How to show the range of your vocabulary in an exam
There are several working strategies to show your vocabulary in the exam that everyone forgets:
1️⃣The first thing that comes to mind is ability to reformulate the plot.
For example, if in a task we see the question ‘Est-il plus facile de déménager à l’étranger seul ou en famille?’, then when answering we need to convey the same meaning as much as possible, but in other words ‘La grande majorité de ceux qui planifient un déménagement à l’étranger estime qu’il est plus facile de le faire en solo plutôt qu’avec leur famille.’ Keep the key points unchanged and rephrase as much as you can without changing the meaning.
2️⃣Reformulation can and even should be used not only at the beginning, but also at every convenient moment to avoid repetitions.
For example, in a story about life abroad, you will most likely want to say the phrase many times obtenir une expérience. In this case, we can choose a phrase or several along the way of our answer, which will replace the original one, for example, acquérir une expérience or gagner de l’expérience.
3️⃣Change adjectives by choosing synonymous ones, which will describe this experience, for example, une expérience inoubliable maybe mémorable, marquante, remarquable, exceptionnelle. Don’t be afraid to describe the same concept with several adjectives at once, even in one sentence. Don't be afraid if it's not 100% what you think, but all that comes to mind right now are just one or two adjectives. Considering that these are just your thoughts, no one will think whether this is the shade you wanted to convey. You don't have to tell the truth during the exam.
4️⃣Use an enumeration. This is true for any task. For example, you ask your friend what gift to give her child, Quels jeux préfère-t-il? Don't stop there. List what games you know: jeux de société, jeux de construction, jeux vidéo, puzzles? Or your neighbor gives you a cat, you ask exactly what to feed him, check what options are available: Comment nourrir ton chat : avec des croquettes, de la pâtée ou de la viande fraîche ?
I can assure you that if you follow at least half of these recommendations and with thorough preparation with an emphasis on developing the appropriate vocabulary, success will certainly be on your side.
Read other useful articles:
How to learn a language when you have no time