DELF B2 Writing Sample Paper and Model Letter

At B2, writing stops being about expressing an opinion. It becomes about writing to someone.

The task always names a reader. A mayor. A newspaper. A company director. A discussion forum. The marking grid gives 5 of its 25 marks to one thing. Do you pitch your formality at that person and hold it steady for 250 words?

Candidates arrive with strong arguments and lose marks by sliding between registers. Formal opening, casual middle, formal close. The corrector notices. The top band asks you to set your level of formality and hold it across the whole piece.

This sample paper shows what that looks like in practice.

The written and spoken papers test one argument skill on two channels. DELF B2 speaking papers show the spoken half.

How Does the DELF B2 Writing Task Work?

One task in 60 minutes, worth 25 marks. You write about 250 words presenting an argued position for a named reader. The format is usually a formal letter, a critical article, or a contribution to a debate.

You are given a situation that fixes three things: your role, your reader, and your purpose. All three drive the register.

The B2 collective session is the longest of any DELF level. Two and a half hours, with listening at 30 minutes and reading at a full hour before you reach writing. The pass mark is 50 out of 100, with a floor of 5 out of 25 here. The official specification sits on the France Éducation International B2 diploma page.

Which Text Types Appear at B2?

Four recur. A formal letter to an authority. A letter to a newspaper’s readers’ page. A critical article for a magazine. A contribution to an online debate.

• The formal letter. To a mayor, a director, a landlord, or an office. Vous throughout, set opening and closing formulas, and a clear request or proposal.
• The readers’ letter. Published in a newspaper. Formal but more expressive, and written for an audience rather than one person.
• The critical article. For a student magazine, an association newsletter, or a company bulletin. Neutral to formal, a title expected, and a structured argument.
• The debate contribution. A forum or comment thread. Neutral register, direct engagement with another view, and usually the least formal of the four.

The content is argued in all four cases. What changes is the packaging, and the packaging carries real marks.

This page is the mock and model answer. For the full method, the text-type conventions, and the syllabus, see the DELF B2 writing guide.

The Sample Paper

Production écrite : 25 points

Vous travaillez depuis trois ans dans une entreprise française. La direction vient d’annoncer la suppression du télétravail : à partir du mois prochain, tous les salariés devront être présents au bureau cinq jours par semaine.

Vous écrivez au directeur des ressources humaines. Vous exposez les conséquences de cette décision, vous défendez votre point de vue de manière argumentée et vous proposez une solution alternative. (250 mots minimum)

Model answer (268 words)

Madame, Monsieur,

Je me permets de vous écrire au sujet de la décision annoncée le 3 septembre concernant la suppression du télétravail. Je souhaite vous faire part de mes réserves et vous soumettre une proposition.

Je comprends parfaitement les raisons qui motivent cette décision. La cohésion des équipes s’est affaiblie ces dernières années et l’intégration des nouveaux collaborateurs demande une présence régulière. Ces arguments me paraissent tout à fait légitimes.

Néanmoins, un retour à cinq jours de présence me semble une réponse disproportionnée. D’une part, plusieurs d’entre nous ont organisé leur vie personnelle autour de cette souplesse : garde d’enfants, logement plus éloigné, formation suivie en soirée. Un changement aussi rapide risque de créer des difficultés concrètes et, pour certains, de provoquer des départs.

D’autre part, les tâches qui demandent de la concentration se réalisent difficilement dans un bureau ouvert. Depuis deux ans, je rédige mes rapports d’analyse à domicile et les délais ont été respectés sans exception. Supprimer cette possibilité reviendrait à dégrader la qualité de ce travail sans bénéfice pour l’entreprise.

C’est pourquoi je me permets de vous proposer une solution intermédiaire : trois jours de présence obligatoire, du mardi au jeudi, et deux jours laissés au choix du salarié. Cette formule garantirait des journées où l’équipe est réunie, tout en préservant la souplesse à laquelle nous sommes attachés.

Je reste naturellement à votre disposition pour en discuter, et je serais heureux qu’une consultation des équipes puisse avoir lieu avant l’application de cette mesure.

Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées.

Arjun Nair Chargé d’analyse

How Do Correctors Award the 25 Marks?

Five criteria worth 5 marks each: task completion, coherence and cohesion, social appropriateness, vocabulary, and grammar. Bands are 0, 1, 3, and 5, and two correctors mark independently.

The published descriptors are in the official B2 written production grid.

Read the top band for task completion, and one phrase stands out. Taking account of the reader’s point of view. That is the B2 signature. You are not just arguing. You are arguing with someone whose position you have understood.

The model letter does this in its second paragraph, before disagreeing. It states the company’s case fairly, then moves. Correctors read that as B2+ behavior, and it costs three sentences.

If there is one habit I would give every B2 candidate, it is writing the concession before writing the arguments. Students resist it because conceding feels like weakening their case. In practice, it does the opposite, and scripts that open with a fair statement of the other side score higher on task completion almost every time. We build that order into every written task in our B2 sessions.

What Does the Argument Need to Contain?

Four elements: the issue stated clearly, your position, arguments with concrete examples, and a proposal or conclusion. The top band asks you to weave justifications, examples, and counter-arguments together rather than list them.

A reusable plan for 250 words:

1. Opening, 30 words. Say why you are writing and what you will propose. No suspense.
2. Concession, 40 words. Present the other side fairly. This is not padding. It is a marked behavior.
3. Argument one, 55 words. A claim, then a concrete consequence.
4. Argument two, 55 words. A different angle, ideally with evidence from your own experience.
5. Proposal, 50 words. A specific alternative, not a vague wish.
6. Close, 30 words. An offer to discuss, then the appropriate formula.

Notice how the model uses evidence. It cites two years of reports written at home, all delivered on time. That is a specific claim from the writer’s own working life. It beats any invented statistic. It also fits the descriptor, which asks for examples suited to the situation.

Avoid stacking arguments thinly. Two developed points score higher than four announced and dropped.

Why Is Register Worth 5 Marks?

Social appropriateness carries the same weight as grammar. The top band asks you to adjust your level of formality to the situation and maintain it throughout the text.

Practical rules that protect those marks:

• Choose your opening formula from the reader. “Madame, Monsieur” for an unnamed official. “Monsieur le Maire” for “mayor”. “Bonjour à tous” for a forum. Getting this wrong sets the wrong tone from line one.
• Match the closing formula to the opening. A formal letter ends with “Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées.” A forum post ends with your name. Mixing the two is the most visible register error.
• Use softening structures in formal writing. Je me permets de. Je souhaiterais. Il me semble que. Je serais heureux que. These carry formality without sounding stiff.
• Avoid drops in tone. No slang. No exclamation marks in a formal letter. No rhetorical questions to an HR director. Save those for the forum format.
• Hold the level to the last line. The most common B2 slip is a formal letter that relaxes in the middle. Reread your third and fourth paragraphs looking only for that.

Candidates in the DELF B2 writing workshop usually find the register the fastest band to fix. It is a set of habits, not a language gap.

Which Phrases Do the Heavy Lifting?

B2 writing rewards range. A short bank of connectors and framing phrases, used accurately, moves both the coherence and the vocabulary bands.

• To open a formal letter. Je me permets de vous écrire au sujet de. Je souhaite attirer votre attention. Je vous écris en ma qualité de.
• To concede. Je comprends parfaitement que. Ces arguments me paraissent légitimes. Il est vrai que. Certes.
• To turn the argument. Néanmoins. Toutefois. Cela dit. Il n’en reste pas moins que.
• To add an argument. D’une part, d’autre part. Par ailleurs. De surcroît. À cela s’ajoute.
• To give consequence. C’est pourquoi. Par conséquent. Il en résulte que. Dès lors.
• To propose. Je me permets de vous proposer. Une solution intermédiaire consisterait à. Il serait envisageable de.
• To close formally. Je reste à votre disposition. Je vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées.

Learn six of these, not thirty. Range means variety within a piece, not a long list you half remember. Three different connectors used correctly beat eight used loosely.

One caution on registration. Phrases like “de surcroît” and “dès lors” belong in a formal letter or a critical article. Drop them into a forum post, and the register wobbles, which costs you in social appropriateness. Match the phrase to the format.

Two habits help here. Keep a running list of the connectors you use in each practice script, and force yourself to vary them. And read one short opinion piece in French each week, marking only the linking words. That builds range faster than any list.

Which Anomalies Can Sink the Paper?

Four penalties apply. Off topic on content, wrong text type, blank page, or fewer than 125 words.

• Wrong content. You cannot reach B2+ on task completion or vocabulary.
• Wrong text type. You were asked to write a formal letter but wrote an essay with no addressee. You cannot reach B2 or B2+ on task completion or coherence, which puts 10 marks out of reach.
• Both. Task completion, coherence, and social appropriateness all go to zero.
• Under 125 words. Zero for the paper.

The text-type penalty is the most expensive one at B2. Candidates who have drilled academic essay structures fall back on them under pressure. If the task names a reader, you are writing to that reader. Add the greeting, add the closing formula, and protect two criteria.

The same reasoning is tested in the other three papers, so most candidates prepare them together. The B2 reading sample papers train you to identify this structure in published writing, and the timeline to DELF B2 shows how long the level usually takes to reach.

Which Topics Appear in B2 Writing Tasks?

Social and workplace debates. Work organization. Environment and consumption. Technology and privacy. Education, city planning, media, health, and culture.

Ten that recur:

1. Remote work and the right to disconnect
2. Screen time, phones, and concentration
3. Car-free city centers and public transport
4. Waste, packaging and consumption habits
5. Artificial intelligence in the workplace
6. University selection and access to education
7. Mass tourism and its local effects
8. Advertising aimed at children
9. Surveillance at work or in public spaces
10. Funding for culture, sport and local associations

For each one, prepare a concession you could make honestly, two arguments, and a concrete proposal. That is the exact shape of the marking grid. It turns topic knowledge into marks.

The same topics feed the listening paper. B2 listening sample papers cover the radio and interview formats, where this vocabulary first appears.

How Should You Use the 60 Minutes?

Ten minutes planning, forty writing, ten checking. The planning block is longer than at B1 because the shape of the argument matters more.

A workable routine:

1. Three minutes. Read the situation twice. Identify the text type, reader, and purpose. Decide your register.
2. Seven minutes. Plan six blocks in the margin. Write the concession and the proposal first, since those are the two candidates to forget.
3. Forty minutes. Write straight through. Leave a blank line between paragraphs.
4. Ten minutes. Check word count, then hunt for specific errors.

In the final check, look for four things in this order. Subjunctive after wish or doubt. Past participle agreement with avoir. Correct connectors. Register consistency. Those four cover most avoidable B2 losses.

Do not add a paragraph in the last ten minutes. A rushed extra argument usually costs more in errors than it earns in content.

Why B2 Writing Now Carries Legal Weight

Since 1 January 2026, French naturalization requires B2 in all four skills, not B1. Written production has to reach the level on its own, so a strong oral no longer compensates.

The requirement comes from Law 2024-42 of 26 January 2024, applied by Decree 2025-648 of 15 July 2025. Long-term residence cards moved from A2 to B1 in the same reform.

For learners in India, the consequences are practical. If you are building toward French residence, plan a full B2 rather than a partial one. And treat writing as a skill that needs weekly correction, not occasional practice.

For Canada, the distinction holds as always. Immigration points are based on TEF Canada or TCF Canada, and those results expire after two years.

DELF diplomas never expire. That makes B2 a lasting credential for study applications and for French employers in Delhi NCR, Pune, and Bengaluru alike.

B2 is the level most employers and universities ask for. French jobs and salaries show what the diploma is worth once you have it.

Common DELF B2 Writing Questions From Candidates

Have Your B2 Scripts Marked Against the Real Grid

You cannot judge your own register. You cannot see whether your argument reads as B2 or B2+. That needs a corrector who knows the descriptors.

Our DELF exam training returns every script based on all five criteria. The exact sentences that cost you marks are highlighted. Batches stay at six to ten students at the Noida center. Elsewhere in India, remote French training runs the same correction cycle.

Preparing both production papers together? Work through the B2 débat mock paper, since the argument structures are nearly identical.

Call or WhatsApp 7011164582 to book a free demo and a marked diagnostic script.