25 Essential Transition Templates for TEF & TCF Writing

When TEF and TCF Canada examiners grade your Expression Écrite (Writing), they look at a specific scoring criterion called "Cohésion et cohérence" (Cohesion and coherence).

You can have flawless spelling and rich vocabulary, but if you write isolated sentences separated by simple periods or repeat "et", "mais", and "parce que", you will remain stuck at Level B2 (CLB 6/7).

To break into CLB 8, 9, or 10, you must weave your ideas together using advanced logical connectors (les mots de liaison). Here are 25 ready-to-use transition templates organized by rhetorical purpose.

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1. Adding an Argument (L'Addition)

Stop starting your paragraphs with "Aussi" or "En plus". Use these high-level additives:

1. De surcroît, il convient de souligner que [Clause]... (Furthermore, it is worth underlining that...)
2. Par ailleurs, il ne faut pas négliger le fait que [Clause]... (Moreover, we must not overlook the fact that...)
3. Outre [Noun], il est également essentiel de [Infinitive]... (In addition to [Noun], it is also essential to...)
4. En outre, cette mesure permet non seulement de [Infinitive A], mais aussi de [Infinitive B]... (Furthermore, this measure allows not only to [A], but also to [B]...)

2. Expressing Cause (La Cause)

Stop relying exclusively on "parce que".

5. En raison de [Noun], de nombreuses entreprises ont dû... (Due to [Noun], many companies have had to...)
6. Étant donné que [Clause], il est logique que... (Given that [Clause], it is logical that...)
7. Cette situation s'explique principalement par le fait que [Clause]... (This situation is mainly explained by the fact that...)
8. Sous prétexte que [Clause], certains opposants refusent de... (Under the pretext that [Clause], some opponents refuse to... - Use for criticizing an argument)

3. Expressing Consequence (La Conséquence)

Show the result of a policy or action smoothly:

9. Par conséquent, il est impératif que le gouvernement [Subjunctive]... (Consequently, it is imperative that the government [Subjunctive]...)
10. Dès lors, la mise en œuvre de cette stratégie entraînera [Noun]... (Consequently/From then on, implementing this strategy will lead to...)
11. De telle sorte que [Clause]... (In such a way that...)
12. C'est la raison pour laquelle nous devons [Infinitive]... (This is the reason why we must...)

4. Conceding & Contrasting (L'Opposition et la Concession)

This is where you score the most points. Contrasting arguments demonstrates advanced analytical writing.

13. Bien qu'il soit indéniable que [Subjunctive], il n'en demeure pas moins que... (Although it is undeniable that [Subjunctive], the fact remains that...)
14. Néanmoins, cette approche présente plusieurs limites majeures... (Nevertheless, this approach presents several major limitations...)
15. En revanche, si l'on examine la situation d'un autre point de vue... (On the other hand, if we examine the situation from another point of view...)
16. Toutefois, il serait simpliste de croire que [Clause]... (However, it would be simplistic to believe that...)
17. Malgré [Noun], les résultats restent encourageants... (Despite [Noun], the results remain encouraging...)

5. Illustrating with Examples (L'Illustration)

Never use "Par exemple" more than once in an essay.

18. À titre d'exemple, citons le cas de [Noun/City/Country]... (By way of example, let us cite the case of...)
19. Pour illustrer ce propos, il suffit de regarder [Noun]... (To illustrate this point, one need only look at...)
20. Notamment en ce qui concerne [Noun]... (Particularly/Notably regarding...)
21. Tel est le cas de [Noun], qui démontre clairement que... (Such is the case of [Noun], which clearly demonstrates that...)

6. Concluding & Synthesizing (La Conclusion)

End your essays with authority:

22. En somme, il ressort de cette analyse que [Clause]... (In short, it emerges from this analysis that...)
23. En définitive, tout porte à croire que [Clause]... (Ultimately, everything leads us to believe that...)
24. En fin de compte, la réussite de ce projet dépendra de [Noun]... (Ultimately, the success of this project will depend on...)
25. Pour conclure, il semble manifeste que [Clause]... (To conclude, it seems clear that...)

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How to Internalize These Connectors

Do not copy-paste 10 connectors into a short essay without understanding their nuance—examiners penalize forced, artificial transitions. You must practice using them naturally.

At PrepMyFrench, our AI Writing Evaluator highlights every transition in your practice essays. It tells you if your connector is too informal, grammatically incorrect (e.g., forgetting the subjunctive after bien que), or repetitive, helping you polish your writing to a C1 standard.

Stop writing simple sentences. Transform your French writing with PrepMyFrench.