Opinion - Technology and Media

How Written Production Works: Structure, Layout, and Word Counts

Written Production (Section II) is worth 100 marks in total (25% of your final grade at Higher Level).

• Question 1 is compulsory: roughly 90 to 110 words, 40 marks (split evenly between Communication 20 and Language 20). It always links back to one of the reading passages in Section I and typically opens with a prompt such as: « Selon le texte de la Section I, Q.1, … Qu'en pensez-vous ? »
• You then answer two of Questions 2, 3, and 4: roughly 75 to 90 words each, 30 marks each (Communication 15 and Language 15).
• Question 2 is usually a communicative transaction (letter, email, diary entry, or formal message). Questions 3 and 4 are discussion, reaction, or opinion essays on contemporary societal issues. This is where topics like screen time, smartphone bans, generative artificial intelligence, and media integrity appear most often.

Word Count Rules

For a 75-word task, write roughly 75 to 90 words. For a 90-word task, write roughly 90 to 110 words. Going slightly over is not penalised, but anything beyond what the prompt asks earns no extra credit, and every extra sentence exposes you to grammatical errors. Under-writing is dangerous: you cannot construct and develop a two-sided argument in 60 words.

Presentation of an Opinion Piece

When a prompt states « Qu'en pensez-vous ? », « Donnez votre réaction », or « À votre avis… », write continuous prose only. Do not insert a postal address, a date, greetings like « Cher Monsieur / Chère Madame », or sign-offs like « Amitiés ». Those conventions belong solely to Question 2 letters and emails; on an opinion essay, they waste 15 to 20 words without gaining credit.

The Four-Step Argument Plan

This four-step plan keeps your answer balanced and easy for the examiner to follow, and stops you running out of words halfway through:

1. Introduction: Pick up the prompt directly and state your stance.
2. Arguments in favour: Present a tangible benefit supported by a concrete reason.
3. Counter-arguments or hazards: Contrast the positive points with an acknowledged limitation, risk, or societal drawback.
4. Conclusion: Summarise your position and offer a practical recommendation or compromise using a subjunctive or conditional structure.

Notice that the two written model answers below put these very phrases into practice across each step.

Reacting to Text Stimuli and Statistics

In Question 1, the marking scheme specifically rewards candidates whose stimulus material is well exploited. Mention the figure or idea in your own French without lifting whole sentences verbatim:

• Comme le souligne l'article, … (As the article highlights, …)
• Selon un sondage récent, … (According to a recent survey, …)
• Les chiffres montrent que … (The figures show that …)
• Un jeune sur trois … (One young person in three …)
• De plus en plus de / de moins en moins de … (More and more / fewer and fewer …)
• La plupart des adolescents + plural verb (Most teenagers …)
• Une augmentation / une baisse de 13 % (A rise / a fall of 13%)

Comme le souligne l'article, les jeunes s'informent surtout en ligne. Pourtant, à mon avis, ils devraient se méfier de ce qu'ils lisent. (As the article points out, young people get their information mainly online. Yet in my view they should be wary of what they read.)

Core Vocabulary: Hardware, School Devices, and Artificial Intelligence

Using precise French terminology rather than Anglicisms demonstrates control. Note gender agreements and prepositions carefully.

Locative Rule for Internet

In French, write sur Internet or grâce à Internet without an article. When referring to social media, however, the article is compulsory: sur les réseaux sociaux.

Idiomatic Screen Habits

To describe excessive smartphone use naturally, use être scotché(e) à son écran (to be glued to one's screen): Beaucoup de jeunes passent des heures scotchés à leur écran au lieu de faire du sport.

The Newsroom, Media Representation, and Disinformation

The Leaving Certificate syllabus highlights 'the range and role of the mass media' under Cultural Awareness. In both written essays and reading passages, you must differentiate between professional journalism and unverified online posts.

Media Trust and Critical Discernment

Learn this high-scoring sentence by heart for both written and oral tasks: Une information très partagée n'est pas forcément vraie. (A widely shared piece of information is not necessarily true.)

When tackling a 75-word prompt on whether you trust the media (Faîtes-vous confiance aux médias et aux réseaux sociaux ?), structure your response around this four-point plan:

1. State a clear distinction: trust in the professional press versus deep scepticism of social media.
2. Justify: Un journaliste vérifie ses sources, alors qu'un internaute anonyme ne le fait pas. (A journalist checks sources, whereas an anonymous user does not.)
3. Provide an example: how rumours and fake news spread unchecked on TikTok or X.
4. Conclude with a recommendation: Il faut que nous développions notre esprit critique dès l'école.

Grammar Toolkit: Subjunctive, Si-Clauses, and Prepositions

High marks in Language require accurate deployment of complex syntax. Master these three targeted structures.

1. The Subjunctive Mood (Le Subjonctif)

The subjunctive is mandatory after conjunctions of concession, expressions of purpose and necessity, and negated verbs of belief:

• Concession (bien que):

Bien que les réseaux sociaux soient utiles, ils favorisent parfois l'isolement. (Although social networks are useful, they sometimes foster isolation.)

• Purpose (pour que / afin que):

Il faudrait éduquer les jeunes pour qu'ils sachent reconnaître une source douteuse. (We should educate young people so that they know how to spot a dubious source.)

• Impersonal necessity (il faut que):

Il faut que nous fassions preuve d'esprit critique sur Internet. (We must show critical thinking on the internet.)

• Negated belief verbs: Declarative thinking verbs in the affirmative (je pense que, je crois que, je trouve que) take the ordinary indicative because they state an established belief. When negated (je ne pense pas que, je ne crois pas que), they express doubt and automatically govern the subjunctive:
• Je pense que cette information est (indicative) fiable.
• Je ne pense pas que cette information soit (subjunctive) fiable.

2. Real vs Hypothetical Si-Clauses

Use conditional sentences to evaluate policies or predict technological shifts:

• Real condition (Si + present -> future simple):

Si nous adoptons des règles strictes, nous protégerons notre vie privée. (If we adopt strict rules, we will protect our privacy.)

• Hypothetical condition (Si + imperfect -> conditional present):

Si les écoles interdisaient les portables, les élèves se concentreraient mieux. (If schools banned mobile phones, pupils would concentrate better.)

• The Golden Rule: Never place the conditional or the future tense immediately after si when it means 'if'.

3. Essential Prepositional Patterns

• To spend time: Use passer du temps à + infinitive. Do not use dépenser, which applies strictly to spending money (dépenser de l'argent):

Je passe trop de temps à regarder des vidéos sur mon portable. (I spend too much time watching videos on my phone.)

• To harm / damage: The verb nuire à is indirect transitive and takes the preposition à:

Les écrans nuisent au sommeil et à la concentration. (Screens harm sleep and concentration.)

• To trust: Faire confiance à takes an indirect object:

Je fais confiance aux journalistes professionnels. (I trust professional journalists.)

Reading and Listening: Tackling Questions and Spotting Stance

In Section I of the written paper (Reading Comprehension), questions 1 to 5 are answered in French and carry the vast majority of the 120 reading marks. Only the final question (usually Question 6) is answered in English or Irish.

Section I: Questions 1 to 5 in French

Master these instruction terms:

• Relevez / Citez — find and quote directly from the text.
• Trouvez le mot / l'expression qui signifie… — find the vocabulary word or phrase matching the English gloss or French definition.
• Comment sait-on que… ? — how do we know that…?

For these questions, quote the exact words from the passage. Do not translate, do not paraphrase, and do not invent surrounding French sentences: any extra French you add that contains grammatical mistakes can cost you marks.

Section I: Question 6 (English or Irish)

This question asks for your judgement or an interpretation of the author's attitude (supportive, critical, or sceptical). Mark schemes demand that you give two separate points, each backed up by something specific in the passage. Two versions of the same point count as one. Quote a brief French word or phrase (for example, the author describing notifications as une source constante d'angoisse) and explain its significance.

Tone and Attitude Markers

• Critical adjectives: Words such as alarmant, inquiétant, néfaste, or démesuré show the writer takes a disapproving stance towards algorithms or screen habits.
• Quotation marks used for distance (les guillemets): When a writer puts an ordinary word inside quotation marks, he or she does not accept it. Writing ces « amis » virtuels* shows the writer doubts these are genuine friends.
• Sceptical qualifiers: Soi-disant (so-called) and prétendu (alleged) indicate mistrust of technological claims.

Listening Comprehension on Media and Technology

The Listening Comprehension is a separate examination (20% of the total marks) and all answers are written in English or Irish. In media and technology passages, questions regularly test concrete facts (how long someone spends online, which app they use) and very often ask for one advantage and one disadvantage mentioned by the speaker. Listen for opinion markers:

• L'avantage, c'est que… / L'inconvénient, c'est que…
• Ce qui m'énerve, c'est… (What annoys me is…)
• Ce que j'apprécie, c'est… (What I appreciate is…)
• Je trouve ça génial / nul (I think it is great / rubbish)

The Oral Exam: Navigating from Personal Habits to Societal Debate

Technology comes up in almost every oral, and it is the easiest theme for showing off more than one tense. When the examiner asks about your phone, do not stop at one line; build your answer in three steps, from your own habits out to the bigger question.

What Is Being Marked

The oral examination lasts 15 minutes and carries 25% of the total Higher Level marks. Examiners assess you across four categories: pronunciation and intonation, vocabulary, structures (grammatical range and accuracy), and communication (responsiveness, fluency, and sustaining the dialogue). A short, flat answer loses marks on communication and structure; an ambitious but inaccurate answer loses marks on language.

The Document or Project Option (Le Document)

Alongside the general conversation, you may opt to discuss a literary work or a project you have worked on that is relevant to the course. A project built around French-language articles on l'intelligence artificielle, la désinformation, or le temps d'écran fits this theme well. Useful opening lines:

• J'ai choisi cet article parce qu'il traite d'un sujet qui me passionne. (I chose this article because it deals with a topic that fascinates me.)
• Ce qui m'a frappé(e), c'est que… (What struck me is that…)

Check with your teacher what your school offers for this option.

The Three-Step Spoken Progression

1. Step 1: Your personal routine (Present tense):

« J'utilise mon portable environ deux heures par jour, principalement pour écouter des podcasts ou faire des recherches pour mes cours. »

1. Step 2: A past adjustment or experience (Past tenses):

« L'année dernière, je me suis rendu compte que je perdais trop de temps sur les réseaux sociaux. J'ai donc décidé de supprimer certaines applications, et je dors beaucoup mieux depuis. »

1. Step 3: Widen it out (Conditional and Subjunctive):

Move from your own phone to the bigger question (AI, fake news, or online safety) and give a recommendation: « C'est une question complexe. D'un côté, l'intelligence artificielle est un formidable outil pédagogique. De l'autre, j'ai peur qu'elle supprime des emplois administratifs. Il faudrait que les gouvernements réglementent ces technologies. »

Key terms

Communication

The exam marking category (awarding 15 or 20 marks per written question) assessing direct relevance to the prompt, development of arguments, and coherence.

Language

The exam marking category assessing grammatical accuracy, tense control, spelling, agreements, and rich vocabulary range.

les médias

The mass media. In French, this noun is always masculine plural (e.g. 'les médias sont influents').

sur Internet

The standard locative French expression for 'on the internet', taking no definite article (unlike 'sur les réseaux sociaux').

nuire à

An indirect transitive verb meaning to harm or damage, always requiring the preposition 'à' (e.g. 'nuire à la santé').

passer du temps à

To spend time doing something. In French, 'passer' is used for time, while 'dépenser' is strictly reserved for money.

bien que + subjunctive

A conjunction of concession meaning 'although' / 'even though', which strictly governs the subjunctive mood.

il faut que + subjunctive

An impersonal construction expressing necessity ('it is necessary that' / 'we must'), which strictly governs the subjunctive mood.

un / une internaute

A common-gender noun meaning an internet user (masculine: 'un internaute', feminine: 'une internaute').

la une

The front page of a newspaper. 'À la une' means on the front page, and 'faire la une' means to make the headlines.

l'intelligence artificielle (l'IA)

Artificial intelligence (feminine singular noun); refers to machine learning, algorithms, and automated models.

l'esprit critique

Critical thinking and discernment; the ability to evaluate whether news sources are objective or biased.