7.3 The FEI Evaluation Grid & Self-Correction Checklist

7.3 The FEI Evaluation Grid & Self-Correction Checklist

[!NOTE] The Examiner's Mindset: DELF B2 scripts are assessed by accredited France Éducation international (FEI) examiners who utilize a standardized, criterion-referenced evaluation rubric (grille d'évaluation normalisée). Examiners do not grade on general impression; they score each criterion independently based on observable linguistic and communicative descriptors. Understanding the exact mechanics of this 25-point matrix allows you to optimize your revision time, avoid fatal scoring traps, and capture every available point.

The final 10 minutes of your 60-minute examination should never be spent writing new paragraphs. Instead, they must be dedicated to an active, rigorous self-editing protocol (protocole d'autocorrection ciblé).

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The Official 25-Point FEI Grading Rubric

Since the format reform, the 25 points of the DELF B2 Production écrite are distributed across five criteria, each scored on the same four-level performance scale — 0, 1, 3 or 5 points. There are no fractional deductions to negotiate: for every criterion the corrector decides which of four descriptions your script matches.

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│      FEI DELF B2 WRITTEN PRODUCTION GRID (renovated) — 5 x 5 = 25       │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE                                                   │
│ • Réalisation de la tâche (facts, arguments, text type, 250 words) : /5│
│ • Cohérence et cohésion (layout, plan, connectors, punctuation)   : /5 │
│                                                                        │
│ SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCE                                             │
│ • Adéquation sociolinguistique (formal register, politeness)      : /5 │
│                                                                        │
│ LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE                                                  │
│ • Lexique (range, precision, lexical spelling)                    : /5 │
│ • Morphosyntaxe (tenses/moods, varied structures, agreements)     : /5 │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PERFORMANCE LEVEL PER CRITERION                                        │
│ 0 = non répondu / production insuffisante                              │
│ 1 = en dessous du niveau ciblé (reads like B1)                         │
│ 3 = au niveau ciblé B2 (minimum B2 requirements met)                   │
│ 5 = B2+ (solid or superior command)                                    │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ TOTAL SCORE                                               : /25.0      │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

[!IMPORTANT] The 3-versus-5 gap is where the exam is won. A script that is merely "just B2" scores 3 on each criterion — 15/25. A script judged B2+ scores 5 on each — 25/25. The 10-point spread is not about having better ideas; it is about precision, nuance and consistency across the whole text.

Detailed Analysis of the Five Rubric Criteria

1. Réalisation de la tâche (/5)

• What is evaluated: Have you respected the imposed theme and problematic? Have you respected the imposed text type (formal letter, forum contribution, critical article) and the role assigned by the prompt (resident, employee, student representative)? Are several facts or events evoked clearly and precisely? Are your arguments clear, relevant, illustrated by chosen examples, and adapted to the imposed recipient? Have you written at least 250 words?
• The B2 → B2+ pivot: the correction document asks explicitly for nuance — arguments pour and contre, or an explicit concession. A single-bloc defence of your own opinion caps this criterion.

2. Cohérence et cohésion (/5)

• What is evaluated: A layout that suits the text type and makes reading easy (parts, paragraphs, alinéas); a text organised into introduction, development and conclusion; ideas linked by varied connectors; punctuation that serves the argument.
• The trap: connectors must be used à bon escient. A par conséquent placed where the logic calls for an opposition costs more than it gains.

3. Adéquation sociolinguistique (/5)

• What is evaluated: A formal register held from the first line to the last — no familiar words, no spoken constructions (ça, y'a, du coup), opening and closing formulas adapted to the recipient. In a letter of complaint you must express disagreement while respecting politeness codes.
• Useful relief: a complete letterhead (en-tête) is not required by this exercise; do not burn words on it.

4. Lexique (/5)

• What is evaluated: A range that goes beyond everyday vocabulary and tolerates a degree of formalism, plus precision in use. Occasional imprecision is tolerated when it does not block comprehension; a periphrasis used to work around a missing word is valued, not penalised.
• Where spelling lands: lexical spelling errors (amusente for amusante) are counted here, not under morphosyntax.

5. Morphosyntaxe (/5)

• What is evaluated: Tenses and moods appropriate to the prompt — future and conditional for proposals, subjunctive after the usual triggers — with correct concordance des temps; varied B2 structures (interrogative, negative, passive, relative, subordinate, cleft); correct agreements, verb endings and pronominal constructions.
• Where spelling lands: grammatical spelling (a missing agreement) is counted here.

Automatic Anomalies That Override Everything Else

[!NOTE] Legacy grid. Sample papers published before the reform are attached to the previous analytic grid, which spreads the same 25 points over ten narrower criteria (Respect de la consigne 2, Correction sociolinguistique 2, Capacité à présenter des faits 3, Capacité à argumenter une prise de position 3, Cohérence et cohésion 4, Étendue du vocabulaire 2, Maîtrise du vocabulaire 2, Maîtrise de l'orthographe 1, Choix des formes 4, Degré d'élaboration des phrases 2), with a length sub-criterion worth 1 point on which 176–224 words scores 0.5 and 175 words or fewer scores 0. Work from the grid published with the paper you are practising on.

The High-Yield 10-Minute Self-Editing Protocol

Attempting to check everything at once during proofreading leads to cognitive saturation: you read what you intended to write rather than what is actually on the paper. To eliminate errors systematically, execute four sequential passes, each dedicated to a single linguistic domain:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              THE 10-MINUTE FOUR-PASS SELF-EDITING PROTOCOL             │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PASS 1: ARCHITECTURE, FORMAT & WORD COUNT (2 Minutes)                  │
│ • Check title / coordinates presence matching requested genre.         │
│ • Verify paragraph indentations (alinéas) and blank line separators.   │
│ • Quick word count audit (lines × average words per line >= 250).      │
│                                                                        │
│ PASS 2: GRAMMATICAL AGREEMENTS (ACCORDS) (3 Minutes)                   │
│ • Subject-verb agreements (especially complex, inverted, or separated).│
│ • Past participle agreements with 'être' (subject) and 'avoir' (COD).  │
│ • Noun-adjective gender and plural marks (-e, -s, -es).                │
│                                                                        │
│ PASS 3: MOOD TRIGGERS & PREPOSITIONAL RECTIONS (3 Minutes)             │
│ • Subjunctive triggers (bien que, pour que, il est impératif que...).   │
│ • Hypothetical 'Si' clauses (si + imparfait -> conditionnel présent).   │
│ • Prepositional rections (permettre DE, contribuer À, pallier [rien]). │
│                                                                        │
│ PASS 4: ORTHOGRAPHY, HOMOPHONES & PUNCTUATION (2 Minutes)              │
│ • Grammatical homophones (a/à, ou/où, ce/se, ces/ses, leur/leurs).     │
│ • Essential French accents (é, è, ê, ç).                               │
│ • Punctuation: commas after connectors and introductory clauses.       │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Critical Morphosyntactic Checkpoints for B2 Scoring

Examiners actively look for mastery of specific B2 structures. A single recurring grammatical blunder can drop your Morphosyntaxe score from a 5.5 to a 3.5.

1. Past Participle Agreement with Avoir and Preceding Direct Object (COD)

This is the most scrutinized rule on the DELF B2 written examination:

• Rule: With the auxiliary avoir, the past participle never agrees with the subject. It agrees in gender and number with the direct object (COD) ONLY IF that direct object is placed BEFORE the auxiliary verb.
• Classic exam triggers:
  • Relative clause with que : « Les mesures que la municipalité a adoptées sont efficaces. » (COD = que, referring to les mesures, feminine plural -> adoptées).
  • Preceding object pronouns (les, la, l'): « Cette proposition, nous l'avons examinée avec rigueur. » (COD = l', referring to cette proposition, feminine singular -> examinée).
  • Interrogative / exclamative adjectives (quel, quelle): « Quelles initiatives avez-vous prises ? » (COD = quelles initiatives, feminine plural -> prises).
• Contrast with non-agreement:
  • « La municipalité a adopté des mesures. » (The COD des mesures is placed AFTER the verb -> no agreement!).

2. Subjunctive Triggers vs. Indicative Certainty

Ensure that you have not inserted the subjunctive where the indicative is mandatory, or vice versa:

[!CAUTION] The Four Deadly Sins of DELF B2 Morphosyntax:

1. « Malgré que »: Does not exist in standard French (except in the archaic malgré que j'en aie). Always write: « Bien que + subjonctif » or « Malgré + groupe nominal » (« Malgré les difficultés... »).
2. « Si j'aurais su »: Never place the conditional immediately after si in a hypothetical clause. Always respect the sequence: Si + imparfait -> conditionnel présent (« Si la mairie étudiait ce dossier, elle comprendrait l'urgence. »).
3. « Pallier à un problème »: The verb pallier is directly transitive! Writing pallier à is an error that immediately catches the examiner's eye. Write: « Pallier un manque », « Pallier ces dysfonctionnements ».
4. « La plupart des gens est »: The collective expression la plupart takes a plural verb agreement: « La plupart des citoyens estiment que... ».