Giving your opinion in the summary penalizes you twice on task 3
TCF Canada task 3 asks for two distinct things: an objective summary followed by an argued opinion. Most candidates start arguing from the very first line. They don't realize this mistake costs them points on both parts at the same time.
The mistake
Mixing summary and opinion costs points on the objective part (not neutral) AND on the argument part (too short, poorly structured).
40 to 60 words for the summary, 80 to 120 for the opinion. The split is graded.
Key points
- The examiner spots an opinion in the summary from the first opinion connector.
- A biased summary shows the candidate misunderstood the instructions. Immediate red flag.
- Rephrasing source documents without copying them: that is what the first part expects.
Why so many candidates mix the two parts
Task 3 topics make you want to react. You read a document about a social debate and your brain is already producing arguments. Result: you slip your opinion into the summary without noticing. The examiner, however, spots the neutrality breach immediately.
How to clearly separate both parts
Write the summary like a journalist: who says what, without taking sides. Save opinion connectors for the second part. Our written expression tests with corrections flag every time you mix registers, so the reflex gets corrected before test day.
Ready to reach CLB 7?
June sessions are filling up. Separating summary from opinion takes 10 minutes to learn. It can change your score on 2 criteria at once.
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