TCF Canada writing topics, the themes that come up
Checked November 2, 2026
Candidates often look for “this month’s topics” for the writing test. This page does not give them. It describes what France Éducation international (FEI) publishes about the kind of topic in each task, and offers one of our practice topics for each main theme.
Why we do not publish reported topics
When registering, each candidate commits, according to FEI’s handbook, not to keep or share the exam topics. Topics that videos or forums present as “last month’s” therefore come from candidates who broke that commitment, and nothing lets you check that they are accurate.
There is a practical reason too. FEI lists a text learned by heart among the cases that can lead to “A1 non atteint”. Preparing an answer to a reported topic and reciting it is exactly that case. What you can really prepare is the kind of text and the vocabulary of the main themes.
What FEI says about the topics, task by task
| Task | What FEI describes | What changes from one topic to the next |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A message to describe, tell or explain, to one or more readers whose status is given | the reader (friend, neighbour, colleague) and what you must announce or ask |
| 2 | An article, letter or note for several readers, telling an experience and adding comments, opinions or arguments for a goal, for example making a claim or making up with someone | the genre (blog, letter, newsletter) and the goal |
| 3 | A text for a newspaper, a website, a colleague or a manager, comparing two points of view on a social issue from two documents, then giving your view | the social issue and who reads the text |
In our reading, topics for tasks 1 and 2 are about everyday situations. Task 3 is about a social issue, which means a question ordinary people disagree on.
The main themes and one topic for each
These themes are our grouping of everyday situations and public debates. They do not come from an FEI list, since FEI publishes none.
| Theme | Task | Our practice topic |
|---|---|---|
| Neighbours and housing | 1 | A note to your new neighbour |
| Work and colleagues | 1 | A meeting moved because of the snowstorm |
| Hosting someone, getting around | 1 | Bus directions for a visiting friend |
| Living with others | 1 | Describing your new shared flat |
| Settling in a new country | 2 | My first winter in Winnipeg |
| Culture and leisure | 2 | A letter about the Festival du Voyageur |
| Volunteering and community | 2 | A month volunteering at the food bank |
| Public services and complaints | 2 | A light-rail breakdown in Ottawa |
| Work and how it is organised | 3 | Remote work or back to the office |
| Transport and the environment | 3 | Car or public transit |
| Housing and prices | 3 | Should rents be capped |
| School and education | 3 | Compulsory volunteering in high school and cell phones at school |
Each topic has a B2 model answer and can be corrected right from its page.
Are the topics about Canada?
FEI does not say so. The TCF Canada is used for Canadian immigration, but the task descriptions talk about communication situations and social issues, with no mention of immigration. Our topics are set in Canada for the local vocabulary (courriel, cellulaire, autobus), not because FEI requires it.
How to prepare a theme without learning a text
- For each theme, write down ten precise words you would use, for example bail, propriétaire and préavis for housing.
- Write one topic from the theme in real time with the timer.
- Have your text corrected on NCLC Prep, then rewrite it on another topic from the same theme.
- Carry linking words and structures from one text to the next, never whole paragraphs. Where a stock phrase ends and a learned text begins is explained in the mistakes that cost NCLC 7.