Task 1 — Writing an Email

What you'll learn: how CELPIP Task 1 prompts are built, the email structure that fits every scenario, how complaint, request and invitation emails differ, and what separates a CLB 7 paragraph from a CLB 9 one.

What Task 1 actually tests

Task 1 describes a situation (a problem, a request, an invitation, a complaint) and a recipient (a landlord, a coworker, a company, a friend), then lists about three points your email must cover. You have 27 minutes to write a complete email of 150–200 words. The recipient matters as much as the situation — the same complaint written to a friend and to a company manager should sound noticeably different.

The universal email structure

Every Task 1 response fits this four-part shape:

1. Greeting matched to the recipient (Dear Mr. Chen / Hi Sam).
2. Opening line stating why you're writing.
3. Body — one paragraph for each point the prompt lists, in the same order, each with a concrete detail.
4. Closing with a clear request or next step, plus a sign-off matched to tone.

The three email types

Most Task 1 prompts are a complaint, a request or an invitation, or a mix of two. The four-part shape stays the same; what changes is the purpose of each move. Learn these as patterns, not as wording to memorize: the details in your body paragraphs have to come from the prompt in front of you, or the email answers a question nobody asked.

Complaint

• Purpose: report a problem and get it fixed, without sounding angry.
• Opening move: name the problem in one sentence. I am writing about the heating in my apartment, which has not worked properly since January 8.
• Body: what happened, with a date, a time or a number; how it has affected you; what you want done.
• Closing move: a specific, reasonable fix and a way to follow up. Could you send a technician before the end of next week?

The common slip is the tone. Firm and factual reads well; sarcasm, capital letters and threats do not.

Request

• Purpose: ask for something the reader can say yes to.
• Opening move: state the request plainly. I'm writing to ask whether I could switch to the evening shift for the month of March.
• Body: the request with its specifics (dates, amounts, conditions); the reason, and why now; what you can offer to make it easy. I would be happy to train whoever covers my morning shifts.
• Closing move: restate the ask as a question and thank the reader. Would that be possible? Thank you for considering it.

The common slip is burying the request. If the reader has to reach the third paragraph to learn what you want, move it to the first line.

Invitation

• Purpose: invite someone and give them everything they need to say yes.
• Opening move: the invitation itself, with warmth matched to the relationship. I'd love for you to come to my daughter's graduation party.
• Body: the date, time and place; why the occasion matters or why you want this person there; the practical part (what to bring, who else is coming, how to get there).
• Closing move: ask for a reply by a date. Could you let me know by Friday so I can plan the food?

The common slip is the opposite of the complaint's: an invitation to a friend written as stiffly as a letter to a bank.

For a fill-in skeleton with sentence frames, plus opening and closing lines for complaints, requests, invitations and three other prompt types, use the free CELPIP Writing Task 1 template.

Worked example

Prompt: Your manager, Ms. Reyes, has asked for volunteers to help plan the office's end-of-year party. Write an email to Ms. Reyes in about 150–200 words. Your email should do the following things:

• Say which part of the event you would like to organize.
• Explain why you would be a good fit for this role.
• Suggest one idea to make the event better than last year's.

Dear Ms. Reyes,

I saw your message asking for volunteers for this year's end-of-year party, and I would like to help.

I would be glad to take charge of the food. That would include choosing a caterer, collecting everyone's dietary needs and making sure the order arrives on time on the day of the event.

I think I would be a good fit because I have done something similar before. Last spring, I organized lunch for our department's training day, so I already know two local caterers who offer fair prices. I am also comfortable working with a budget and keeping track of deadlines.

I would also like to suggest one change. Last year, many people left early because dinner started late and there was little to do while they waited. This year, we could open with a tasting table where team members bring a dish from home. It would cost very little and give everyone an easy way to start a conversation.

Would you like me to prepare a short plan and budget?

Best regards,
Daniel Kim

178 words

Notice the shape: one opening line, then one body paragraph per bullet — the food, why this writer fits, the new idea — and a closing with a clear next step. The tone is polite and professional without being stiff, because the reader is a manager the writer works with every day. This is closest to a request email: the writer is volunteering for a role, so the closing asks a question the manager can answer with a simple yes.

CLB 7 vs CLB 9: the same paragraph

Here is one body paragraph from a complaint to an online store, written twice. The prompt bullet is: Explain how the problem has affected you. The level labels are our estimate of how each version reads; they are not an official CELPIP score.

CLB 7 version

The chair I ordered came with a broken wheel, so it is very hard to use it. I work from home, so this is a big problem for me. I have to use a kitchen chair now and it is not comfortable. My back is hurting a lot because of this. It is very bad for my work.

CLB 9 version

Because one of the wheels arrived cracked, the chair tips to the left whenever I lean back, so I cannot use it safely. Since I work from home four days a week, I have been sitting on a kitchen chair for the past ten days instead. By the end of each workday my lower back aches, and I have already had to cut one shift short.

What changed:

• Wording. The CLB 7 version leans on general phrases (very hard, a big problem, a lot, very bad). The CLB 9 version names the exact fault (tips to the left), the exact time (four days a week, ten days) and the exact effect (cut one shift short).
• Organization. The CLB 7 sentences are a list of separate statements, most starting with I or It. The CLB 9 version links cause and effect inside each sentence (Because…, Since…, By the end of…), so the paragraph builds toward its last point.
• Task coverage. Both versions answer the bullet, but the CLB 7 version only says the problem is bad. The CLB 9 version shows a consequence the reader can picture, which also sets up the next paragraph's request for a replacement.

Both are about the same length. The second version is not longer or fancier; it is more specific.

Task 1 checklist

• Greeting matches the relationship to the recipient
• First line states the reason for writing
• All 3 points answered, one body paragraph each, in the prompt's order
• Each body paragraph has a specific detail from the prompt's situation: a date, a number, a name or a consequence, not a vague complaint or a placeholder phrase
• Tone fits the email type: firm for a complaint, polite for a request, warm for an invitation
• Closing has a clear ask or next step
• Sign-off tone matches the greeting tone
• Length is 150–200 words

Common mistakes

• Using "Dear Sir/Madam" for a personal recipient like a neighbour or coworker — read the prompt for the relationship.
• Skipping or merging a bullet — if the prompt lists three points, give three clear answers.
• Forgetting the actual request — describing the problem but never asking for anything.
• Mixing formal and informal register within the same email (e.g., "Dear Ms. Reyes" followed by "hey, so anyway"), or forgetting to change the sign-off when you switch between a formal and an informal email.
• Writing an invitation with a complaint's tone — too formal, too negative — or a complaint with an invitation's chattiness.
• Using memorized sentences so general they could fit any prompt. Pre-learned wording only helps when every sentence still carries a detail from the situation you were given.

Recap

Task 1 rewards a clean four-part structure — greeting, opening line, one specific body paragraph per point, closing request — matched consistently to the recipient's tone. Complaints, requests and invitations use the same shape with a different purpose, opening and close. The step from CLB 7 to CLB 9 is mostly specificity: exact details, sentences that link cause and effect, and body paragraphs that answer the bullet with something the reader can picture.