Common Errors & Fixes

What you'll learn: a troubleshooting reference for the specific errors that show up most often in CELPIP writing responses, organized by scoring category so you can diagnose your own writing quickly.

Content/coherence errors

• Undeveloped points. Fix: give each point a concrete detail — a time, a number, a consequence — instead of a bare statement.
• Ideas out of order. Fix: answer the prompt's points in the order it lists them, and finish one before starting the next.

Vocabulary errors

• Repetition of the same 3–4 words. Fix: keep a personal "banned repeat list" of your most-used vague words (good, bad, very, thing) and swap them per Lesson 7's table.
• Wrong word from a similar pair. Common confusions: affect/effect, advice/advise, its/it's, than/then, lose/loose. Fix: memorize these five pairs specifically — they account for a disproportionate share of vocabulary errors.
• Overly casual or overly stiff word choice for the register. Fix: reread your tone plan from Lesson 3 before finalizing word choice.

Readability errors (paragraphing, connectors, grammar)

• Disconnected paragraphs. Fix: add a transition word linking each paragraph to the one before it (see Lesson 6).
• One long block of text. Fix: give the opening, each point and the closing their own paragraph.
• Run-on sentences and comma splices. Fix: apply the five-error self-edit routine from Lesson 8.
• Article errors ("I need a advice" → "I need some advice"; "the CELPIP" vs. "CELPIP").
• Preposition errors ("married with" → "married to"; "different than" → "different from," though "different than" is accepted informally).

Task fulfillment errors

• Skipping one of the prompt's points — Fix: underline every requirement verb in every bullet before writing (see Lesson 9).
• No clear choice in Task 2 — Fix: name Option A or Option B in the first sentence, not the last.
• Wrong format — writing an essay-style response for Task 1 instead of an email, or vice versa.
• Length far outside 150–200 words — too short signals underdevelopment; too long risks losing time for editing and rarely adds score.
• Tone drift mid-response — starting formal, ending casual (see Lesson 9).

Worked example: a full diagnosis

Original: "I am writing about a problem in my building. There is very bad smell in hallway since last week and I want you to fix this thing quick because it effect all the resident and make everyone very upset."

Diagnosis:

• Content/Coherence: the problem is stated but not developed — no detail about how it affects residents.
• Vocabulary: "very bad," "thing," "very upset" are vague; "effect" should be "affect" (verb).
• Readability: missing articles ("a very bad smell," "the hallway"), subject-verb agreement ("it effect" → "it affects"), one long run-on sentence.
• Task fulfillment: a demand ("fix this thing quick") instead of a polite request, and no sign-off.

Fixed: "I am writing about an unpleasant smell that has been present in the hallway since last week. It has been affecting the residents, and several neighbors have mentioned feeling uncomfortable using the shared space. Could you please arrange for this to be looked into as soon as possible? Thank you for your attention to this matter."

Error-tracking template

Keep a running log across your practice responses:

Reviewing this log after 4–5 practice responses reveals your personal recurring pattern faster than reviewing each response in isolation.

Common mistakes

• Fixing errors as they're found without tracking whether the same error keeps recurring.
• Focusing only on grammar and ignoring content and task fulfillment errors, which hold your level down just as surely.
• Memorizing corrected sentences without understanding the underlying rule, so the error resurfaces in a new context.

Recap

Most CELPIP writing errors cluster into a small, predictable set across the four scoring categories — tracking your own recurring errors in a simple log turns vague "I need to improve my writing" into a specific, fixable list.