Task 1 — Giving Advice

What you'll learn: how CELPIP Task 1 prompts are built, a five-part advice structure that fills the full 90 seconds, and the phrase bank that keeps advice sounding natural rather than like a list of commands.

What Task 1 actually tests

Task 1 gives you a short scenario — usually a friend, family member, or coworker facing a decision or a problem — and 30 seconds to prepare before speaking for 90 seconds. It's one of the two 90-second tasks on the test (Task 7 is the other), which means the biggest risk isn't running out of time; it's running out of content partway through. Task Fulfillment here specifically means giving advice, not just describing the problem back or telling a related story.

The five-part advice structure

1. Acknowledge the situation in one sentence, so the listener knows you understood the scenario.
2. State your main recommendation clearly and directly.
3. Give two reasons or an example supporting that recommendation — this is where most of your 90 seconds should go.
4. Add a caveat or backup option, which shows nuance and naturally extends your answer.
5. Close with one short line that restates your advice, so the answer ends instead of trailing off.

Worked example

Prompt: "Your friend has been offered a job in another city with a higher salary, but it means leaving their current friends and family behind. They've asked for your advice. What would you tell them?"

That's a tough decision, but here's what I'd tell my friend. I'd recommend taking the job, as long as the salary difference is significant and the new city isn't impossibly far from home. My main reason is that opportunities like this don't come around often, and it's usually easier to build a new social circle than to get back a career opportunity you turned down. A second reason is that the move doesn't have to be permanent. If it doesn't work out after a year or two, she'll come home with more experience and a stronger resume. For example, a coworker of mine moved provinces for a similar job a few years ago. The first few months were lonely, but within a year she was much happier at work, and she still flies home to see her family every few months. That said, I'd add one caveat. If the raise is small, or if a close family member depends on her being nearby, it might be worth asking the new company about working remotely first, or waiting for something similar closer to home. But assuming neither of those applies, I'd tell her to take the leap and give it a real try.

This hits all five parts, gives two reasons plus a concrete example (the coworker), and the caveat naturally stretches the response without padding. At about 200 words, it fills the 90 seconds at a calm pace (roughly 150 words a minute).

Phrase bank for advice

• Recommending: "I'd recommend...", "My advice would be to...", "If I were in their shoes, I'd..."
• Reasoning: "The main reason is...", "This makes sense because...", "It's worth considering that..."
• Example: "For example...", "This is similar to a situation where...", "I've seen this work before when..."
• Caveat: "That said...", "Of course, this depends on...", "One thing to keep in mind is..."

Timing plan for 90 seconds

• 0–20s: Acknowledge + recommendation
• 20–60s: Reasons and example (the bulk of your time)
• 60–80s: Caveat or alternative
• 80–90s: Short closing line ("So overall, I'd tell them to go for it.")

Common mistakes

• Giving advice with no reasoning ("You should take the job because it's a good idea") — this is thin on Content/Coherence even if grammatically fine.
• Only restating the problem for 30+ seconds before actually giving advice, which wastes response time that should go to reasoning.
• Hedging so much ("maybe, I don't know, it depends") that no clear recommendation ever emerges — Task Fulfillment requires an actual piece of advice.

Recap

Task 1 rewards a direct recommendation backed by real reasoning, not a vague or overly cautious response. Use the five-part structure — acknowledge, recommend, support with reasons and an example, add a caveat, then close — to comfortably fill all 90 seconds with substance, and lean on the phrase bank so you're never hunting for a transition mid-answer.