What tips do you have for the writing portion of the exam?

This last question on any French GCSE exam is about putting into use all of the tricks you have learnt over the last two years. I recommend looking over the marking scheme before the exam to know exactly what the examiners are looking for. Make sure your ideas are organised into separate paragraphs, revise connective/words to link ideas (En effect, au contraire etc.), the use of the right verb tense is also important. Show off your skills by using synonyms rather than using the same word over and over again, this will show the examiner you have a great range of lexical expressions you can put to use in your exams.