candidates who managed to avoid la prudence féminine either by an adjective
(prudentes) or an adverb (elles conduisent plus prudemment/sagement).
Item 3(d) saw some weaker candidates getting confused about which is le sexe faible according to the OSR.
For the second mark here, candidates needed to find an alternative way of indicating that men are at fault in
the majority of accidents – les hommes sont coupables/font/causent … etc.
Item 3(e) suffered from a good deal of easily avoidable ‘lifting’. Faible gravité, inattention and infractions were
not difficult to avoid: pas très graves/sérieux ; elles sont inattentives/ne font pas attention ; elles ne
respectent pas le code/les règles de la route.
In Item 3(f) candidates who realised the need to manipulate the laquage achieved all four marks relatively
simply: grands excès de vitesse – ils conduisent (beaucoup) trop vite ; en colère – fâchés/énervés; à la
recherche du risque – ils (re)cherchent/ont le goût du risque ; voulant montrer leur côté audacieux – ils
veulent prouver leur audace/témérité/qu’ils sont audacieux.
© 2015
Question 4
Item 4(a) saw some confusion of seniors, femmes and machos, with some suggesting that older drivers
criticized women, and many did not appear to understand conduite circonspecte or to be able to find another
way of expressing the idea – e.g. ils conduisent avec circonspection/prudence/sont plus circonspects au
volant. Likewise, le kilométrage annuel parcouru was not difficult to re-work : ils
parcourent/conduisent/roulent/font moins de kilomètres.
Item 4(b) offered further very straightforward means of scoring the first three marks with Ils font moins
attention ; ils réagissent moins vite ; ils voient moins bien. The question carried four marks and candidates
who noticed this often used à la campagne as a successful replacement for en zone rurale.
Item 4(c) was generally successfully negotiated by candidates well versed in the simple technique of
changing the nouns abus, manque, utilisation and désir into verbs.
Item 4(d), A substantial number misunderstood the idea of le pied lourd. There was some clumsy rephrasing
concerning hormonal levels, but a good number nevertheless managed to get the point across for the
second mark.
In item 4(e), weaker candidates again found it hard to switch between words within a lexical group
(transgresser/transgression ; agression/agressivité/agressif ; prendre/prise) which would have made it easy
to score the three available marks.
Question 5
This question asked the candidates to summarise the strengths and weaknesses of four groups of drivers as
presented in the two texts and then to suggest measures designed to reduce the number of road accidents.
Being concise is part of the task. See General Comments at the start of this report for the need for
candidates to embark directly on identifying and giving point-scoring information without a general
introduction.
The mark scheme identified 15 rewardable points, of which the majority of candidates managed 6–7, with a
good number reaching 10. Many wasted words by (for example) quoting statistical findings in studies by
OSR/Suva. The most commonly identified strengths and weaknesses included men being responsible for
causing more (and more serious) accidents, sometimes by driving too fast and in anger ; seniors driving less
and more carefully, thus having fewer accidents ; seniors having problems of concentration, eyesight and
reaction time ; juniors not respecting the rules and trying to show off to their friends.
The Personal Response gives candidates the chance to express their feelings on a specific topic, which
some candidates did with imagination and originality, assuming they had not exceeded the word limit by this
stage. The question asked for a personal response to a more general question, and those candidates who
merely rehashed what they had written in 5(a), (producing a summary of a summary) scored few marks.
Weaker candidates tended to seek refuge in the text and ventured very little, resulting in some unambitious
and derivative responses, but others were rewarded for introducing a relevant idea or personal slant of their
own. Speed reduction, more police, heavier fines and education were often suggested as measures for
improvement
Quality of Language
The quality of language varied from excellent to very poor. The very weakest found it difficult to express their
ideas in a comprehensible form, with verbs as usual being far the most common sources of error. Some
were unable to conjugate basic verbs such as faire, vouloir, pouvoir or conduire. Others seemed to have little
notion that the endings of verbs are meant to have some relationship with their subjects. It didn’t help that
these subjects could begin the sentence as elles, mutate to il and finish as on/nous. Incorrect verb forms and
agreements were legion, and the use of the infinitive (-er) ending – or indeed anything else that sounded
similar - seemed interchangeable with the past participle (-é): e.g. il faut éducait les jeunes. Basic
agreements of adjectives and plurals too were simply routinely ignored by weaker candidates.
The approach to spelling was often phonetic. Ce/se/ceux were apparently interchangeable in some scripts,
as were si and ci, sa and ça, on and ont, son and sont, quand and quant.
© 2015
New words and phrases were also much in evidence: la circumspectation; la conduction (for la conduite) ;
les hommes expriment leur muscularité et leur machocisme. Time spent in studying vocabulary in lexical
groups might be time well spent : diminution/diminuer ; réduction/réduire ; inattention/inattentif ;
agressivité/agression/agressifs ; conduite/conduire ; recherche/ rechercher ; réaction/réagir ;
prudence/prudent/prudemment ; la vue/voir ; abus/abuser ; impression/impressionner (rather than
impresser) ; expression/exprimer (rather than expresser) ; bombardement/bombarder ; prise/prendre ;
transgression/transgresser (rather than transgrédir).
Constructions with certain common verbs took their usual toll: permettre, aider, encourager, empêcher,
apprendre, permettre. The difference between leur, leurs and ses and qui and ce qui was not appreciated by
a large number. Other common sources of error included distinguishing between à cause de and parce que ;
baisse and basse ; mieux and meilleur ; vite and rapide. Incomplete negatives (missing ne) caused
confusion, as did the very common use of par + an infinitive/present participle instead of en + a present
participle
That said, the linguistic ability of the majority of candidates certainly enabled them to transmit the required
facts and opinions effectively, whilst the best candidates wrote idiomatic, fluent and accurate French which
made very good reading.
© 2015
FRENCH
Paper 9716/23
Reading and Writing
Key messages
● In Question 1, the word or words chosen as the answer must be interchangeable in every respect with
the word or words given in the question. Additional or missing words invalidate the answer.
● In Questions 3 and 4, candidates should not simply ‘lift’ (copy/cut and paste) items unaltered from the
text. They need to manipulate the text in some way, re-phrasing by using different vocabulary or
structures.
● In Question 5, any material above the prescribed word count (total for parts (a) and (b) combined) is
ignored.
● In Question 5b, candidates should be encouraged to venture some brief relevant ideas of their own
General comments
This was felt to be a fair test, very comparable in overall level of difficulty to previous years. There were
some excellent scripts submitted and the overall level of performance was commendable, with the vast
majority of candidates understanding the requirements of the various exercises and being able to meet them.
The standard of presentation was generally high and there were few signs of undue time pressures.
The topic generally appeared to be one to which candidates could relate.
Where candidates lost marks, it was often because they copied material unaltered from the texts in
Questions 3 and 4. In these questions, there was also a tendency for some candidates to write
unnecessarily lengthy answers, which did not always address the questions, or to over-complicate what
should have been relatively simple responses.
The number of marks allocated for each question serves as an indication of how many separate ideas need
to be included in the answer in order to gain full marks.
Question 1
The purpose of this exercise is to find the word(s) in the text which best match(es) the word(s) in the
question. The word(s) given as the answer need(s) to be interchangeable in every respect with the word or
words given in the question – i.e. the word(s) to be inserted must fit precisely into the ‘footprint’ of the word or
words which they are replacing.
This question held few problems for most candidates, and most scored highly. In (a), the necessary se was
sometimes omitted, whilst in (b) récemment was offered instead of dans le passé. Employeur occasionally
appeared in place of emploi for (c), but obtenu and montrent caused relatively few difficulties in (d) and (e).
Question 2
There were some good answers here from the majority of candidates, even if some of the weaker ones
found it challenging. This is an exercise in grammatical manipulation and is not the time to attempt to find
© 2015
other words for vocabulary used in the original sentence. Candidates should therefore aim to make the
minimum changes necessary, whilst retaining as many elements of the original as possible. They need to be
aware, however, that alterations made to one part of the sentence are likely to have grammatical implications
elsewhere, particularly in matters of agreement.
Part (a) required a relatively straightforward transformation into the active, using on. This was well handled
by those who resisted the temptation to alter the tense unnecessarily.
Part (b) required the reverse process of a transformation into the passive, but the need to make the past
participle agree was missed by some.
In part (c), a good proportion of candidates recognised the need for a subjunctive, but some were unable to
form it, sometimes offering variations on servissent instead.
Part (d) produced a few confused responses, with some not realising that the infinitive could serve as the
subject of the new sentence and simply re-ordering the words in seemingly random fashion.
Part (e) required candidates to express the sentence in direct speech, involving two changes of pronoun.
Some again made unnecessary changes to the tense in the process.
Questions 3 and 4
Some answers in Questions 3 and 4 were unduly lengthy, with less secure candidates perhaps attempting
to strike lucky by casting the net as widely as possible. Unfortunately some candidates still neglect the
straightforward answer and tend to over-complicate things.
from the overall impression for the quality of language mark. Le jeu favorise-t-il la socialisation ... 3(b) ; Les
jouets peuvent-ils influencer … 3(c) ; Le fait de jouer peut-il … 3(e). Answers beginning with parce que are
quite in order, indeed usually preferable.
In Questions 3 and 4, it is encouraging to note that in general copying wholesale from the text has
diminished in recent sessions, with more able candidates understanding how to ‘work’ the text to avoid it, but
it remains a common feature amongst the weaker candidates. It is important to remember that simply ‘lifting’
items directly from the text, even if they include more or less correct information, does not demonstrate
understanding and therefore does not score marks. Candidates must show that they can manipulate the text
in some way (even in a minor way) to provide the correct answer. Candidates should try to express the
relevant points using different vocabulary or structures. There is an encouraging trend for the stronger
candidates to understand how to do this quite simply, avoiding unnecessary over-complications. Even quite
small changes (e.g. transforming nouns into verbs or finding a simple synonym) or extensions to the original
can show that candidates are able to handle both the ideas and the language.
Question 3
Part (a) offered three reasonably straightforward opening marks and most candidates successfully scored all
three.
Part (b) was best handled by the simple technique of re-working some of the nouns as verbs:
respect/respecter ; partage/partager ; devenir compétitif ; coopérer/travailler en équipe/ensemble.
Part (c) was generally well handled by candidates who suggested that toys/games may enable children to
discover/develop new interests, some of which may influence future career choices.
Part (d) was most easily answered by candidates who reversed the process in (b) and avoided lifting by
expressing the ideas with nouns – les jeux aident le développement de leur imagination et leur créativité en
même temps que leur développement physique.
Part (e) saw a good number of candidates successfully expressing the idea of exprimer ses soucis/joies and
of oublier le stress, even if they occasionally went too far in suggesting that les problèmes mentaux are
reduced. Not all looked for the third mark here, but those who did, often gained it with sentences such as
cela rapproche la famille or cela encourage les relations familiales/entre les générations.
© 2015
Question 4
Part (a) required candidates to understand that parents can equate a child’s happiness with the number of
toys he or she receives (ils pensent que leurs enfants (ne) pourront être heureux (que) s’ils ont beaucoup de
jouets / plus ils ont de jouets, plus ils sont heureux) which many did, even if it was not always very fluently
expressed. The second mark was earned by suggesting that giving toys was an attempt to compensate for
their own absence (pour se faire pardoner le fait qu’ils sont souvent absents). The third needed some
element of recreating the parents’ own childhood (retrouver/ revivre/évoquer etc.). Some candidates used
recréer successfully, but those who wrote récréation changed the meaning.
In Part (b), the stronger candidates found ways of re-working comme signe d’amour de ses parents (l’enfant
va croire que plus il a de jouets, plus ses parents l’aiment) and le sens réel du geste d’offrir (il ne
ap/comprend pas ce qu’ « offrir » veut dire). The third mark required the idea that, in the case of a
separation, a sense of competition could develop between the parents (not between a child and his/her
friends) in terms of gifts.
In Part (c) an easy mark was gained by expressing la capacité de se concentrer with the noun la
concentration. Blasé proved less accessible, but a good number communicated (if somewhat clumsily at
times) the idea of la satisfaction de persévérer/compléter un jeu/l’exploration complète du jeu for the third
mark.
Part (d) was generally well handled by those candidates who understood the dangers of parents following
blindly the latest fashion and of not fully understanding the precise nature of what they are buying for their
children. Somewhat more challenging was the desire to ensure that their child has the same toys as his or
her friends, so that ils achètent (tout) ce que l’enfant demande/exige.
In part (e), candidates often found it reasonably straightforward to identify the fact that parents could end up
in debt and having to sacrifice essential items, but the concept of a child having to learn to save up for things
was sometimes confused with not understanding l’économie or les difficultés économiques.
Question 5
This question asked the candidates to summarise the positive aspects of toys and games and the negative
consequences of having too many, as presented in the two texts. They were then asked to recall a favourite
game or toy in their own childhood and its later influence.
Being concise is part of the task. Candidates need to embark directly on identifying and giving point-scoring
information without a general introduction which will score no marks. The word limit is already quite tight to
achieve ten points and, from the very outset, candidates need to make the point as succinctly as possible
and move on to the other nine. It is a summary/résumé of specific points from the texts that is requested in
the first part of Question 5, not a general essay.
Candidates should realise the importance of the word limits clearly set out in the rubric: a total of 140 words
for both sections, 90-100 words for the summary of specific points made in the original texts and 40-50
words for the response. Material beyond the word limit is ignored and scores no marks. This means
that those candidates who use up the entire allocation of words on the Summary automatically
receive none of the 5 marks available for their Personal Response.
as is Qu’est-ce que c’est?
The most successful candidates often showed clear evidence of planning, drafting and editing their material
with the word limit in mind.
The mark scheme identified 16 rewardable points up to a maximum of 10, which was achieved by a number
of the stronger candidates. The most commonly identified strengths included the development of a spirit of
competition and teamwork, and improvements in imagination and creativity, as well as physical benefits. The
weaknesses included parents trying to make up for their own absence by buying toys or using them to
compete with each other, children being unable to maintain concentration, and parents incurring debts.
© 2015
The Personal Response gives candidates the chance to express their own ideas on a specific topic, which
some candidates did with imagination and originality, assuming they had not exceeded the word limit by this
stage. Weaker candidates tended to seek refuge in the text and ventured very little, resulting in some
unambitious and derivative responses. Others were rewarded for introducing a relevant idea or personal
slant of their own: dolls leading to an interest in fashion or child-care, construction sets leading to an interest
in engineering, etc.
Quality of Language
The quality of language produced by candidates in this cohort varied from good to excellent. Verbs and
pronouns were, as usual, the most common sources of error. A handful of weaker candidates routinely
ignored basic agreements of adjectives and plurals – le parents ; les enfant.
Constructions with certain common verbs took their usual toll: permettre, aider, encourager, empêcher,
apprendre, permettre. The difference between leur, leurs and ses remains problematic to some.
The approach to spelling (and indeed grammar) was sometimes phonetic amongst weaker candidates:
ce/se/ceux appeared to be interchangeable in some scripts, as were si and ci, sa and ça, on and ont, son
and sont.
New words and phrases made an appearance, often heavily based on English: significance ;
financiel ; opponent ; associété. English patterns also appeared in answers such as aller sans les
essentielles de vie pour compenser pour les jeux.
Time spent in studying vocabulary in lexical groups might be time well spent: expression/exprimer ;
respect/respecter ; création/créatif/créer ; rapprochement/rapprocher ; développement/développer ;
orientation/orienter ; compensation/compenser ; association/associer ; exploration/explorer ;
économies/économiser ; partage/partager ; exigence/exiger ; initiation/initier ; sacrifice/sacrifier ;
exploration/explorer.
That said, the linguistic competence of most of the candidates certainly enabled them to transmit the
required facts and opinions effectively, whilst a pleasing proportion wrote commendably idiomatic, fluent and
accurate French which made very good reading.
© 2015
FRENCH
Paper 9716/31
Essay
Key messages
In order to perform well on this paper, candidates need to choose an essay title about which they can write a
response that is clearly relevant, well illustrated and coherent. The aim should be to use accurate and
idiomatic French which demonstrates complexity both in structure and vocabulary. Candidates should plan
essays carefully using the introduction to show their understanding of the essay title with all its elements and
the conclusion to show their considered final judgment of the issues they have discussed.
General comments
There were many essays this year whose authors were sufficiently in control of the language to be able to
write coherent, balanced pieces that targeted the question set, but in numerous cases candidates struggled
to express themselves coherently with the result that content was very basic and ideas were not
communicated.
Question 1
Partout dans le monde, le dimanche – autrefois jour de repos – devient un jour comme tous les autres :
phénomène positif ou négatif?
This was quite a popular choice but, alas, a substantial number of candidates made little attempt to address
the question and wrote basic pieces that were little more than lists of the activities that they and their families
engage in on Sundays. Some better essays took as their starting point the waning importance of religion in
today’s society, its place taken by a whole range of other activities that, in years gone by, either did not exist
or simply did not take place on the Sabbath. Rather than go to church, people now play or watch sports on a
Sunday and/or spend time shopping, going to the cinema, or at their computers, often chatting with others on
social media sites. Increasingly busy lifestyles mean that, far from being a day of rest, Sunday is now the
most stressful day of the week for an increasing number of people. Mounting domestic chores such as
ironing, washing, grocery shopping and cleaning, which people have not had time to do during the week
because of their work commitments, have to be done on Sunday. The point was made that many have busier
schedules on a Sunday than on a weekday and thereby lose out on time needed to recover from a tiring
working week. Moreover, such are the pressures of the working environment that many feel the need to use
what should be their rest time to prepare for the week ahead. Even those who do manage to spend rest time
with their families on a Sunday are often embroiled in bickering and arguments induced in no small part by
tiredness and stress. On the positive side, some argued that Sunday would be a very boring day indeed if all
of the leisure activities such as sporting fixtures, shopping and cinema-going that, in years gone by, were
restricted to weekdays, were not available on Sundays. The point was also made that for young people, the
weekend job is their opportunity to earn some money and thereby not to be dependent on their parents.
Adults too appreciate the opportunity to earn some extra money to provide for their family and make ends
meet.
© 2015
Question 2
Nos prisons sont surpeuplées. Que faire pour remédier à cette situation?
This question was not widely chosen. The main ideas put forward were the provision of government money
to build new prisons, more discretion given to judges to impose punishments other than custodial sentences
for those found guilty of non-violent crimes, greater use of rehabilitation centres rather than prisons, greater
use of electronic bracelets and, not least, better social provision for those without jobs and/or homes in order
that they do not feel forced to resort to crime in the first place in order to survive.
Question 3
Si de plus en plus de gens sont atteints de maladies mentales, c’est la faute de la société. Dans quelle
mesure partagez-vous ce point de vue?
This question was the choice of quite a lot of candidates but many of them had little of substance to offer.
The starting point for quite a few essays was the dramatic increase in the number of cases of mental
problems, ranging from depression to schizophrenia to bipolar disorder, that are recorded, and the fact that
an alarmingly high percentage of people suffer some form of mental problem in the course of their lives.
Stress induced by the pressures of everyday life – the need to do well at school, competition in the
workplace, financial worries, relationship problems often induced by external factors – was cited as the main
way in which society is responsible for problems of a mental nature. Other factors cited included the ease of
availability in today’s society of recreational drugs whose long-term use engenders all manner of mental
disorders and also the widespread use of addictive medications such as anti-depressants and sleeping pills
which encourage people to go to their doctor’s with problems that they would have dealt with and overcome
in the society of days gone by. Some argued that the substantial increase in the incidence of mental illness
can be put down in large measure to over-diagnosis of mental disorders and that nowadays the science of
psychiatry is guilty of pathologising what, a couple of decades ago, would have been deemed perfectly
normal even if slightly eccentric behaviour. A number of essays argued, albeit not very convincingly, that it is
wrong to attribute blame to society since mental disorders are by and large genetic.
Question 4
En ce qui concerne le chômage, les gouvernments devraient privilégier les jeunes travailleurs. Discutez de
cette affirmation.
There was a significant number of essays on this topic. All agreed that much needs to be done to help young
people who should indeed be given priority since the morale of the younger generation is at an all-time low.
Among ideas suggested were investment in infrastructure, particularly in the construction industry since the
heavy labour involved goes mainly to the young generation, a requirement that firms reserve a certain
percentage of the jobs available for young people rather than insisting that applicants should have previous
experience, legislation to force older people to retire at a certain age thereby freeing up jobs for younger
people and, not least, financial help for young people undertaking vocational and other educational courses
with the objective of furthering their chances of getting a foot on the career ladder. Lower taxation for young
workers was also put forward in a number of essays as a desirable measure needed to help young people at
the stage in their lives when they are seeking to set up a household and start a family.
Question 5
Internet : la pire invention du vingtième siècle. Jusqu’à quel point êtes-vous d’accord?
This proved to be the most popular of the five questions set. Some essays made quite a good range of
points and demonstrated some ability to develop an argument leading to a convincing conclusion. The
essays of weaker candidates, quite apart from the fact that their authors struggled to communicate their
ideas, were often somewhat repetitive: a weakness in paragraphing was in evidence in many cases and
there was no real build-up of an argument to a conclusion. The best answers gave a balanced picture. The
evils of the internet that would support the view expressed in the title set were fully covered in a good many
essays: the potential the internet affords for the theft of personal information; the fact that when one uses a
credit card to shop online, the credit card information can also be stolen, effectively giving the thief a blank
cheque; the very serious threat to young people presented by sexual predators and by the ease with which
they can access pornography and other unsuitable material; and, though less harmful, but nonetheless
annoying, the practice of spamming. However, most candidates took the line that, despite these
disadavantages, provided that due caution is exercised, the internet is in fact the best invention of the
© 2015
twentieth century: it is thanks to the Internet that we enjoy instantaneous and usually free communication
with family members and friends wherever they may be, social networking sites enable us to make as many
new friends as we like, the internet is an unlimited treasure trove of information on every topic under the sun
and, not least, it is possible to download an untold number of games, videos, and films as well as a whole
range of other entertainment software from the internet, much of it without charge.
Language
Better essays demonstrated a very fair productive use of French grammar (verb forms, tenses, prepositional
usage, word order, etc.) in spite of some lapses, along with some capacity to use more complex structures
accurately and appropriately. They also contained quite a good range of vocabulary and idiom appropriately
used. However, many essays were characterised by persistent errors in verb forms, tenses, agreements,
genders, spellings of common words and the like, coupled with a very limited range of vocabulary and idiom.
There was also a considerable degree of interference from English, and in some cases Spanish, to the
extent that communication often broke down.
© 2015
FRENCH
Paper 9716/32
Essay
Key messages
response that is clearly relevant, well illustrated and coherent. The aim should be to use accurate and
General comments
The overall standard of this group of candidates was similar to that in previous years. There was a wide
range of ability demonstrated from the very poor to the very good. In some cases it was clear that candidates
had a poor command of linguistic structures and appropriate vocabulary and register – candidates often
referred to the Examiner as tu. Their answers were naively expressed in very simple and often inaccurate
language and often avoided the question set, concentrating instead on the overall topic heading. Candidates
who did not target their essays on the question set inevitably did less well since their answers contained
much irrelevant material. Fake statistics were also common and mostly unhelpful in the context of the
candidate’s argument. More able candidates planned their essays carefully, defined the terms of the
question and wrote a logical and persuasive argument, and arrived at a balanced conclusion. They used a
range of structures and idioms and convinced the reader with their arguments. Essays that were vague and
general in tone as well as lacking clear development or exemplification of points made scored much lower.
Common errors included:
Incorrect genders/spellings (sometimes even when the word was in the title): manque, travail, pays,
environnement, développement, gouvernement, monde, phénomène, vacances, ennemi, chômage, clonage,
prison, aspect, loi
Overuse of aussi at start of sentences and paragraphs.
Use of le taux for le nombre.
Use of parce que instead of à cause de.
Random and inappropriate use of words and phrases to link paragraphs such as néanmoins(usually wrongly
spelled), pourtant, toutefois.
Overuse of the word personnes (for gens) and cela/ça.
Incorrect sequence of tenses with si.
Inaccurate and erratic use of double letters in words such as développer, agressif, ressources.
Inaccurate and careless use of accents including words used in the questions such as phénomène and
chômage, and examples of candidates using one type of accent for all occurrences.
Confusion between/misuse of: ces/ses, les/des, place/endroit, bon/bien, mauvais/mal, c’est que/ceux que,
ceux qui/ce qui, ou/où, a/à, sa/ça), mieux/meilleur, leur/leurs, ils/eux.
© 2015
Question 1
This was the most popular question on the paper and was attempted by candidates across the full range of
ability. Answers varied from the highly superficial to the competent and thoughtful. Most candidates could
see the benefit of holidays for the purposes of rest and relaxation after a hard term at School. This led many
into a discussion of what they did on their holidays. Most candidates did attempt to answer the question by
suggesting that usually candidates found the holidays too short while parents and teachers found them too
long. Parents who had to work were not available to spend time with their children which could lead to bad
behaviour on the part of children and teachers found the candidates had forgotten everything they had
learned the term before when they went back to school after the holiday. Some candidates were clearly
disposed to enjoy as much free time as possible, while others were keen to point out that long holidays could
become very tedious. There were some interesting essays which tried to posit quite complex solutions to the
arrangement of school holidays throughout the year to enable enough free time for candidates and teachers
and enough time for serious and uninterrupted study which would lead to better futures for all. Each in their
different way and according to their level of ability answered the question set.
Question 2
This was the fourth in popularity of the questions. It was well understood and candidates explained the
reasons behind the creation of prisons and the expected benefits of having them. These included keeping
criminals away from the rest of society, allowing a chance for prisoners to reflect on their crimes and making
an attempt to rehabilitate them and to reintegrate them into society. It was clear to candidates that the ideals
of the prison system were not borne out in reality since prisons were largely full of gangs, drugs and AIDS
and prisoners generally came out of prison only to commit crimes again and be re-imprisoned. More able
candidates discussed the nature of human rights and talked about freedom and incarceration in
philosophical terms while others looked at the human dimension of the question including effects on the
prisoners, their families and society in general. It was clear that candidates had plenty to say on the topic and
their answers were relevant and either superficial or competent depending on their ability to express
themselves.
Question 3
This was the second most popular question. There was a huge spread of marks for this question since it was
answered in many different ways according to ability. New technology meant many different things to
candidates. It was variously taken to be televisions, computers and mobile phones or medical equipment and
medication or cars, planes and environmental hazards. Most candidates chose to discuss the effects of the
modern generation’s addiction to all things digital. This was obviously leading to an epidemic of obesity,
eating disorders, heart disease and diabetes as well as an inability to socialise face to face. Candidates were
all too happy to explain that technology was the main factor in the poor health of the population but often
failed to point out the benefits that it has brought or limited those to the use of a Wii to help with exercise.
Some candidates felt that people were healthier 50 years ago. More able candidates talked about the
medical advances brought by new technology and the increase in life span as a result. They were aware of
the hazards of the technological age on the environment and health in general terms but could see that
these effects must be balanced by the huge benefits. These candidates felt that individuals should take
responsibility for their own health and do everything in moderation.
Question 4
This was the third popular question. Many candidates wrote a general essay on the topic heading of work
and unemployment relating little of their answer to the exact terms of the question. Many avoided the second
part of the question and just described the unemployment situation using some spurious statistics for
countries around the world. Candidates generally understood the reasons for high levels of unemployment
whether it be among the young or the workforce in general. These were given as the economic crisis, the
increase in the retirement age for workers, the robotisation of factories, the attitude of the young, the support
given by the benefit system. Only more able candidates tried to suggest some solutions to these problems
and some were quite draconian such as forcing older workers to retire and removing benefits for young
unemployed people. Other suggestions including government aid to set up new apprenticeships or to help
young entrepreneurs to start up their own companies. There was much criticism of the attitude of young
people who are happy not to work if enough support is given to them. Those candidates who engaged with
both parts of the question were awarded good marks while those who wrote generally about unemployment
did less well.
© 2015
Question 5
This was the least popular question. There were some mature and thoughtful answers to this question which
was generally answered by more able candidates. They clearly understood the ethical and moral issues
associated with cloning but could see the benefits for medicine and food production. They were clear in their
view that cloning should be limited to a small range of uses and that scientists should not be allowed to
create armies of clones to fight wars or a robot workforce to take the jobs from humans. These rather
fantastical science fiction notions obviously appealed to candidates’ imagination. The benefit of cloning
organs for transplantation was seen as a major advance as well as the creation of animal clones to help
provide good quality food for a growing world population. Interesting points were made about whether clones
had feelings or intelligence and whether they could mutate. The question gave scope to a range of
candidates to show their understanding of a controversial but always fascinating topic.
© 2015
FRENCH
Paper 9716/33
Essay
Key messages
response that is clearly relevant, well-illustrated and coherent. The aim should be to use accurate and
General comments
In this paper, candidates are given a choice of 5 questions and are awarded up to 24 marks for quality of
language and up to 16 for content. It was clear that most candidates understood the rubric for this paper and
wrote essays of approximately the right length. Planning is an important first step in writing a good discursive
essay. Most of the candidates did write a plan but it was often short and rather superficial. Those candidates
who defined the terms of the question in their own mind and organised the material into some kind of order
before writing generally gained higher marks for content. An essay that considers all elements of the
question and is logically constructed will be highly rewarded in its content mark. It is particularly important
that essays should target the precise terms of the question and not merely relate to the general overarching
topic area. There was a wide range of ability in this cohort, with some candidates demonstrating little
grammatical, structural or idiomatic awareness. Pre-learned phrases were often used but frequently served
only to highlight the deficiencies in the candidates’ own writing. Other candidates used a range of structures
and appropriate vocabulary, did not over-reach themselves and managed to express their ideas in accurate,
ambitious and succinct language.
Examples of good use of language included:
Appropriate use of linking words/phrases such as d’après ce qui précède, ainsi, puisque, cependant,
pourtant, d’abord, d’ailleurs, en outre, ensuite, néanmoins, d’autre part, en revanche
Range of structures including correct forms of the subjunctive. Use of a range of verbs such as accompagné
de, reposer sur, promouvoir, justifier, cesser de
Range of topic appropriate vocabulary demonstrating that candidates have read a range of media on
subjects as diverse as advertising, health services and the electronic cigarette.
Correct use of idioms such as en ce qui concerne, il convient de, en d’autres mots, venons-en à, au revers
de la médaille, il est généralement admis que, c’est un fait bien connu
Common errors included:
Incorrect genders/spellings (sometimes even when the word is in the title): démarche, mode de vie, manque,
travail, environnement, développement, gouvernement, monde, rôle, exemple, avis, phénomène,
deuxièmement, problème, aspect, service, public, loi
Use of beaucoup des with plural noun.
Overuse of aussi at start of sentences and paragraphs.
Use of parce que instead of à cause de and car for pour.
Overuse of the word chose/choses and cela/ça. Use of personnes for gens.
© 2015
Incorrect sequence of tenses with si.
Confusion between/misuse of : ces/ses, les/des, place/endroit, bon/bien, mauvais/mal, c’est que/ceux que,
ceux qui/ce qui, ou/où, a/à, sa/ça (overused instead of cela), mieux/meilleur, leur/leurs.
Use of faire for rendre
Agreement of the past participle e.g. ils ont organisés
Use of the wrong preposition after common verbs followed by an infinitive structure, e.g. aider de, préférer de
Use of avoir besoin de instead of devoir.
Question 1
This was the second most popular question. Candidates were keen to point out the importance of advertising
in the modern world. They understood the significance of advertising for companies wishing to sell their
products and for the consumer to see the range of products available. They were keen to demonstrate,
however, the negative effects of advertising such as the encouragement to overspend and the fact that we
are bombarded by advertising both within the home on the TV and computer and outside by giant billboards
and flashing displays. They felt that publicity shots involving super-thin models were having a negative effect
on the health of young women and that advertising was often dishonest and manipulative. On the whole,
candidates felt that advertising was a necessary evil but that it did have some very negative effects on
society. The question was generally handled well with some clear arguments for restriction and control but
not outright banning of advertising.
Question 2
This was the least popular question and was attempted by very few candidates. Answers were, on the whole,
rather superficial and examples were not always well chosen. Most candidates talked about reforms to the
police service making it more accountable. They spoke of restricting what they saw as poor policing such as
stop and search of young people and police brutality at demonstrations. They spoke of decriminalising
personal drug use and the removal of laws relating to minor infringements such as dropping litter. They felt
that a system of laws is necessary to keep a society running effectively but felt strongly about personal liberty
and freedom of expression.
Question 3
This was the third most popular question. Unfortunately, for many it became a general discussion of the
modern way of life without much reference to medical services. Candidates recognised that our modern way
of life does have an effect on health. They described the sedentary lifestyle resulting from dependence on
computers and consoles, the overeating that accompanies watching TV or playing computer games, the lack
of exercise because of the reliance on cars. Many essays did not go beyond this level of discussion. More
able candidates were keen to point out that medical services were being pushed to the limits by the
excesses of the modern age but that there were other factors such as the increase in the number of old
people living to a much greater age and requiring medical treatment for a range of problems. They also
mentioned widespread viruses, antibiotic resistance and an awareness of medical conditions created by
universal access to the Internet.
Question 4
This was the most popular question. There were some very mature and thoughtful essays on this topic.
Candidates mostly agreed with the statement made in the question and went about explaining why people
might have this negative attitude to work. Some mentioned the general apathy of the young and their desire
to do as little as possible. This was helped by living at home and being supported by parents. Others
mentioned the lack of variety in most jobs where each day is the same and there is no chance of promotion
or change of scene. It was clear that many candidates held the view that work is, by its very nature, boring
and is guaranteed to take people away from doing what they enjoy. There was recognition that to enjoy free
time one needed money and that too much free time can also become boring. There were some essays
© 2015
which took the discussion to a deeper level quoting philosophers and/or explaining why work could be a
great positive in life bringing fulfilment and enjoyment. All candidates had strong views on the topic and
answered according to their ability.
Question 5
This was the fourth most popular question with candidates of all abilities choosing to answer it. Some were
clearly in favour of the electronic cigarette, others clearly against. The first group felt that the health benefits
were important as well as the possible cost advantages. They felt that electronic cigarette smokers were not
seen to be social pariahs in the way tobacco smokers are. The second group were not in favour of this new-
fangled invention which could only be seen as innovative and cool by young people and lead to more of
them taking up the habit of smoking it, later to revert to ordinary cigarettes. They also pointed out that the
long term effects are not yet known. Many felt that money put into creating this device should have been
spent in doing more to encourage people to stop smoking altogether or in research on cancer. All in all,
candidates had strong views and expressed their opinions to the best of their ability.
© 2015
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RENNCH
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P perr 97
Pap 716
6/41
1
Textts
Key
K y mes
m ssa
age
es
Tea
T achers
s sh
hou
uld::
● Thinnk ccare
efu
ully aboutt whic
ch textts to
o prep
p parre as
a ssom
me pre
ese
ent conce
epttual prrob
blem
ms tha
at a
are challe
eng
ging
g
fo
or ave
a rag ge and
a d belo
ow ave
a erage ca andidaates
s.
Tea
T achers
s sh
hou
uld tra
ain the
t eir stud
s dennts to::
● Check carefu
C ully
y th
hat the m nag
ey ma ge the t e in
eir tim he exa
n th aminaation room w ll and answ
m wel wer thrree qu
uesttion
ns
● C ck carefu
Che ully
y th
hat the
ey do
d nott annsw
werr tw
wo que
q estions o the same
s on e te
ext
● Thin
nk ccare
efu
ully aboutt whatt th
he que
q estion is askking
g of
o thhemm befo
b ore theey staart tto writ
w te
● R er to th
Refe he questtionn du
urin
ng the
t e an
nsw
werr, not just
j t att the star
s rt aand the
e finis
sh.
Can dattes should:

C ndid
● La
abeel qqueestioonss with
w the e num
n mbe er, a
and d pass sagge-bas sed
d qu ues ons with (i),
stio ( (ii)) annd (iii). If qu
ues
stio
ons s ha ave e
no
ot bee
b en lab belle
ed, it ccan
n lo
ook k as
s th
hough (ii)) an nd (iii) were
w e not a atte
empte ed at
a aall, whhen alll three
e off (i)), (iii)
and (iiii) shou uld bee annswwerred in the e pass sagge-bbassedd quuesstio
ons;
● R mem
Rem mbe er tha
t t ‘s soit…s soitt’ mea
m ans ‘eithe er……orr’ an nd sho ould not
n be e co
opieed beffore e ques stio
on nnum
mbers s;
● C ose
Cho e care efullly eith
e her (a)) orr (b
b) a
and d inves st in
npprovvidiing ass co
omp plete and
a d reelev van
nt an
a ansa swe t thatt on
er to ne
quesstioon as
a pos ssibble;
● R read and
Re-r a d ed w rk. So
dit wo ome e charraccterrs in
n diffe
erennt textts hav
h ve sim
s milarr na
ammes,, buut thes se sho
ould not
n be e
co
onffuse ed,, e.g. Ma ariane, Mare
M elle e, M
Mad deleeinee; Élis
É se, Ele ecttre.
● Finis
sh wwith a co onc cludding
g para agraaphh;
● Starrt ea
ach h neew
w es ssay ono a frresh hppage.
Gen
G nerral comm
ments
s
In A (c
com
mme enttary
y) que
q estions s, can
c ndid datees aree offten
naaskeed to exp
e plaiin the
t sittuattion onttextt, iff the te
n or co extt is a
play
p y. This
T s iss lik
kely
y to
o be
em mosst efffec
ctiv
velyy do
onee by givin
g ng as pre ecissely as
a pos
p ssib
ble the
e pooint in
n thhe play
p y whe
w ere
the passa
age e oc ccu
urs. Foor o
other parrts of thee ruubric, and
a d fo
or nov
n vels s, a
answ wer th
he que
q estions, as
a exa acttly as
a you
y u
wou
w uld a rea
r din ng com
c mprreh hensioon que
q estioon,, altho
ouggh wwith
h a lott moore
e deeveelop
pmentt, of
o coourrsee, given the lon ngeer
time
e and greeatter num mbber of maarks s av
vailabble.
D nott ov
Do verr-rely on
o thee exxtra
act in pas
ssaage e-ba
ase q estion
ed que ns. Neithe
er sho
s ould d th
heyy re
epro
oduuce
e ann ex
xtra
act
que
q estio
on tha at th
hey
y prac
ctise
ed preevioous
sly.. Sa
ayin
ng,, ‘in
n th
he ext
e racct’ abo
a out thiings whic
w ch are e no
ot in th
he giv
ven
n
extr
e ractt will
w rrais se the
t Ex xamminer’s sus
s piccion ns abo
a out pre e-le
earned m eria
d mat al.
Ans
A sweer the questtionn; do
d nnott repro
odu
uce thee blur
b rb frrom
m th ck of tthe
he bac e bo
ook k. In
n fa
act, it is
i liikely tto be
b mo
more
use
u eful to me
emooris
se eve
e entts in
n th
he tex
t xt th
hat can be
b use
u ed as
a exaamplees to illlus
stra
ate points s mad
m de, tha an to
t
m morise
mem eqquotatiions.
Can
C ndid dattes should rear ad the questtion n and resspo ond o it. Th
d to hey sh hould not
n t reepro
oduuce
e prre-le
earrne
ed mat
m teriial. If
they
y mem
m morrise e annd wriite, forr ex
xammplle, the
e bllurb he back of the
b on th t e boookk, whic
w ch tthe
e Ex xam
min ely to
ner is like
reco
r ogn nisee, ttheyy risk be
eingg suusp pected
d off ha
avin
ng cop pied thhatt fro
om edditor's notess whic
ch are
a pro ohibite
ed in the
t e
exa
e am. Th he b blurb is not
n sp nough to answ
peciific en wer the
e qu ues
stio w l, eve
on wel e n iff it con
nta
ains
s a releevaant keey wor
w rd,
and
a d it shoould d not
n be me emmorised d or co
opiied.
Plea
P asee do
onnot lea
ave the
eEExaaminerrs to t h
hav ve to trry to
t wworrk out
o wh hat waas me
m antt in es ssays or to ffind
d way
w ys in
n
whic
w ch thee esssa
ay was
w s re
elevvan
nt. It is
s th
he ccan
ndiddatte’ss re
esp
ponsibbility
y to
o an
nswwerr cle
earrly and
a d earn
n th
he mam rks
s.
© 201
2 15
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Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
An
A ans
a sweer w
whiich co
ould
d ha
ave
e be
een
n giveen for
f anyy quesstio
on and
a d an aanssweer whic
w ch sho
owss know
wle
edg
ge of
o th
he texxt,
but
b wh hich
h an
nsw
werrs neit
n theer Que
Q estiion a) nor
n (a n (b)) ca
ann
not scoore
e highlly eno
e ouggh for
f a pas
p s mar
m rk
Mak
M ke the
t e esssaay a cllear answ werr to
o the q
queestioon,, so
o th en if the questtion
hat eve n num
mbeer was
w s ac
ccid
den
ntally not
n
writ
w tten
n att the beg
b ginnningg, itt is ab
bso olute
ely cle
earr wh
hichhq questio
on wa
was b bein
ng ans
a swe ere
ed.
Itt is no
ot nece
n esssarry to
o claim
m thatt the them
me
e in the
e quesstio
on is
i the mo
ost im
mportant ttop
pic in
i the texxt.
Do
D nott ch
han
nge
e ink colo
c our or ha
andw
writing
g.
As
A alw
a wayys, iit was
w s gooodd too se t t ca
ee tha and dida
atees sho
s oweed enjo
e oym ment o t bo
of the ooks thhey
y haad reaad andd were
w e ofte
o n
wel
w l prrep
pare
ed to t disc
d cus ss tthem. Un nforrtun
nattely
y, howwever, the
ere
e waas a high
h herr inc
cidencce of ans
a swe ers
s in Ennglish
and
a d in meem
morisattion n off se
ecoondaryy mate
m eria al th
his session. Th
he lattter ne
ever ra
aiseed maarks
s gaained, bu w ld
ut it wou
hav
h ve bee
b en ggoo od to
t see
s e no otes mad
m de in E Engglis
sh con
c nve
eyedd in
n Fren
nch h, to
oo. Th
his wo
wouldd ha
avee re
esultedd in
n th
he
earn
e ning of
o eextrra mar
m rks in every y ca
ase
e.
Com
C mm
men
nts on
n spec
cifiic q
que
esttion
ns
Sec
S ctio
on 1
Que
Q esttion
n1
Mol
M ière: L’A
L Avare
(a) (i)
( It muust be said ttha at not all
a can
c ndid dattes coouldd exxpla
ain
n the eexpres ssioon ‘wit
‘ thoout a dow
d wry’’, and soome e
sppecculaatedd th
hat it had
h d soome ethhing
g to
o do o with
w da augghteers obbeying g their fatthers unq queestiioning
gly. So ome
e
coouldd annswwerr thhat ‘sa
ans do ot’ m
mea antt ‘sa
anss arrge
ent’, bu
ut it w
was un nusuall too fin
nd a reespponnse givving
g mor
m re
deetaiil ab
bouut ‘less bie
enss qu
u’une fem mmme app porrte en see maria antt’. Laro
L ous sse
e also de efinees ‘do
ot’ as
a ‘ch
‘ ez
dee noombre eux x peeuppless, prix
p x pa ayéé pa
ar lee fu m i à la fam
utur mar f mille
e de la a je
eunne fille
f e’. Mor
M re iimpporttannt th
han
n
insstru
uctiion in the e cultu
ure
e of the e era
e wa as a soounnd und
u derrstaand
ding g off the p
playy in
n its
s ow
wn wo ords:
● Ha
arpa
agoon h hatted sp
pendin ng mo
m ney y (a
all ccan
ndiddattes weere cle
ear ab
bou
ut th
his))
● Ha
arpa
agoon w was plea
p aseed to hav
h ve arra
a ang ged for Élise e to
o marr
m ry ‘sanns d
dott’
● There
eforre tthe relev
vantt de
efin
nitio was, ‘‘les
on wa s biiens qu’u
q une e fe
emmme appporte en n se
emmariiant’
Soome e said
s d th hat Haarpaago
on wa
w s una
u ble e too pa
ay a dowwry, buut all
a can
c did
datees kne
k ew tha at HHarrpagonn did
d
haavee so
ome e mon
m ney y that he
h wa ante
ed to
t hid
h ea and
d keeepp a seccre
et. Mor
M re per
p rtinentt to
o the ssign
nific
can
nce of
thee exp
e res ssio
on, ‘saans
s do
ot’, waas to
t poin
p nt out
o tha at Ans
A selmme ha ad agr
a reed to
o ta e Élise
ake e ass his wife
w e
‘w
withooutt re ng a do
equiirin owry’.. Only
y mooree th
houghttful dis
scu
usssion
ns dev
d velo
ope
ed this
t s po ointt.
(
(ii) Caand dida
ate
es fooun nd it eas
e y to oaapprov ve of
o Valè
V ère e’s con
c ndu uct in the
e ex xtra
act becau usee th
heyy knnew hat hiss
w th
deeceeptioon waas mmerely y a me eth
hod of flattering g Harp
H pag gonn annd thaat Valè
V ère e woould mar
m rry Élise him mse elf in
the e . More
e end M ed disccernning c did
g can datees mementio oneed thaat Valè
V ère be ega an to
t aagreee witth Har
H rpa agon, bef
b fore e
thee extr
e ractt, too fla
atte
er him
h m as s usuaal, bef
b fore ehhe eve k ew w
e en kne what the
t e mastter of the e ho ousse was
w s taalkiing
to hiss daaug
ghtter abo outt. Altho
A oug gh by flattery V Vallère
e was
w likkely y to bee abble to ing
grattiatte h
him
mself with
w h
Haarppagon,, an nd had d as
a his
h objjective e to
o win
w H Harpaago on’s
s fa
avour so
s tha at h
he cou
c uld ma arryy Élise
e, Valè
V ère e
waas agrree eing
g too obblig
ge Élis
É se tto mar
m rry some eon ne else
e e here a ha
e, and ad see
s eme ed stuump pedd at th n ws of
he new
‘sa
ans s do
ot’ a fe
ew mo omments befb foree. The
T e mostt th houghttful respo onssess poointted
d ou
ut th
hatt Éllise
e ha
ad nott
appprooveed of
o Val
V lère e’s strrate
egyy ass th
heirr ex
xchang gess im
mmmediate ely be xtract, wh
eforre tthe ex hile Haarp
pago on
waas che eckking
g on n his
h mo money in n th
he gar
g rde en, sho oweed. A feww cand
c did datees rrec ed Valère
calle e’s su
uggesttion n
thaat Élis
É se sho
s ould d fe
eignn an
a illne esss to deelay
y th
he wed
w dding to An nselme e plannneed for
f that at e
even ning as
a
adddittion
nal eviide
ence o apprrovve of
e to o Valè
V ère e’s ccon
nduuct here.
ers gav
Otthe ve jus
j st as conv
c vincin
ng arg
a um
mennts tto disa
d app ove of Va
pro alèrre’s
s be
eha
avio
ourr, be
eca
aus t y fe
se the elt
tha
at he
h shoould n
not have deeceiived Har
H rpag
gonn.
( )
(iii) Annsw
werrs emp
e pha asis
sedd Harp
pag gon’s ava
a aricce a
as we
w ll as his
h a auttho
orita
aria
an sstylle and
a d willin
ngn
ness too
weelco
om
me flatt
f teryy reefle
ecte
ed in
i hhis woords
s in
n th
his pas
ssaagee annd thro
t oug ghoout thee sc cen
ne. ‘R nt’ in line
Renttran l e
1aalso reca alle
ed H
Harrpaago
on’s
s neervo
oussneess
s for his mon
m ney y, bburied in thee gard den n, whic
w ch he had ju ustt
returnedd frrom
m chhecckin
ng afte
er hhea ng a dog ba
arin arking annd ffearingg th
he wo
w rst.
© 201
2 15
ambrid
Ca dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
eve
el
977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
(b) Maanyy ca
anddidaate c uld rea
es cou adily illus
stra
ate the
eir res
r pon nse
es tto this
t s quuesstio
on from m th he plaay, rec
cou unting
ho
ow Ha arpaagoon wwas
s mea
m an anda d preo occcupiedd wiith his
s mone ey at the
t e be
egin nning, an nd it w
wass sttill the
t
sa
amee att th
he end
e d. How
H wev ver, mmore e th
houughhtful an
nswwerrs use
u ed Har
H rpa agon’ss initial ob bjectio
onaablee
maarriag
ge plan
p ns ffor his
s fa
amily tto sho
s ow how whhe did
d en nd up
u find ding a saatissfac
ctorry arra
a ang gemmen nt for
f
him
mself as hee allowwedd hiis chil
c dre en to
t ma
m rry ac ng to tthe
ccorrdin eir cho
c oicee affterr alll.
Que
Q esttion
n2
Guy
G y de
e Mau assantt: Bel-
M upa B -Ammi
(a) (i)
( Thhere
e wer
w re a plura
ality
y off an
nswwerrs to
o th
his firsst part
p t off the q
que
estio
on,, no
ot le
easst bec
b cause the esee we
ere
e th
he
se
econd seeats
s Durooy and
a d Fo ore
estier hadd ta
ake s ce arrrivin
en sinc ng at the
t e Foolie
es-BBerrgère, an
nd they
t y had
h
waalke
ed aro
oun
nd tthe
e gaalle
ery, too
o. Sin
S ce the eir cha ancce enc
e cou unte
er on
o the
t e sttreeets of Paris tha
at eve
e enin
ng,
ey had also
the a o beeenn to
o th
he offic
o ces s off La
a Vie
V Fra anç
çaisse and
a d a ca
afe, be c ming to
eforre com o th
his cabaret
music hall
h , wherre by
b now w they
t y were
w e in n th
he g garrden.
Ma any
y ca anddidaate
es cou
c uld expplain tha
t t thhe rea
r ason Dur
D oy wa as intim
mid
date
ed had som
s meth hin
ng to do
d with
w h th he
prrese
enc ce of
o the
t tw wo wom
w men, b butt on
nly the
emmost de
eta
ailed
daanswwers me
mentioone
ed thaat ‘la g
grosssee brrunne’
ha old Forres
ad justt to stier, ‘C
C’e
est ton mi quii me séd
n am s uit. C’esst vraim
ment un
u jolii ga
arço
on.. Je
e crrois
s quu’il mee
feraitt faire dees ffolie
es!’’
(
(ii) Thhe piep ces dvice giv
s of ad ven
n byy Fooreestier, ‘Il fau
ut soig
s gne er [le suc
s cès s auprrèss dees fem
f mme es]]. Ça
Ç peu
p ut te
e
me ene er loin
n’, and
a d, ‘C
C’e
est enc p elles qu’on
e corre par n arrrive le
e pluss vitte’, we
ere
e thoug ghtt to ha
ave be eenn us
sefu
ul
if iit was
w in follow wingg th
hem
m th
hatt Duurooy sec
s cure ed his so ocia
al cclim
mbin
ng sos sw wiftly
y. Fore
F esttierr’s wor
w rds s
ceerta ainlyy prov
p ved d tru
ue in Du
D royy’s life.
( )
(iii) So ome e can
c did datees dev
d veloope ed tthe
e reespons se to (ii)
( he ere,, po
ointting
g ou
ut tha
t t it wa a the me
as at eal the
e
follow wing eve
e enin ng ata the
t Fo oresstie
er’ss hoome hat Du
e th uroy met
m t Mme es For
F resttierr, de Mar
M rellee and
a Walte
W er
for thhe first
f t tim
me, womw men n throuugh h whom m he
h cou uld suucceeed d at work
w k, and
a d be eco omee rich.. Otthe
ers use ed
the e pres
p sen nce e off the
e th
hre
ee joourrnaalistts at
a th
he din
nne er to
o fo
ocuus on
o how
h w itt ga
avee Du uro
oy an
a o opeeninng forr hiss
firsst job at the
e ne ewspa apeer.
(b) Deesppitee the usu

u al cla
c ims s th
hat the
e th
hemme in tthee qu
uesstion w wass a ma ajorr to
opic
c in thee te
extt, de
eatth was
w s no ot
omiinant in
do i this
t s nooveel. Nev
N vertrthe ss, mo
eles ost candiidates s we ere
e ab ble to reffer to Charles Fo ores stie
er,
whhosse dea
d ath wa as the
t e mostt immme ediate o the read
e to derr, not o b cause his
onlly bec s deecliine intto ill hea
h lth at a
relatiivelly you
y ung ag ge was
w s reelatted
d on
n diffe
erennt occ
o casiions a andd givvenn th
hat Du uroyy wen
w nt to o suupp porrt
Ma adeeleinee ass he
e was
w s dy ying
g, b
but sin
ncee Duuro
oy very
v y quic cklyy as
ske ed his
h frie endd’s wid
w dow w too beeco ome e his
h
wife, to wh hich
h sh
he agree ed afte
a er som
s me hes sita on. This ena
atio e able ed Du uroyy too th
hrive at
a wor
w k anda inc crease e
hiss wea
w alth. Convverrsely, he did d not app
a preecia
ate hiss co
olleeagues s’ te
eassinggh him thaat he
h had d simp ply filled
Foores stie
er’s
s sh
hoees at h me and at
a hom a work
w k. Dur
D roy y did n carre to
d not t ‘inheritt’ thhe maarita
al unfa
u aith hfullneess of
Foores stie
er’s
s wido
ow, eittherr.
On ne of the
t e wa ayss in
n whicch mar
m rrying Ma adeeleiine alllow
wed
d Duuro
oy to inncrreasse in we
w althh reelatted
d to
o the
e
de
eath h of le
e coomtte de
d Va audrecc. TheT co ount bequ ueaathed a largge sum
s m of
o mmon neyy to
o Made eleine b in
e, but,
disscu
ussion n with a laawwyerr, itt wa
as esttablishhedd th
hat it wou
w uld have be een ‘in
nappro opriiate
e’ fo
or only
o y
Ma adeeleinee to inh
herrit. To
T av void d th
he situ
s uatioon not reefle
ecting weell on
o Ge
G org gess an
nd Ma ade elein
ne’s
ma arriag
ge, Du ndepende
uroyy in eritted ha
enttly inhe o the leg
alf of gaccy.
Altho
oug
gh the de
eath
hs of
o Mad
M dellein
ne’s
s paareentss pre-d
datted the e even
ese nts, th
hey
y ca
amee up in his conte
n th ext.
Le
e co
omtte de
d Vaaudrec
c was Maade eleine’’s sug
s gar daddy y part
p tly bec
b cau
use sh w s a vu
he was ulne
erabble orrpha
an..
© 201
2 15
Ca
ambrid dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
eve
el
977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
Que
Q esttion
n3
Jea
J an-P
Pau
ul S
Sartre: Le
es Mo
ouc
ches
s
(a) (i)
( Ca
anddida
ate
es cou r count tha
c ld rec t at Égis
É sthe e and Cly
yte
emnnesstre
e ha b en resspo
ad bee onsiible
e fo
or th
he mu urde
er of
o
Ag
gammemmnon fiftteen yea
y ars ear
e rlier. The
T ey did
d noot alwa
ayss disscu s the sign
uss s nific
can
ncee off tha
at for
f Orerestte,
no
ot only
o y lo
osin
ng h
his fattherr an
nd fam
milyy, but
b goingg into exi
e le.
(
(ii) Thhe mo
most suc
s cce
essfful res
spo
onsses de
ealt witth tthe wo
ord
ds, ‘à
‘ pprésennt’ and
dddisc
cussedd th
he ssignifiicant
tim
ming of e ntss in the
o eve e play
p y, th
he ann
a nive
ers
saryy off Ag
gamme
emn n’s mu
non urdeer a
and
d th
he ‘fête
eddes Mo orts
s’.
( )
(iii) Soome e can
c did datees we
w re kee en tto exp
e pos se ‘paiinfu
ul sec
s rets s’ oof all
a the chara acte
ers
s, but the
t e more e
thoougghttful on
nes loooke
ed at
a the
t wo ordss in
n th
heirr co
onteextt in line
es 17–18 8 of
o thhe passsaagee. H
Heree it waas the
t e
goodss whho had d th
he sec ets. Frrom
cre m thhat poiint, soome w e able
e were e too qu
uotee Jupiterr’s wo
w rdss in Acct III,
Taableeau
u II, Sccenne v, ‘Le
‘ se ecre
et dou
d ulou ureux des Dieu
D ux et d dess roois: c’e
estt qu
ue les hoommmes s sontt
lib s…et ils ne le sav
bres vennt pas a d there
p s.’ and ein wa t ke
as the ey to J iterr an
o Jup nd Égisthhe’ss pow
p wer..
(b) Onnly haalf as

a ma many candida atess an
nswwerred pa
art (b) ut mos
( , bu m st ma
m de a goog od atte
a empt to t aass
sess th
he
exxten w ch the
nt to whic e pllay wa
as b p oso
botth phil oph
hicaal and matic. Oc
a d drram ccasioonally a fa
ar gre
g eate
er emp
e pha asiss
waas pla
aced d on
o p phillosoph
hy, evven to the
e excl
e lusion off anny m
mentioon of dra
d amaa, but
b answ werss te
ended to
bee well illu
ustrrate f m the texxt.
ed from
Que
Q esttion
n4
Mar
M rgu Duras
uerite D s: Mod
M dera
rato
o Ca
anttab
bile
(a) It w
wouldd ha
ave e beeenn niice to se
ee som
s me mo ore strructture
ed ansswers s in respoonsse to
t (i),
( perha s wiith a
aps
wh hole
e para
p agrraph devd vote ed to
t ‘la pat
p tron
nnee’ and a sep
s paraatee on
ne abo
a outt ‘so
on étaablisse A it was
ementt’. As w s,
thee tw
wo tenndeed tto be
b rollled intto one
o e. Mos
M st ccanndid date
es me entioneed thaat a wom
w man n haad bee en muurde ere
ed
in thee ca
afe
e att the
e beg
b inn ningg off th
he nov
n vel and d th
hatt Annnee annd Ch
hauvin n beega
an tot mee
m et tthere reg gulaarlyy,
oftten
n joine
ed by
b tthee factoory woorke ers in the
e eaarly
y evvenning
gaas the sun was
w s se ettin
ng. Veeryy few
w wro
w ote
abbouut th
he (femmaale) bo
oss wh ho wwa as ofte
o en knit
k tting g.
(
(ii) Thhis ten
ndeed to
t bbe les
l s well
w an nsw
wereed.. Soom
me eve d cusssed the thingss th
e en disc hat Annnee saaid wittho
out
foccus
sing
g on h lies in
o her n th he ext
e trac
ct, alth
a hou ughh there
e were
w e so ome goo
g od sug
s gge estio
onss as
s to
o her rea
r asons
for ‘p
play
ying
g th
he iinnoceentt’. All
A ccouuld name e Chau uvin in
n (iii) and
d say
s a little e abou ut him
h m. S
Som me
ovverlookedd to
o annswwerr thhe sec
s cond part
p t off the que
q estioon, ab bou
ut why
w y heew was the ere
e, but o
on thee who
w le,
andida
ca ates
s co
ould reca g d dea
r all a goo d al abou ut h
him
m, his
h pre
p evio ous
s woork
king
g liffe and
a d hiss ro
outtine
e th
hrouugh
hou
ut
thee nov
n el, graavittating,, lik
ke Ann
A ne, towwards s th
hat pla
ace an nd sseeekin
ng herr coompan ny.
(b) Prrobablly abo

a out half of
o all c did
a can date
es beg
b gan n th
heirr es
ssa
ays witth a de
ecisivve stat
s temmennt th
hatt the
e
relatiions betw
b wee en Anne an nd C
Cha auv
vin had a neega ativ
ve effe
e ect on heer. The
T ey gen
g nerrally
y proc
cee eded to
o
illu
ustrrate
e th ew, tho
his vie oug ays witth m
gh nott alwa much de eveloppme
ent..
Thhe rem
r mainde er e
entterttain
ned the iddeaa th
hat theere we ere so
omee positivee outw worrkin
ngs forr Anne e: the
t
esscape fro
om a m mon nottonous seexissten
nce e that hherr meet
m ting gs w
with Cha
C auv vin a allo
oweed herr, a
alon
ng wit
w ha
neew fou
undd fre
eeddom m. The
T e mos
m st thhouugh htful re
esp
pons sess ex
xam
minnedd in moore e deetaiil way
w ys in
n whic
w ch the
t ere
weere
e po
osittive
e efffec
cts, suuch ass fe
eelin
ngss off ha
apppineess
s in he
er pers
p son nal life
e, but
b als so neg
n gatiive
co
onsequ uenncees ffor her faamily.
Sec
S ctio
on 2
Que
Q esttion
n5
A dré Gide:: Le
And es Caves
sddu Vati
V ican
(a) Th
here
e wer
w re to
oo few
w answ
a wers tto ma
m ke comm
men
nt app
a prop
pria
ate.
(b) Th
here
e wer
w re to
oo few
w answ
a wers tto ma
m ke comm
men
nt app
a prop
pria
ate.
© 201
2 15
Ca
ambrid dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
eve
el
977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
Que
Q esttion
n6
Albe
A ert Ca
amu
us: Le
es Jus
J stess
Itt was go
ood to find th
hatt ca
and
dida s had en
ates njoy
yed
d re
eading
g this play
p ya and be
een
n prrom
mpte
ed to reflecct on te
erro
oris
sm
as
a a re esu
ult.
(a) Ca
anddida
ate
es wer a ked to comm
w re ask mennt on
o Ste
S epaan’s
s go
oals
s, o
on hiss ob ctivves in relatio
bjec on to thee
qu
uota
atio
on in
i the
t qu n. It w
uesttion was the
ereeforre n
not ne
eces
ssaary to inc
clud many oth
de ma herr ch
haraactters n the
s in
an
nsw
wer, althooug s me suc
gh som cceess
sful co
omp pariso
ons weere maadee with
w Ka alia
ayevv.
Th
heree wer
w re mix
m ed resspoonsses to this que
q estio
on as noot all ccand
didate es see
s emeed to foc
f cus on n the key
k y
woords, ‘Co
‘ ommmeente
ez les buts…
…’ So
S me e discu
usssed the cha
c rac cterr off Sttepan tooo geneeraally, while e
otherrs seiz
s zedd up n his view
pon v ws on jus stic w ile neg
ce whi glectin
ng to ans
a swe t qu
er the ues stion n itss entirrety
n in y.
(b) Soome e can

c did date
es foc
f cuse ed on Kaalia
ayev v’s woords in
n th
he que
q estion, while
w eo othe
ers disscuusse ed the
e
im
mpo ortance e of
o his per
p rson nal sa
acrifice
e too th
he e
exc
clussion
n off th
he quo
q otattionn. HHe saiid, ‘J’a
ai cchoisi d’ê
être
e
inn
noc cen
nt’ in Act
A 2, hav ving cho
c osen notn to thro
t ow thee bom
b mb a and
d kill the ‘innoc
cennt’ chil
c lcre en in the
t
caarria
agee alonng w
with
h th
he Gra
G andd Duke e.
Affterr refflec
ctin
ng, dis t e otherrs, fac
scussing witth the cingg crritic
cism
m and econsiidering
a d re g his pos on, it is
p sitio
im
mpo ortant to t Kal
K liayyevv to be
e tru
usteed againn annd to gog and ccarrry out
o the e assa
ass sina
atio
on. Thereeaftter hee
is arrrestted d, mad t look
m de to k guiltty of
o betr
b rayingg his com
c mrad dess and puut to
o de
eatth, maakin e ulttimate
ng tthe e
saacrificee, but
b gla ad to
t hav
h ve foll
f ow wed his
s coonvvicttion
ns.
Que
Q esttion
n7
Sim
S mon
ne de
d BBea
auv
voirr: Les
L s Be
elle
es Im
ma
age
es
(a) Ca
anddida ate
es men
m ntiooneed that
t t thhe con
c ncluusioon of the
t e noove el w
was ‘sa atis
sfying’’ in as
s much h as th
he situuattion
n
with reggardd to
oCCathherrine
e, and
a Brrigittte, waas sattisfa
acttorily rreso nd the
olved,, an e ps cholog
syc gist haad bee
b en
he
elpfful. La
aureencce had
h d sttop s ing
pped see g Luucie
en, annd her
h r pa arents
s haad bee
b en rec con ed, wh
ncile hile
e th
heree
wa
as rea asoon to
obbe opt
o imistic c abouut her
h r return to
o health..
It w
was som
s metiime
es ove
o erlo
ook
ked tha t qu
at the uesstion
n beg
b an,, ‘D
Danns que
q elle meesuure…’, ho
owe eve w rarre
er it was
to rea
ad an es
ssay whic
w ch des scrribe
ed any
a ything buut an
a opti
o imisstic
c co
onc
clussion
n to
o th
he nov
n vel..
(b) On nly onne in te

en candiidatess annswwerring
g on
n th
his texxt opte
o ed ffor this que
q estio on. Mo ostt coould
d id
denntifyy
La aureenc
ce as
a the e ‘s
speake
er’, alttho
ough she
s wa as thin
t nkinng it to
o hers
h selff att this poin
p nt in Cha
C apte er 2,
2 whe
w en
sh w s prep
he was pariing the hou
h se an nd fam
f mily forr dinneer. Heer d
dauughterr Caatherin ne’s frrien
nd, Brrigittte, strrucck
he er as
a neg
n glec cted
d as
a she
s e wa n hurry to go ho
as in no ome e to
o an emp
e pty ho ouse e. Lau
L urence e re
elfe
ecteed tha at itt
wo ouldd hav
h e bee
b en kind
k d to
o in
nvitee Brig
B gitte
e to
o ea
at with
w h thhemm but, she thou ugh ht, ‘Je
ean--Ch harrles
s déétes ste
e
l’im
mprév vu’, an
nd sshee ha
ad no deesirre fo
or Jea
J an-Charle es eveen to me eet Briigittte any
a ywa ay.
Que
Q esttion
n8
Rom
R maiin Gar
G ry: La Viie dev
d vantt so
oi
(a) Foor the mo ost paart, this

s quesstio
on wa
w s app
a proaach hed we ell, de
espite occ cassionnal ovvers
sighht oof the
t wo ord
‘tro
ou’’, le
eadding
g to
o esssaays en ely devotted to Je
ntire ewis shn
nesss in
n th
he nov vel in generral.. Alltho
oug gh
caandida atess migh
m ht mor
m re hel
h pfu ully haave beeguun with
w h a briief desscrriptiion off the
e ‘trou
u ju
uif’, tha
at extr
e ra roo
r om
doownnsta airs
s fro
omm Madam me Ros
R sa’s s sixth
h flo
oorr fla
at, wh
w ich
h sh he we
w nt tot som
s mettime es at nigght and d to
o whic
w ch
shhe was
w s once e fo
ollo
oweed by
b Mo omo o, from
m who
w om we e ge
et the deescrripttion
n off the cha
c andelie er and
a d Je ewiish
caandles s. Mom
M mo enabled d Mada am
me Ros
R sa tot ddie in peace e in
n he
er ‘tro
‘ ou ju uif’.
(b) Th
his wa
as a sttraighttforrwaard qu uestion n about a an unusu ual chharaacte
er. Altthoughh s/he
s e do oess no
ot play
p ya
do
omiinant role
r e inn thhe nov
n vel, it wwas s plea
p asinng n nott on
nly to seee th
he rea
adinnesss with
w h whic
w ch ccan ndid
dates
co
ould
d diiscusss th
he cha
c arac
cte er, b
but als so the nfidentt fra
t eir ccon ankkneess ab
bouut thhe con
c nfussion thatt co d be
ould
ca
aused by y this ttran
nsvvesttite
e prrosttitute.
© 201
2 15
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ambrid dgee In
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ationall Ad
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el
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nch Ju
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Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
FRE
RENNCH
CH
P perr 97
Pap 716
6/42
2
Textts
Key
K y mes
m ssa
age
es
Tea
T achers
s sh
hou
uld::
● Thinnk ccare
efu
ully aboutt whic
ch textts to
o prep
p parre as
a ssom
me pre
ese
ent conce
epttual prrob
blem
ms tha
at a
are challe
eng
ging
g
fo
or ave
a rag ge and
a d belo
ow ave
s.
Tea
T achers
s sh
hou
uld tra
ain the
t eir stud
s dennts to::
● ch
hecck ccarrefu
ully tha
at tthey man
m nag ge ttheir time
e inn th
he exa
e aminattion n ro
oom
m well
w l an nd ans
a sweer thre
t ee que
q estion
ns;
● ch
hecck ccarrefu
ully tha
at tthey do
d not
n an nswwer two o que
q stio ons s on
n thhe ssam
me texxt;
● th
hink
k ca are
efully abo
a out wh hat thee quesstio
on is ask
a ing g off the
emm be efore the
t ey star
s rt too write
w e;
● re o the que
eferr to q estioon during he ansswer, no
g th ot ju
ust at thee sttartt an
nd the
t finnishh.
Can
C ndid
dattes should:
● La
abeel qqueestioons w the
s with e num
n mbe er, a
andd pass sagge-bas sedd qu ues ons with (i),
stio ( (ii)) an
nd (iii). If qu
uesstio
onss ha ave e
no
ot bee
b en lab belle
ed, it ccan
n lo
ook k as
s th
w e not a atte
empteed at
a a
all, whhen alll three
e off (i)), (iii)
and (iiii) shou uld bee annswwerred in the e pass sagge-bbassedd qu uesstio
ons.
● R mem
Rem mbe er tha
n be e co
opieed beffore
e ques stio
on nnummbers s.
● C ose
e her (a)) orr (b
b) a
and d invesst in
np provvidiing ass co
omp plete and
a d re
elev van
nt an
er to ne
quesstioon as
a pos ssibble.
● R ead
Rere d an w k. Som
nd edit wor S me ch haraacterss in diffferrent te
extss haave
e siimilar na
amees, but thhesse sshoouldd noot beb
co
M elle e, M
Mad deleeine
e; Élis
É se, Ele ecttre.
● Finis
g para agraaphh.
● Starrt ea
ach h neew
Gen
G nerral comm
ments
s
As
A alw
a wayys, iit was
w s gooodd too se
ee tha
t t caand dida
atees sho
s oweed enjo
e oym ment o t bo
of the ooks thhey
w e ofte
o n
wel
w l prrep
pare
ed to t disc
nattely
y, howwever, the
ere
e waas a high
h herr inc
cidencce of ans
a swe ers
s in Ennglish
and
a d in meem
ecoondaryy mate
m eria al th
his session. Th
he lattter ne
ever ra
aiseed maarks
s gaained, buut it wou
w ld
hav
h ve bee
b en ggoo od to
t see
s e no otes mad
m de in E Engglis
sh con
c nve
eyedd in
n Fren
nch h, to
oo. Th
his wo
wouldd ha
avee re
esultedd in
n th
he
earn
e ning of
o eextrra mar
m rks in every y ca
ase
e.
Com
C mm
men
nts on
n spec
cifiic q
que
esttion
ns
Sec
S ctio
on 1
Que
Q esttion
n1
Mol
M ière: L’A
L Avare
(a) (i)
( Foor mos
m st can
c ndid datees this
s quesstio
on pro
p oved sstra
aigh
htfo
orwardd – but su
ucc
cesss dep
d pended ggreaatly
y on
n th
he
ind
dividu
ual’s
s ability to
t judgge the
e coorre
ectt am
mou
untt of na
arra e deta
ative d ail nee
n edeed to p vid
t pro de tthe conteext.
(
(ii) Moostt an
nsw
werss sshow
wed und
u dersstandiing of the
e ironyy here
e annd candiidattess we
ere
e ab
ble to jusstify
y th
heirr
op
pinionss with
w h evvideenc
ce of
o Har
H rpa
agon’ss prreviious and
a co onssiste
ently unc
u chaarita
able
e attitu
a ude e.
( )
(iii) Altho
oug
gh the quuesttion
n askeed ffor co
ommmen
nt o
on the
e sccenne, quite a la
arg
ge n
num
mbe
er of
o ans
a swe
ers we
ere
ba
aseed enti
e irely o
on the
t ex xtra
act a
and d were
w e th
herrefo
ore lim
mite
ed.
© 201
2 15
Ca
ambrid dgee In
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ationall Ad
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nch Ju
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Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
(b) Th
heree was
w s a ten
ndeenc
cy to
o re
efe
er to omedy
o co y in
n ge
ene
era
al in
n th
his que
q estiion, ra
athe
er tha
t an focu
f usin ng on thee
qu
ues
stionn. Som
S mee co
overed
d anngeer and
a d co
omedyy sepa
ara
ately, wwhile oth
herss had diffficu
ulty
y exxpla
aining
g th
hat
we
e la
auggh at H rpagon
a Har n’s an
ngeer whe
w en
● it is
s ex
xag
gge
eratted
d/ou
ut of
o pprop
porrtion
● he is beiing un
nreaaso
onaable
e
Ca
anddidaate
es are
a rem min
nde t t th
ed that heyy will not
n alw way a ree witth stat
ys agr s tem mennts maade e in
n qu
ues
stions.. Soom
me
ap
pprooacche
ed this
t s qu uesstio
on in ssuch a waay as to write, ‘Y
Yes,, we la
auggh at
a HHarrpa
ago on’s
s an
nge
er but
b eve en
moore
e we laaug
gh a at… T s app
…’ Thi a proa h prroved les
ach ss suc
s cceessfful tha
an, ‘W
We la
auggh at HaH rpaago
on’ss an
ngeer
no
ot bec
b aus se of tthe
e an
ngeer, but
b t beeca
ause ofo thhe ‘no
onsensse’. We
W migm ght lau
ughh att the slap
s pstiick buut we
w
do
o noot alw
a wayss la
auggh at
a the an nger.
Que
Q esttion
n2
Guy
G y de
e Mau
M upa
assantt: Bel-
B -Ammi
(a) (i)
( Thheree was
w s so ome e conf
c fus sion
n ammoong ca andidaates
s ab
bou ut whe
w ether Suz
S zan nnee’s paren nts had alre
a eady reeadd
Duu Roy
R y’s letteer b
by this
s poin
p nt (b w s th
butt it wa he nig
ght on wh hich
h Suz
S ann ne we ent mis ssing,, so
o th
heyy ha
ad not
n t
ye
et reeceeive
ed it). If can
c ndid
datees did
d no ot und
u derssta
and M.. Walt
W ter’s s desiire to avo oid a sca
s and dal, respo
onssess
to (i) weere coonsiideerab
bly weeakkene ed,, annd he waas said
s d to eclare
o de e, ‘IIl le aut’, in
e fa n an
n atttemmpt to
o
peersuuadde his wife, or beecause e he th houugh
ht D
Du Rooy was
w s a ma an of
o suc
s ch g gre
eat pottenntial. Som
S me
ca
andida atess evvenn thhou
ugh hat he
ht th e wo ould be
b iimppressse
ed by
b Du u Rooy’s weaw alth arly ha
h, cllea avin
ng forg
f gottten
n,
orr no
ot fu
ully
y ap
pprreciateed, M. WWalte er’ss ow
wn far more
m e cons
c sidera ablee fo
ortu unee.
Soome etim
mes canc did date
es tho t at if M.. W
t ought tha Walter did
d d noot a
agreee to the
t emmarrriagge, theen tthe
e co
oup ple
woouldd mar
m rry anyywa ay, ag
gainnst hiss will.
w Th his ffore
esh
hortten
nedd the im
mpactt off Du u Roy
R y’s ma
manip pula
atioon,
evven thoug gh doubtt was oftten ca ast ove
o er the
t ge enuine
e naature of
o his
h fee elin
ngs for Suza annne. Thhe
su
ucce esss off hiis p
plan
n to
o atttra
act a han
h ndso om
me ddowwry up
pon n hiss mar
m rriagge an nd to live in exp
pecctattion
n off a
sig
gniffica
ant inhherritannce
e deepeenddedd onn thhe fam
f mily
y ag
greeinng tto a sw
wiftt we
edd ding to
o cove
c er u up thee nightts
tha t co
at the oup ple sspeent awway y to
ogetheer alon
a ne.
So
omee can
c did date es wa
w ndeere
ed into
o de o his ‘réflex
etail of xion
ns p
possitiv
ves’ on
nGGeo
orgees – th
huss le
eav
ving
g litttle
ma erial fo
ate or (iii) – and
a em mphhassising the
e neeed
d to
o th
horooug c sider all thrree qu
ghlyy cons uesttion
ns beffore
e
em
mbaark
kingg onn thhe res
r sponsee.
(
(ii) Soome e can
c did date
es fou
f und it diff
d ficult to
o stop
s p th hemmse elvees from
f m eva
e aluaatin
ng DDu Rooy neg
n gatiivelly, butt most
m t
weere
e ab ble to use he pas
e th ssa
agee to
o co ommment o on the e po
ositive
e re
efle
ectio
onss give
en by
b M.M Wa alte
er. The
T e
quuesstionn was
w s faairly
y weell anssweereed ove
o eralll – altthoughh som
s me can
c ndiddattes ratther overrdid
d M.W
M Waltter’s
‘to
otal addmirattion
n annd res speect’ forr Du
u Roy
R y.
( )
(iii) A key y word
w d here
h e wasw ‘je ealooussy’. Mo
ore immportant tha t an prov
p viding g co
omm me ent on lines 15 5–17 ofo thhe
paassage e was
w s so omee ackn
a now wleedgem men hat Mm
nt th me Walte
W er w wass re v y self--ab
eally very bsorbe ed at
a this
t s po ointt,
so
o ca anddida
atess te
enddedd no
ot to
t cconvinnce with ttheeir sug
s gge estio
onss th
hat sheeh had beeen n hu urt by Duu Roy in
thee past
p t an nd did
d noot wan
w nt her
h r daaugghteer to
o ssufffer the
t e sa
ame e fa
ate. Not onlly was
w s sh he lossingg hiim, annd
thaat to
t her
h r owwn dau ughhter, she
s e coouldd not eve
e en conc nfid
de in h
her hu usbaandda about iti all. In g
gen
nera al, this
s
waas suc
s cce e lain
essffully exp nedd – buut perssonnal opiinioon was
w so often laack
kingg in
n an
nswwerrs.
(b) Occcaasio
onaally ca
andida
ates
s co
ould re
em
mem mbeer th
hatt Madeele
eine
e Foore
estie
er had
h d nego otia
atedd ssomme deg
d gree o
of
‘fre
eeddom
m’ bef
b fore
e ag
gre
eein
ng to
t m
maarry
y Du
urooy, a
and
d it wo
oulddhhavee bee
b n in nte
eres
stin
ng to
t read d mor
m re
deeveelop
ped
d disscu
uss
sion
ns of
o the
t impre esssion
n th
hat this
s migh
m ht g give
e of
o Mau
M upa assa
antt’s attit
a tud de tow
t ward
ds
ma arriag
ge.
Thheree was
w s a ten
nde
enc cy to
o conffusse the wrriterr an
nd his
s prrota
agoonis
st, som
s mettimes inttens
sifie
ed by the
e
incclus
sion of
o alm
a ostt co
omp pletelyy irrrele
eva
ant au
utobbiog
gra
aphica al deta
ails..
© 201
2 15
Ca
ambrid dgee In
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ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
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977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
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Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
Que
Q esttion
n3
Jea
J an-P
Pau
ul S
Sartre: Le
es Mo
ouc
ches
s
(a) (i)
( ery few
Ve w can
c ndid es ma
date e the vita
ade v l coonnnecction with
w h the p prevvious sce
ene e and, ass a ressult, mos
m st
offfere
ed the
e ‘c
change
e’ as b ng Orrestte’s
a bei wn aw
s ow wakkenningg to
o th
he rea
r lisaatio
on of h ow
o his wn ‘llibe
erté
é’ and
a hiss
su
ubsequ uennt reso
r olve to
o re
esc
cuee the Arg
A ienns ffromm th
heir priso
on of remmorrse.
(
(ii) Re
esppon nses show
s we ed fair
f understa
and
ding
g ove
o ralll, but als
a o a ge
ene
eral lack of perrso
onal op
pinion
n ab
bou
ut
Électtre’s re
eacctio
ons
s.
( )
(iii) Thhis part ofo th
he ansswers s waas fair ge
eneeraally, alttho
ough here
h e (o or in (i)) som
me an
nsw wers
s vventture
ed
unnwissely innto atttem
mptts to
o expl
e lainn exxistten
ntialism
m with
w houut fu
ully
y an
nswweriingg wh
hatt sh
hou
uld havve bee en a
fairly strraig
ghtfforw
ward que
q esttion
n.
(b) Thhis questtion

nwwas un ndersto oodd by th
he ma ajorrity of candiidates
s, mos
m st of
o wwho were ablle to
om we t exp
e plain
n
the
e quo
q tation n an p ce it in itts con
nd pla c ntex What wa
xt. Wh as, in the
t ma ain, la
acking
g in annsw
werss se
eenn was
w s
Éggistthe’s own earr of the
o n fe e likely reeac
ctio
on ofo tthe Arrgie
ens shhould the
t ey reallise
e th
hat the
ey w
werre free
f e – the
e
threaat not
n onlly to his
h perrso onal sa afetty but
b alsso to lawl w annd ord
der.
Que
Q esttion
n4
Mar
M rgu
uerite D
Duras
s: Mod
M dera
rato
o Ca
anttab
bile
(a) (i)
( A few
w answ wers mmaanag ged
d to
o echoo th
he em
emphasiis ofo th
he exttrac ct on
o Ann
A ne’’s fe
earr – nott on om her
nly fro
woords, but
b t als
so fro
om herr acctio
ons
s annd ges
g sturress. Muc
M ch dep
d pen nde ed on
o the
t e caand
dida ability to rea
ate’’s a ad
be
etween n th
he line
es. Onne or two
t o answ werrs wen
w nt, perhaapss, a litttle too
t o far in
n su
ugg
ges stingg th
hatt sh
he was
w s
afraid hat Ch
d th hau uvin
n th
hrea ened to
ate o phys
p sica allyy ha m her (an
arm nd quo
q otinng his
h comm men nt ‘Je voudrraiss qu
ue
ous so
vo oyez mor
m rte’).
(
(ii) Thhere e wer
w re som
s me ence couuraggin
ng ans
a swe ers wh hichh be egaan wit
w th a reesound dinng, ‘No o!’ Can
C ndiidates s wh ho had
ag goood kno owleddge of the e te
ext ha ad liittle
e diifficcultty in
n deciidinng tha
t at Cha
C auviin’s s be eha ourr in this fiinal
avio
ch
hap pterr waas nott typic
cal, an
nd wwerre able
a e to o prov vide e att le
eastt so
ome of
o thhe con ntra asting
g eleemments.
Ca and
dida ate
es who
w o ch hos
se ‘typ
‘ picaal’ wer
w re verv ry ssoon in d cultty if/w
n diffic when th heyy attem mppted o justiffy the
d to
ch
hoicce, sinncee the dyn
d am mics s off this sce
s ene e we ere
e re everse ed a
and d ve
ery
y diffferrent frrom
m thhe rroutinee of thheirr
prreviious mee
m etinngs.
( )
(iii) Ma anyy caand
didaate
es foun
f nd littlle tto say
s y he
ere,, exxceept to pro
ovid
de som
s metthin
ng of a com
c mme enttary
y off the
exxtra
act, whhich
hw was
s oft
ften
n accce
epta able
e, pro
p ovid ded thaat kno
k owledgge of thee te
ext beyyonnd the
t e exxtra
act wa as
alsso sho own in
n th
he res
r sponse e. OOcccas
sionnallly a ca
anddidaate ontinue
e co ed froom parrt (ii) alo
a ng the e lin
nes s th
hat
the a ude
e attit e of
o thhe fac
f ctorry wor
w rkerrs in th
he passa agee was
w no o moree ty
ypic t em tha
cal of the an CChaauv vin’’s
beehaavioour waas o
of him
h m.
(b) Th
here e wer
w re som t oughtful rreflecttion
s me tho ns foc
f using on n the bboy y an h relations
nd his ship with m ther,
w h hiis mot
alttho
ough of
o cour
c rse e caanddidaatess had ac ccesss to moore ma aterrial fro
om theemmoth v w. The
herr’s poiint of view
be
est answers s re
ecogniised a ve ery clo
ose e interd
deppen
ndeent rellatioonsship
p; ave
a erag
ge answ werss were e ba
aseed
nly on the
on e pianno lessson
ns and
a d wea
w kes st ans
a sweers of all saww little
e lo
ove be
etw
weenn mot
m ther an nd child, an
nd
weeree too quic
q ck tto writ
w te off
o Ann
A ne as a dru d unken and mor
m rally outr
o rageou us wo
oma an wit
w hn no con
c ntro
ol overr
he
er wilfu
w ul and
a d disobbeddiennt son
s n.
Sec
S ctio
on 2
Que
Q esttion
n5
A dré Gide:: Le
And es Caves
sddu Vati
V ican
(a) Mo
ostt an
nsw
wers
s re
efle ed can
ecte ndidattes
s’ diiffic
cultty in
n re
eferrin
ng tto ‘van
nité
é’ of
o aany kin
nd – altho
a oug gh a fe
ew
ma
adee pass
sing
gmmen ntio
on of
o Pro
P otos
s. Few
F w sa aw the e work
w k as fa arcce or
o ‘s
sotie’.
(b) Ca
anddidaate
es fo
ounnd it cha
c llenngin
ng to pla
ace the
e quo
q tatiion in conteext and cconseqqueently n
non
ne saw
s w thhe
co
onnecttion w Ju
n with ulius ook or La
s’s bo afca
adio
o’s mo
otiv
vele
ess e. Insttea
s crrime ad, the
ey offe
o ereddddisjo d bits o
ointted of
na
arra
ativ
ve, ma a ut Ant
ainlyy abo A thim c nversio
me’s con on or Pro
otos’s maastterm
minndin
ng of
o the
t Miillip
pède plot
p t.
© 201
2 15
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ambrid dgee In
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ationall Ad
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Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
Que
Q esttion
n6
Albe
A ert Ca
amu
us: Le
es Jus
J stess
Itt was goood to find thhatt ca

and
dida s had en
ates njoy
yed
d re
eading
g this play
p ya and ha
ad bee
b en p
pro
omp
pted to
o re ect on
efle
te
erro sm ass a res
oris sultt.
(a) Th
heree wer
w re a fe
ew inte
i elliggen
nt a
and we b anced
ell bal wers. Th
d answ he con
c ntra
ast oof the
t e tw
wo cha
c araccters wa
w s
we
ell gra
g asped ovveraall and
a d mos
m st ca
anddidaate
es p
provvided a dire
d ect answ wer to tthe
e quuesstion. SSin
nce the
e plot
p t
an
nd cha
c arac
cte
ers w
weere und derrsto
ood
d by
y mos w the
m st, itt was e amo oun
nt of de
eta
ail a
andd jus
stiffica
ation whic
w ch
se
epa
aratted the
e stronge er res
r pon nse
es from
f m the
t we eak
ker ones..
(b) Thhis waas the mo oree po

opuularr off the
e tw
wo questtion
ns. Mo
ost caandida ates
s re
ecoognised lo ove e off th
he cou
c untrry
annd its
i peo
p oplee, llove
e and
a su upp portt beetw he me
ween th embberrs oof th
he gro
oupp, lo
ove
e off jus
sticce a
and d th l e
he lov
beetween n Kali
K aye ev andd Dora
D a. M Moore tho
orou
ughh answwerrs also
a o in ntro
odu
uced K Kaliiayev’’s lo
ovee off liffe and
a d, th
he
lovve of the
t e Du
uch hesss for
f herr de eadd husbban
nd.
Que
Q esttion
n7
Sim
S mon
ne de
d BBea
auv
voirr: Les
L s Be
elle
es Im
ma
age
es
(a) Foor the sm malll nu

umb berr off Ce
enttress who
w se eleccted
d th
his tex xt, tthis
s prroveed to be the e mor
m re p poppulaar
quuesstionn. Can
C ndidattes s weeree divvided alm
most e equ
uallly, butt no n cessarrily in the
ot nec e way an nticiipattedd: somme
weeree off the
e opin
o nion n th
hat theem marriag ge waas ddooomeed tot end
e d in n divorrcee an
nd the
t e ottherrs ffaile
ed to pre edicct
ann ouutcom me at
a aall – but mo
most a agrreeed thatt th
he mar
m rria agee ne eed ded wo ork
king
g att an
nd tha
t at th
he fau
f ult la
ay
ma ainly with
w h Jean n-C
Cha arle
es who
w o se eemmed tooo eager to o paasss on n th
he pro
p oble
em to a prof
p fesssio onaal sttran
nge er
in the
e hope e of
o finnding a sol
s utio on. Soome e can
c did date
es dep
d pictted the e mar
m rriage ve ery neggattive
ely, po ossiiblyy
mo ore
e th
han wa as wwarrante b tthe
ed by e no
oveel and
a refferrred d to
o the e adv
a ice e alm
moost as a fina
f al sttraw w. Some e
ussed the adva vicee ass a proooff tha
at the
t ma arriagge was
w s fa ailin
ng.
(b) Caanddidaate
es nee
n eded to o have
h e a cle earr view
w off wh
hat wa as mo
modern in the
t no ovel too an
nswwerr this que
q estion
su
ucce ess
sfully. It h
hadd been e ectted tha
n expe s me ess
at som say m ght be
ys mig e ‘one--sid
ded d’ as
a fa a ‘po
ar as ositiive or
ne
egaativee?’ in the e quesstio
on wa
w s con
c cerrne ed, butt it waas surp
s pris sing
g, nev
n verttheles ss, tha
t at quitee such ha
ne
egaativee view
v w off th he era
e a waas porrtra
ayed. Ca
C ndida atess offten
n ga
avee in
nterresting
g app
a rais salss of
o ch harrac
cterrs’
respoons ses
s to, e.g. new sous undd sy
ysteems. Som
S me dis scu
usssed neegaative
e im
mprresssioons of fammilyy
relatiionships,, bu ut wer
w re lesss co
onvvinc
cing abo
a out the e co
onnnecction betw
b wee en theesee an
nd ‘tou
‘ ut ce
c qui
q éta ait
moodeernne’.
An
nswwerrs did
d nott offtenn raaise
e th
he pro
p oble
em of wo orld huung
ger and dise
d easse w
whiich coontrrastted
d so
o vivid
dly
with the
t e oppenningg sccen
ne and dwwhic g ve the
ch gav e se
enssitiv
ve Cat
C theerine so m ch diffficu
s muc ulty
y to unndeerstand d
wh
hy the
t e wo orld
do he mo
of ‘th ost mo ern in eve
ode eryything’ coould ot, or wo
d no ould
d no
ot, solvee the p
prob blemss off the
e
wo
orld
d off th
he ‘havve--notts’.
Que
Q esttion
n8
Rom
R maiin Gar
G ry: La Viie dev
d vantt so
oi
(a) Annswwerrs frreqque entlyy put too

t o much h emp
e pha asiss on
n Mme
M e RosR sa. It was
w s go oodd, therrefoore
e, to o fin
nd the e
occcasio onal reesp pons se wh hichh shhow
wed d knnow wle
edge of o M.
M Ham
H mil as s we a som
ell as mee se enssitivvity to his s
easiing diffficulties. Th
inccre he questtion n off euuthana asiaa was
w s no ot wid
w ely y menttion ned d, alth
a oug gh quite a few f w
annswwers s sym mpa athissed d with
w Mm mee Ro osa
a’s dre eadd off en
ndin ng up ass a ‘ve egetab ble’ onn soome e hos
h pita al war
w rd
annd app
a proved do M mo’s atte
of Mom a emp pts to ens surre thatt sh
he wow uldd noot. A few
f w ca anddida atess prov videed the
t e
coontrrasttingg attitu
udee too th
he elde
e erly y in
n Affric
ca. TThee diffic
d culty p pre
esente ed by
b tthe e staairs
s up to o th
he sixth floof or
wa as commm mon n too all an nsw
wrs, alltho
oug gh iti was
w rare for f ca andida atess to
o atttem
mptt to de eve
elop p it furrtheer in
n
orrderr to
o illu
usttrate thhe inccreaasinng proobleem m off moobility
y off Mmmee Roosaa – an nd ofo Dr.
D Ka atz w when vis sitin
ng
heer – evven ntuaallyy ne
eed dingg to
o bee carr
c ried d up p and do own n, unti
u l sh w s fiinally con
he wa nfin
nedd too he er ‘ttrou
u juuif’..
Inddeeed the ere wa as little
e men
m ntio on ove
o erall to o deepeendden nce on n otthers to
t be
b a ablle to surv
s vive e – or to the e
coomp passsioon and
a d willin
w ng ass nce pro
sisttan ovided d by
b neig
n ghb bouurs and frrien ndss, alth
a oug gh mo ost res spo onsses
creediited
d Mom
M mo w with thhouughhtfu
ulneesss an
nd ma aturrity beeyond his s yeearrs foor tthe waay in whi
w ich he e
deevooteddly tennde ed to
t MmMme RosR sa’s s ever
e ry neen ed. Mo ost annswwers s achiieve ed a mar
m rk ini the 12 2–15 ra angge.
© 201
2 15
Ca
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Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
(b) Ag gainn, in this quuesstion
n, the
t foccus w alm
s was most ent
e tirelly on
o M Mmme Ro osa, w
with only occ
o cassionnal
refere encces s to
o Moïsse. Mo ore suurprrisin
ng, pe
erhaaps s, was
w s th he a
abssennce of the
e mes
m ssag ge of tole
era
ance
be etween he varriou
n th us eth
e hnicc grroups ressideentt in Beelle
eville, w
with no
n refe
r erence a all to
e at oMMom mo’s own
o n
wo ords on
o thet su ubjeect.. Th
he wo ordss ‘d
dive
ersees attiitud
dess’ were
w e unde ere
estimaated
d by mos
m st ccandid datees. Th he
livving
g coondditio
onss weeree th s me forr alll, but tthis
he sam s was
w no ot alwaayss ac
cknnow
wleddge
ed. Th he livin
ng con
c ndittion
ns
we ere
e haardly bett
b ter wh henn Madam me Ros
R sa wa y nger, altthough
as you h she waas bet
b tterr ab
ble to cop pe wit
w th
the em
m then.
© 201
2 15
Ca
ambrid dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
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977166 Frren
nch Ju
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0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
FRE
RENNCH
CH
P perr 97
Pap 716
6/43
3
Textts
Key
K y mes
m ssa
age
es
Tea
T achers
s sh
hou
uld::
● Thinnk ccare
efu
ully aboutt whic
ch textts to
o prep
p parre as
a ssom
me pre
ese
ent conce
epttual prrob
blem
ms tha
at a
are challe
eng
ging
g
fo
or ave
a rag ge and
a d belo
ow ave
s.
Tea
T achers
s sh
hou
uld tra
ain the
t eir stud
s dennts to::
● Check carefu
C ully
y th
hat the m nag
ey ma ge the t e in
eir tim he exa
n th aminaation room w ll and answ
m wel wer thrree qu
uesttion
ns
● C ck carefu
Che ully
y th
hat the
ey do
d nott annsw
werr tw
wo que
q estions o the same
s on e te
ext
● Thin
nk ccare
efu
ully aboutt whatt th
he que
q estion is askking
g of
o thhemm befo
b ore theey staart tto writ
w te
● R er to th
Refe he questtionn du
urin
ng the
t e an
nsw
werr, not just
j t att the star
s rt aand the
e finis
sh.
Can dattes should:

C ndid
● La
abeel qqueestioonss with
w the e num
n mbe er, a
and d pass sagge-bas sed
d qu ues ons with (i),
stio ( (ii)) annd (iii). If qu
ues
stio
ons s ha ave e
no
ot bee
b en lab belle
ed, it ccan
n lo
ook k as
s th
w e not a atte
empte ed at
a aall, whhen alll three
e off (i)), (iii)
and (iiii) shou uld bee annswwerred in the e pass sagge-bbassedd quuesstio
ons;
● R mem
Rem mbe er tha
n be e co
opieed beffore e ques stio
on nnum
mbers s;
● C ose
e her (a)) orr (b
b) a
and d inves st in
npprovvidiing ass co
omp plete and
a d reelev van
nt an
er to ne
quesstioon as
a pos ssibble;
● R read and
Re-r a d ed w rk. So
dit wo ome e charraccterrs in
n diffe
erennt textts hav
h ve sim
s milarr na
ammes,, buut thes se sho
ould not
n be e
co
M elle e, M
Mad deleeinee; Élis
É se, Ele ecttre.
● Finis
g para agraaphh;
● Starrt ea
ach h neew
Gen
G nerral comm
ments
s
In A (c
com
mme enttary
y) que
q estions s, can
c ndid datees aree offten
naaskeed to exp
e plaiin the
t sittuattion onttextt, iff the te
n or co extt is a
play
p y. This
T s iss lik
kely
y to
o be
em mosst efffec
ctiv
velyy do
onee by givin
g ng as pre ecissely as
a pos
p ssib
ble the
e pooint in
n thhe play
p y whe
w ere
the passa
age e oc ccu
urs. Foor o
other parrts of thee ruubric, and
a d fo
or nov
n vels s, a
answ wer th
he que
q estions, as
a exa acttly as
a you
y u
wou
w uld a rea
r din ng com
c mprreh hensioon que
q estioon,, altho
ouggh wwith
h a lott moore
e deeveelop
pmentt, of
o coourrsee, given the lon ngeer
time
e and greeatter num mbber of maarks s av
vailabble.
D nott ov
Do verr-rely on
o thee exxtra
act in pas
ssaage e-ba
ase q estion
ed que ns. Neithe
er sho
s ould d th
heyy re
epro
oduuce
e ann ex
xtra
act
que
q estio
on tha at th
hey
y prac
ctise
ed preevioous
sly.. Sa
ayin
ng,, ‘in
n th
he ext
e racct’ abo
a out thiings whic
w ch are e no
ot in th
he giv
ven
n
extr
e ractt will
w rrais se the
t Ex xamminer’s sus
s piccion ns abo
a out pre e-le
earned m eria
d mat al.
Ans
A sweer the questtionn; do
d nnott repro
odu
uce thee blur
b rb frrom
m th ck of tthe
he bac e bo
ook k. In
n fa
act, it is
i liikely tto be
b mo
more
use
u eful to me
emooris
se eve
e entts in
n th
he tex
t xt th
hat can be
b use
u ed as
a exaamplees to illlus
stra
ate points s mad
m de, tha an to
t
m morise
mem eqquotatiions.
Can
C ndid dattes should rear ad the questtion n and resspo ond o it. Th
d to hey sh hould not
n t reepro
oduuce
e prre-le
earrne
ed mat
m teriial. If
they
y mem
m morrise e annd wriite, forr ex
xammplle, the
e bllurb he back of the
b on th t e boookk, whic
w ch tthe
e Ex xam
min ely to
ner is like
reco
r ogn nisee, ttheyy risk be
eingg suusp pected
d off ha
avin
ng cop pied thhatt fro
om edditor's notess whic
ch are
a pro ohibite
ed in the
t e
exa
e am. Th he b blurb is not
n sp nough to answ
peciific en wer the
e qu ues
stio w l, eve
on wel e n iff it con
nta
ains
s a releevaant keey wor
w rd,
and
a d it shoould d not
n be me emmorised d or co
opiied.
Plea
P asee do
onnot lea
ave the
eEExaaminerrs to t h
hav ve to trry to
t wworrk out
o wh hat waas me
m antt in es ssays or to ffind
d way
w ys in
n
whic
w ch thee esssa
ay was
w s re
elevvan
nt. It is
s th
he ccan
ndiddatte’ss re
esp
ponsibbility
y to
o an
nswwerr cle
earrly and
a d earn
n th
he mam rks
s.
© 201
2 15
ambrid
Ca dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
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ancced Le
eve
el
977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
An
A ans
a sweer w
whiich co
ould
d ha
ave
e be
een
n giveen for
f anyy quesstio
on and
a d an aanssweer whic
w ch sho
owss know
wle
edg
ge of
o th
he texxt,
but
b wh hich
h an
nsw
werrs neit
n theer Que
Q estiion a) nor
n (a n (b)) ca
ann
not scoore
e highlly eno
e ouggh for
f a pas
p s mar
m rk
Mak
M ke the
t e esssaay a cllear answ werr to
o the q
queestioon,, so
o th en if the questtion
hat eve n num
mbeer was
w s ac
ccid
den
ntally not
n
writ
w tten
n att the beg
b ginnningg, itt is ab
bso olute
ely cle
earr wh
hichhq questio
on wa
was b bein
ng ans
a swe ere
ed.
Itt is no
ot nece
n esssarry to
o claim
m thatt the them
me
e in the
e quesstio
on is
i the mo
ost im
mportant ttop
pic in
i the texxt.
Do
D nott ch
han
nge
e ink colo
c our or ha
andw
writing
g.
As
A alw
a wayys, iit was
w s gooodd too se t t ca
ee tha and dida
atees sho
s oweed enjo
e oym ment o t bo
of the ooks thhey
w e ofte
o n
wel
w l prrep
pare
ed to t disc
nattely
y, howwever, the
ere
e waas a high
h herr inc
cidencce of ans
a swe ers
s in Ennglish
and
a d in meem
ecoondaryy mate
m eria al th
his session. Th
he lattter ne
ever ra
aiseed maarks
s gaained, bu w ld
ut it wou
hav
h ve bee
b en ggoo od to
t see
s e no otes mad
m de in E Engglis
sh con
c nve
eyedd in
n Fren
nch h, to
oo. Th
his wo
wouldd ha
avee re
esultedd in
n th
he
earn
e ning of
o eextrra mar
m rks in every y ca
ase
e.
Com
C mm
men
nts on
n spec
cifiic q
que
esttion
ns
Sec
S ctio
on 1
Que
Q esttion
n1
Mol
M ière: L’A
L Avare
(a) (i)
( It muust be said ttha at not all
a can
c ndid dattes coouldd exxpla
ain
n the eexpres ssioon ‘wit
‘ thoout a dow
d wry’’, and soome e
sppecculaatedd th
hat it had
h d soome ethhing
g to
o do o with
w da augghteers obbeying g their fatthers unq queestiioning
gly. So ome
e
coouldd annswwerr thhat ‘sa
ans do ot’ m
mea antt ‘sa
anss arrge
ent’, bu
ut it w
was un nusuall too fin
nd a reespponnse givving
g mor
m re
deetaiil ab
bouut ‘less bie
enss qu
u’une fem mmme app porrte en see maria antt’. Laro
L ous sse
e also de efinees ‘do
ot’ as
a ‘ch
‘ ez
dee noombre eux x peeuppless, prix
p x pa ayéé pa
ar lee fu m i à la fam
utur mar f mille
e de la a je
eunne fille
f e’. Mor
M re iimpporttannt th
han
n
insstru
uctiion in the e cultu
ure
e of the e era
e wa as a soounnd und
u derrstaand
ding g off the p
playy in
n its
s ow
wn wo ords:
● Ha
arpa
agoon h hatted sp
pendin ng mo
m ney y (a
all ccan
ndiddattes weere cle
ear ab
bou
ut th
his))
● Ha
arpa
agoon w was plea
p aseed to hav
h ve arra
a ang ged for Élise e to
o marr
m ry ‘sanns d
dott’
● There
eforre tthe relev
vantt de
efin
nitio was, ‘‘les
on wa s biiens qu’u
q une e fe
emmme appporte en n se
emmariiant’
Soome e said
s d th hat Haarpaago
on wa
w s una
u ble e too pa
ay a dowwry, buut all
a can
c did
datees kne
k ew tha at HHarrpagonn did
d
haavee so
ome e mon
m ney y that he
h wa ante
ed to
t hid
h ea and
d keeepp a seccre
et. Mor
M re per
p rtinentt to
o the ssign
nific
can
nce of
thee exp
e res ssio
on, ‘saans
s do
ot’, waas to
t poin
p nt out
o tha at Ans
A selmme ha ad agr
a reed to
o ta e Élise
ake e ass his wife
w e
‘w
withooutt re ng a do
equiirin owry’.. Only
y mooree th
houghttful dis
scu
usssion
ns dev
d velo
ope
ed this
t s po ointt.
(
(ii) Caand dida
ate
es fooun nd it eas
e y to oaapprov ve of
o Valè
V ère e’s con
c ndu uct in the
e ex xtra
act becau usee th
heyy knnew hat hiss
w th
deeceeptioon waas mmerely y a me eth
hod of flattering g Harp
H pag gonn annd thaat Valè
V ère e woould mar
m rry Élise him mse elf in
the e . More
e end M ed disccernning c did
g can datees mementio oneed thaat Valè
V ère be ega an to
t aagreee witth Har
H rpa agon, bef
b fore e
thee extr
e ractt, too fla
atte
er him
h m as s usuaal, bef
b fore ehhe eve k ew w
e en kne what the
t e mastter of the e ho ousse was
w s taalkiing
to hiss daaug
ghtter abo outt. Altho
A oug gh by flattery V Vallère
e was
w likkely y to bee abble to ing
grattiatte h
him
mself with
w h
Haarppagon,, an nd had d as
a his
h objjective e to
o win
w H Harpaago on’s
s fa
avour so
s tha at h
he cou
c uld ma arryy Élise
e, Valè
V ère e
waas agrree eing
g too obblig
ge Élis
É se tto mar
m rry some eon ne else
e e here a ha
e, and ad see
s eme ed stuump pedd at th n ws of
he new
‘sa
ans s do
ot’ a fe
ew mo omments befb foree. The
T e mostt th houghttful respo onssess poointted
d ou
ut th
hatt Éllise
e ha
ad nott
appprooveed of
o Val
V lère e’s strrate
egyy ass th
heirr ex
xchang gess im
mmmediate ely be xtract, wh
eforre tthe ex hile Haarp
pago on
waas che eckking
g on n his
h mo money in n th
he gar
g rde en, sho oweed. A feww cand
c did datees rrec ed Valère
calle e’s su
uggesttion n
thaat Élis
É se sho
s ould d fe
eignn an
a illne esss to deelay
y th
he wed
w dding to An nselme e plannneed for
f that at e
even ning as
a
adddittion
nal eviide
ence o apprrovve of
e to o Valè
V ère e’s ccon
nduuct here.
ers gav
Otthe ve jus
j st as conv
c vincin
ng arg
a um
mennts tto disa
d app ove of Va
pro alèrre’s
s be
eha
avio
ourr, be
eca
aus t y fe
se the elt
tha
at he
h shoould n
not have deeceiived Har
H rpag
gonn.
( )
(iii) Annsw
werrs emp
e pha asis
sedd Harp
pag gon’s ava
a aricce a
as we
w ll as his
h a auttho
orita
aria
an sstylle and
a d willin
ngn
ness too
weelco
om
me flatt
f teryy reefle
ecte
ed in
i hhis woords
s in
n th
his pas
ssaagee annd thro
t oug ghoout thee sc cen
ne. ‘R nt’ in line
Renttran l e
1aalso reca alle
ed H
Harrpaago
on’s
s neervo
oussneess
s for his mon
m ney y, bburied in thee gard den n, whic
w ch he had ju ustt
returnedd frrom
m chhecckin
ng afte
er hhea ng a dog ba
arin arking annd ffearingg th
he wo
w rst.
© 201
2 15
ambrid
Ca dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
eve
el
977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
(b) Maanyy ca
anddidaate c uld rea
es cou adily illus
stra
ate the
eir res
r pon nse
es tto this
t s quuesstio
on from m th he plaay, rec
cou unting
ho
ow Ha arpaagoon wwas
s mea
m an anda d preo occcupiedd wiith his
s mone ey at the
t e be
egin nning, an nd it w
wass sttill the
t
sa
amee att th
he end
e d. How
H wev ver, mmore e th
houughhtful an
nswwerrs use
u ed Har
H rpa agon’ss initial ob bjectio
onaablee
maarriag
ge plan
p ns ffor his
s fa
amily tto sho
s ow how whhe did
d en nd up
u find ding a saatissfac
ctorry arra
a ang gemmen nt for
f
him
mself as hee allowwedd hiis chil
c dre en to
t ma
m rry ac ng to tthe
ccorrdin eir cho
c oicee affterr alll.
Que
Q esttion
n2
Guy
G y de
e Mau assantt: Bel-
M upa B -Ammi
(a) (i)
( Thhere
e wer
w re a plura
ality
y off an
nswwerrs to
o th
his firsst part
p t off the q
que
estio
on,, no
ot le
easst bec
b cause the esee we
ere
e th
he
se
econd seeats
s Durooy and
a d Fo ore
estier hadd ta
ake s ce arrrivin
en sinc ng at the
t e Foolie
es-BBerrgère, an
nd they
t y had
h
waalke
ed aro
oun
nd tthe
e gaalle
ery, too
o. Sin
S ce the eir cha ancce enc
e cou unte
er on
o the
t e sttreeets of Paris tha
at eve
e enin
ng,
ey had also
the a o beeenn to
o th
he offic
o ces s off La
a Vie
V Fra anç
çaisse and
a d a ca
afe, be c ming to
eforre com o th
his cabaret
music hall
h , wherre by
b now w they
t y were
w e in n th
he g garrden.
Ma any
y ca anddidaate
es cou
c uld expplain tha
t t thhe rea
r ason Dur
D oy wa as intim
mid
date
ed had som
s meth hin
ng to do
d with
w h th he
prrese
enc ce of
o the
t tw wo wom
w men, b butt on
nly the
emmost de
eta
ailed
daanswwers me
mentioone
ed thaat ‘la g
grosssee brrunne’
ha old Forres
ad justt to stier, ‘C
C’e
est ton mi quii me séd
n am s uit. C’esst vraim
ment un
u jolii ga
arço
on.. Je
e crrois
s quu’il mee
feraitt faire dees ffolie
es!’’
(
(ii) Thhe piep ces dvice giv
s of ad ven
n byy Fooreestier, ‘Il fau
ut soig
s gne er [le suc
s cès s auprrèss dees fem
f mme es]]. Ça
Ç peu
p ut te
e
me ene er loin
n’, and
a d, ‘C
C’e
est enc p elles qu’on
e corre par n arrrive le
e pluss vitte’, we
ere
e thoug ghtt to ha
ave be eenn us
sefu
ul
if iit was
w in follow wingg th
hem
m th
hatt Duurooy sec
s cure ed his so ocia
al cclim
mbin
ng sos sw wiftly
y. Fore
F esttierr’s wor
w rds s
ceerta ainlyy prov
p ved d tru
ue in Du
D royy’s life.
( )
(iii) So ome e can
c did datees dev
d veloope ed tthe
e reespons se to (ii)
( he ere,, po
ointting
g ou
ut tha
t t it wa a the me
as at eal the
e
follow wing eve
e enin ng ata the
t Fo oresstie
er’ss hoome hat Du
e th uroy met
m t Mme es For
F resttierr, de Mar
M rellee and
a Walte
W er
for thhe first
f t tim
me, womw men n throuugh h whom m he
h cou uld suucceeed d at work
w k, and
a d be eco omee rich.. Otthe
ers use ed
the e pres
p sen nce e off the
e th
hre
ee joourrnaalistts at
a th
he din
nne er to
o fo
ocuus on
o how
h w itt ga
avee Du uro
oy an
a o opeeninng forr hiss
firsst job at the
e ne ewspa apeer.
(b) Deesppitee the usu

u al cla
c ims s th
hat the
e th
hemme in tthee qu
uesstion w wass a ma ajorr to
opic
c in thee te
extt, de
eatth was
w s no ot
omiinant in
do i this
t s nooveel. Nev
N vertrthe ss, mo
eles ost candiidates s we ere
e ab ble to reffer to Charles Fo ores stie
er,
whhosse dea
d ath wa as the
t e mostt immme ediate o the read
e to derr, not o b cause his
onlly bec s deecliine intto ill hea
h lth at a
relatiivelly you
y ung ag ge was
w s reelatted
d on
n diffe
erennt occ
o casiions a andd givvenn th
hat Du uroyy wen
w nt to o suupp porrt
Ma adeeleinee ass he
e was
w s dy ying
g, b
but sin
ncee Duuro
oy very
v y quic cklyy as
ske ed his
h frie endd’s wid
w dow w too beeco ome e his
h
wife, to wh hich
h sh
he agree ed afte
a er som
s me hes sita on. This ena
atio e able ed Du uroyy too th
hrive at
a wor
w k anda inc crease e
hiss wea
w alth. Convverrsely, he did d not app
a preecia
ate hiss co
olleeagues s’ te
eassinggh him thaat he
h had d simp ply filled
Foores stie
er’s
s sh
hoees at h me and at
a hom a work
w k. Dur
D roy y did n carre to
d not t ‘inheritt’ thhe maarita
al unfa
u aith hfullneess of
Foores stie
er’s
s wido
ow, eittherr.
On ne of the
t e wa ayss in
n whicch mar
m rrying Ma adeeleiine alllow
wed
d Duuro
oy to inncrreasse in we
w althh reelatted
d to
o the
e
de
eath h of le
e coomtte de
d Va audrecc. TheT co ount bequ ueaathed a largge sum
s m of
o mmon neyy to
o Made eleine b in
e, but,
disscu
ussion n with a laawwyerr, itt wa
as esttablishhedd th
hat it wou
w uld have be een ‘in
nappro opriiate
e’ fo
or only
o y
Ma adeeleinee to inh
herrit. To
T av void d th
he situ
s uatioon not reefle
ecting weell on
o Ge
G org gess an
nd Ma ade elein
ne’s
ma arriag
ge, Du ndepende
uroyy in eritted ha
enttly inhe o the leg
alf of gaccy.
Altho
oug
gh the de
eath
hs of
o Mad
M dellein
ne’s
s paareentss pre-d
datted the e even
ese nts, th
hey
y ca
amee up in his conte
n th ext.
Le
e co
omtte de
d Vaaudrec
c was Maade eleine’’s sug
s gar daddy y part
p tly bec
b cau
use sh w s a vu
he was ulne
erabble orrpha
an..
© 201
2 15
Ca
ambrid dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
eve
el
977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
Que
Q esttion
n3
Jea
J an-P
Pau
ul S
Sartre: Le
es Mo
ouc
ches
s
(a) (i)
( Ca
anddida
ate
es cou r count tha
c ld rec t at Égis
É sthe e and Cly
yte
emnnesstre
e ha b en resspo
ad bee onsiible
e fo
or th
he mu urde
er of
o
Ag
gammemmnon fiftteen yea
y ars ear
e rlier. The
T ey did
d noot alwa
ayss disscu s the sign
uss s nific
can
ncee off tha
at for
f Orerestte,
no
ot only
o y lo
osin
ng h
his fattherr an
nd fam
milyy, but
b goingg into exi
e le.
(
(ii) Thhe mo
most suc
s cce
essfful res
spo
onsses de
ealt witth tthe wo
ord
ds, ‘à
‘ pprésennt’ and
dddisc
cussedd th
he ssignifiicant
tim
ming of e ntss in the
o eve e play
p y, th
he ann
a nive
ers
saryy off Ag
gamme
emn n’s mu
non urdeer a
and
d th
he ‘fête
eddes Mo orts
s’.
( )
(iii) Soome e can
c did datees we
w re kee en tto exp
e pos se ‘paiinfu
ul sec
s rets s’ oof all
a the chara acte
ers
s, but the
t e more e
thoougghttful on
nes loooke
ed at
a the
t wo ordss in
n th
heirr co
onteextt in line
es 17–18 8 of
o thhe passsaagee. H
Heree it waas the
t e
goodss whho had d th
he sec ets. Frrom
cre m thhat poiint, soome w e able
e were e too qu
uotee Jupiterr’s wo
w rdss in Acct III,
Taableeau
u II, Sccenne v, ‘Le
‘ se ecre
et dou
d ulou ureux des Dieu
D ux et d dess roois: c’e
estt qu
ue les hoommmes s sontt
lib s…et ils ne le sav
bres vennt pas a d there
p s.’ and ein wa t ke
as the ey to J iterr an
o Jup nd Égisthhe’ss pow
p wer..
(b) Onnly haalf as

a ma many candida atess an
nswwerred pa
art (b) ut mos
( , bu m st ma
m de a goog od atte
a empt to t aass
sess th
he
exxten w ch the
nt to whic e pllay wa
as b p oso
botth phil oph
hicaal and matic. Oc
a d drram ccasioonally a fa
ar gre
g eate
er emp
e pha asiss
waas pla
aced d on
o p phillosoph
hy, evven to the
e excl
e lusion off anny m
mentioon of dra
d amaa, but
b answ werss te
ended to
bee well illu
ustrrate f m the texxt.
ed from
Que
Q esttion
n4
Mar
M rgu Duras
uerite D s: Mod
M dera
rato
o Ca
anttab
bile
(a) It w
wouldd ha
ave e beeenn niice to se
ee som
s me mo ore strructture
ed ansswers s in respoonsse to
t (i),
( perha s wiith a
aps
wh hole
e para
p agrraph devd vote ed to
t ‘la pat
p tron
nnee’ and a sep
s paraatee on
ne abo
a outt ‘so
on étaablisse A it was
ementt’. As w s,
thee tw
wo tenndeed tto be
b rollled intto one
o e. Mos
M st ccanndid date
es me entioneed thaat a wom
w man n haad bee en muurde ere
ed
in thee ca
afe
e att the
e beg
b inn ningg off th
he nov
n vel and d th
hatt Annnee annd Ch
hauvin n beega
an tot mee
m et tthere reg gulaarlyy,
oftten
n joine
ed by
b tthee factoory woorke ers in the
e eaarly
y evvenning
gaas the sun was
w s se ettin
ng. Veeryy few
w wro
w ote
abbouut th
he (femmaale) bo
oss wh ho wwa as ofte
o en knit
k tting g.
(
(ii) Thhis ten
ndeed to
t bbe les
l s well
w an nsw
wereed.. Soom
me eve d cusssed the thingss th
e en disc hat Annnee saaid wittho
out
foccus
sing
g on h lies in
o her n th he ext
e trac
ct, alth
a hou ughh there
e were
w e so ome goo
g od sug
s gge estio
onss as
s to
o her rea
r asons
for ‘p
play
ying
g th
he iinnoceentt’. All
A ccouuld name e Chau uvin in
n (iii) and
d say
s a little e abou ut him
h m. S
Som me
ovverlookedd to
o annswwerr thhe sec
s cond part
p t off the que
q estioon, ab bou
ut why
w y heew was the ere
e, but o
on thee who
w le,
andida
ca ates
s co
ould reca g d dea
r all a goo d al abou ut h
him
m, his
h pre
p evio ous
s woork
king
g liffe and
a d hiss ro
outtine
e th
hrouugh
hou
ut
thee nov
n el, graavittating,, lik
ke Ann
A ne, towwards s th
hat pla
ace an nd sseeekin
ng herr coompan ny.
(b) Prrobablly abo

a out half of
o all c did
a can date
es beg
b gan n th
heirr es
ssa
ays witth a de
ecisivve stat
s temmennt th
hatt the
e
relatiions betw
b wee en Anne an nd C
Cha auv
vin had a neega ativ
ve effe
e ect on heer. The
T ey gen
g nerrally
y proc
cee eded to
o
illu
ustrrate
e th ew, tho
his vie oug ays witth m
gh nott alwa much de eveloppme
ent..
Thhe rem
r mainde er e
entterttain
ned the iddeaa th
hat theere we ere so
omee positivee outw worrkin
ngs forr Anne e: the
t
esscape fro
om a m mon nottonous seexissten
nce e that hherr meet
m ting gs w
with Cha
C auv vin a allo
oweed herr, a
alon
ng wit
w ha
neew fou
undd fre
eeddom m. The
T e mos
m st thhouugh htful re
esp
pons sess ex
xam
minnedd in moore e deetaiil way
w ys in
n whic
w ch the
t ere
weere
e po
osittive
e efffec
cts, suuch ass fe
eelin
ngss off ha
apppineess
s in he
er pers
p son nal life
e, but
b als so neg
n gatiive
co
onsequ uenncees ffor her faamily.
Sec
S ctio
on 2
Que
Q esttion
n5
A dré Gide:: Le
And es Caves
sddu Vati
V ican
(a) Th
here
e wer
w re to
oo few
w answ
a wers tto ma
m ke comm
men
nt app
a prop
pria
ate.
(b) Th
here
e wer
w re to
oo few
w answ
a wers tto ma
m ke comm
men
nt app
a prop
pria
ate.
© 201
2 15
Ca
ambrid dgee In
nterrna
ationall Ad
dva
ancced Le
eve
el
977166 Frren
nch Ju
une e 20
0155
Princcipal Exa
E amine er Rep
R portt fo
or T
Teache
ers
Que
Q esttion
n6
Albe
A ert Ca
amu
us: Le
es Jus
J stess
Itt was go
ood to find th
hatt ca
and
dida s had en
ates njoy
yed
d re
eading
g this play
p ya and be
een
n prrom
mpte
ed to reflecct on te
erro
oris
sm
as
a a re esu
ult.
(a) Ca
anddida
ate
es wer a ked to comm
w re ask mennt on
o Ste
S epaan’s
s go
oals
s, o
on hiss ob ctivves in relatio
bjec on to thee
qu
uota
atio
on in
i the
t qu n. It w
uesttion was the
ereeforre n
not ne
eces
ssaary to inc
clud many oth
de ma herr ch
haraactters n the
s in
an
nsw
wer, althooug s me suc
gh som cceess
sful co
omp pariso
ons weere maadee with
w Ka alia
ayevv.
Th
heree wer
w re mix
m ed resspoonsses to this que
q estio
on as noot all ccand
didate es see
s emeed to foc
f cus on n the key
k y
woords, ‘Co
‘ ommmeente
ez les buts…
…’ So
S me e discu
usssed the cha
c rac cterr off Sttepan tooo geneeraally, while e
otherrs seiz
s zedd up n his view
pon v ws on jus stic w ile neg
ce whi glectin
ng to ans
a swe t qu
er the ues stion n itss entirrety
n in y.
(b) Soome e can

c did date
es foc
f cuse ed on Kaalia
ayev v’s woords in
n th
he que
q estion, while
w eo othe
ers disscuusse ed the
e
im
mpo ortance e of
o his per
p rson nal sa
acrifice
e too th
he e
exc
clussion
n off th
he quo
q otattionn. HHe saiid, ‘J’a
ai cchoisi d’ê
être
e
inn
noc cen
nt’ in Act
A 2, hav ving cho
c osen notn to thro
t ow thee bom
b mb a and
d kill the ‘innoc
cennt’ chil
c lcre en in the
t
caarria
agee alonng w
with
h th
he Gra
G andd Duke e.
Affterr refflec
ctin
ng, dis t e otherrs, fac
scussing witth the cingg crritic
cism
m and econsiidering
a d re g his pos on, it is
p sitio
im
mpo ortant to t Kal
K liayyevv to be
e tru
usteed againn annd to gog and ccarrry out
o the e assa
ass sina
atio
on. Thereeaftter hee
is arrrestted d, mad t look
m de to k guiltty of
o betr
b rayingg his com
c mrad dess and puut to
o de
eatth, maakin e ulttimate
ng tthe e
saacrificee, but
b gla ad to
t hav
h ve foll
f ow wed his
s coonvvicttion
ns.
Que
Q esttion
n7
Sim
S mon
ne de
d BBea
auv
voirr: Les
L s Be
elle
es Im
ma
age
es
(a) Ca
anddida ate
es men
m ntiooneed that
t t thhe con
c ncluusioon of the
t e noove el w
was ‘sa atis
sfying’’ in as
s much h as th
he situuattion
n
with reggardd to
oCCathherrine
e, and
a Brrigittte, waas sattisfa
acttorily rreso nd the
olved,, an e ps cholog
syc gist haad bee
b en
he
elpfful. La
aureencce had
h d sttop s ing
pped see g Luucie
en, annd her
h r pa arents
s haad bee
b en rec con ed, wh
ncile hile
e th
heree
wa
as rea asoon to
obbe opt
o imistic c abouut her
h r return to
o health..
It w
was som
s metiime
es ove
o erlo
ook
ked tha t qu
at the uesstion
n beg
b an,, ‘D
Danns que
q elle meesuure…’, ho
owe eve w rarre
er it was
to rea
ad an es
ssay whic
w ch des scrribe
ed any
a ything buut an
a opti
o imisstic
c co
onc
clussion
n to
o th
he nov
n vel..
(b) On nly onne in te

en candiidatess annswwerring
g on
n th
his texxt opte
o ed ffor this que
q estio on. Mo ostt coould
d id
denntifyy
La aureenc
ce as
a the e ‘s
speake
er’, alttho
ough she
s wa as thin
t nkinng it to
o hers
h selff att this poin
p nt in Cha
C apte er 2,
2 whe
w en
sh w s prep
he was pariing the hou
h se an nd fam
f mily forr dinneer. Heer d
dauughterr Caatherin ne’s frrien
nd, Brrigittte, strrucck
he er as
a neg
n glec cted
d as
a she
s e wa n hurry to go ho
as in no ome e to
o an emp
e pty ho ouse e. Lau
L urence e re
elfe
ecteed tha at itt
wo ouldd hav
h e bee
b en kind
k d to
o in
nvitee Brig
B gitte
e to
o ea
at with
w h thhemm but, she thou ugh ht, ‘Je
ean--Ch harrles
s déétes ste
e
l’im
mprév vu’, an
nd sshee ha
ad no deesirre fo
or Jea
J an-Charle es eveen to me eet Briigittte any
a ywa ay.
Que
Q esttion
n8
Rom
R maiin Gar
G ry: La Viie dev
d vantt so
oi
(a) Foor the mo ost paart, this

s quesstio
on wa
w s app
a proaach hed we ell, de
espite occ cassionnal ovvers
sighht oof the
t wo ord
‘tro
ou’’, le
eadding
g to
o esssaays en ely devotted to Je
ntire ewis shn
nesss in
n th
he nov vel in generral.. Alltho
oug gh
caandida atess migh
m ht mor
m re hel
h pfu ully haave beeguun with
w h a briief desscrriptiion off the
e ‘trou
u ju
uif’, tha
at extr
e ra roo
r om
doownnsta airs
s fro
omm Madam me Ros
R sa’s s sixth
h flo
oorr fla
at, wh
w ich
h sh he we
w nt tot som
s mettime es at nigght and d to
o whic
w ch
shhe was
w s once e fo
ollo
oweed by
b Mo omo o, from
m who
w om we e ge
et the deescrripttion
n off the cha
c andelie er and
a d Je ewiish
caandles s. Mom
M mo enabled d Mada am
me Ros
R sa tot ddie in peace e in
n he
er ‘tro
‘ ou ju uif’.
(b) Th
his wa
as a sttraighttforrwaard qu uestion n about a an unusu ual chharaacte
er. Altthoughh s/he
s e do oess no
ot play
p ya
do
omiinant role
r e inn thhe nov
n vel, it wwas s plea
p asinng n nott on
nly to seee th
he rea
adinnesss with
w h whic
w ch ccan ndid
dates
co
ould
d diiscusss th
he cha
c arac
cte er, b
but als so the nfidentt fra
t eir ccon ankkneess ab
bouut thhe con
c nfussion thatt co d be
ould
ca
aused by y this ttran
nsvvesttite
e prrosttitute.
© 201
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Cambridge International Advanced Level

9716 French June 2015

Format of the examination

There are 3 distinct parts to the speaking test:

Presentation – to last 3 to 3½ minutes;

Topic Conversation (7 to 8 minutes)

General Conversation (8 to 9 minutes)

Teacher/Examiners should aim to discuss a minimum of 2 to 3 areas in depth, giving candidates

● In Question 5, any material over the word limit is ignored.

Comments on specific questions

The topic generally appeared to be one to which candidates could relate.

Comments on specific questions

The topic generally appeared to be one to which candidates could relate.

Comments on specific questions

Comments on specific questions

Common errors included:

Overuse of aussi at start of sentences and paragraphs.

Use of le taux for le nombre.

Use of parce que instead of à cause de.

Overuse of the word personnes (for gens) and cela/ça.

Incorrect sequence of tenses with si.

Examples of good use of language included:

Common errors included:

Use of beaucoup des with plural noun.

Overuse of aussi at start of sentences and paragraphs.

Use of parce que instead of à cause de and car for pour.

Incorrect sequence of tenses with si.

Use of faire for rendre

Agreement of the past participle e.g. ils ont organisés

Use of avoir besoin de instead of devoir.

Comments on specific questions

Can dattes should:

(b) Deesppitee the usu

(b) Onnly haalf as

(b) Prrobablly abo

(b) Soome e can

(b) On nly onne in te

(a) Foor the mo ost paart, this

(b) Thhis questtion

Itt was goood to find thhatt ca

(b) Thhis waas the mo oree po

(a) Foor the sm malll nu

(a) Annswwerrs frreqque entlyy put too

Can dattes should:

(b) Deesppitee the usu

(b) Onnly haalf as

(b) Prrobablly abo

(b) Soome e can

(b) On nly onne in te

(a) Foor the mo ost paart, this

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