bref

Meaning

Sums up in one sentence what was just said in several.

Position and punctuation

at the start of the sentence · a comma after

Example

Les horaires changent, les tarifs augmentent, le trajet s'allonge : bref, le service se dégrade.

Hours change, fares rise, journeys get longer: in short, the service is deteriorating.

In the DELF

the B2 oral presentation · the B2 essay

The trap

Bref sums up along the way; en conclusion closes the text. Using bref at the very end suggests you ran out of time.