CELPIP Writing Samples: Model Answers for Task 1 and Task 2

Reading a good answer teaches you more than reading advice about answers. Below are five complete CELPIP Writing model answers — three for Task 1, the email, and two for Task 2, the survey response — each written to a realistic prompt and followed by a short note on why it would score well.

A word on how to use them before you start: these are models to learn from, not scripts to memorise. The prompt you get on test day will be different, and a pre-written answer will not fit it — CELPIP scores Task Fulfillment precisely to catch that. What transfers is the shape: the structure, the way tone is held from start to finish, the sentence frames. Study the moves, not the words. If you want the structure spelled out first, the Task 1 email template and the Task 2 survey template build it step by step; this guide is the filled-in version.

What a high-scoring answer is doing

CELPIP Writing is scored on four criteria, and every sample below is trying to satisfy all four at once:

• Content and Coherence — it addresses every part of the prompt and the ideas connect, so the reader is never lost.
• Vocabulary — precise, varied word choice that fits the situation, without straining for impressive words that do not belong.
• Readability — controlled grammar, punctuation and paragraphing that make it easy to read.
• Task Fulfillment — it does exactly what the prompt asks, in the right tone, at the right length.

Keep those four in mind as you read. The notes after each answer point to where it earns them.

Task 1 samples — the email

Task 1 gives you a situation and three things the email must do. The single biggest differentiator between answers is tone: a complaint, a request to a manager, and a message to a friend are three different registers, and holding the right one from greeting to sign-off is half the score. That is why the three samples below are deliberately different in tone.

Sample 1 — A complaint (formal)

Sample prompt. You recently bought a kitchen appliance that stopped working within a week. Write an email of about 150–200 words to the store's customer service. Explain the problem, describe how it has affected you, and say what you would like them to do.

Dear Customer Service Team,

I am writing to report a problem with a blender I purchased from your Queen Street store on 3 May (order #48213). Within a week of normal use, the motor stopped working completely, and the unit now will not turn on at all.

This has been more than a minor inconvenience. I bought the blender specifically to prepare meals for a family member on a restricted medical diet, and for the past several days I have had to buy prepared food instead, at considerable extra cost.

I have kept both the receipt and the original packaging, and the appliance has not been dropped or misused. Given the circumstances, I would like a full replacement of the same model, or a complete refund if a replacement is not available.

I would appreciate a response within five business days so that I can arrange to return the faulty unit. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,
Priya Sharma

Why it works. It opens with the purpose and the specifics — order number and date — so the reader can act immediately (Content). It covers all three required points: the problem, the impact (quantified as real cost, not just annoyance), and a concrete request with a deadline (Task Fulfillment). The tone is formal and consistent, from "Dear Customer Service Team" through to "Yours sincerely." Vocabulary is precise where it counts — "considerable extra cost," "faulty unit," "restricted medical diet" — without reaching for words that do not fit a complaint.

Sample 2 — A request (semi-formal)

Sample prompt. The heating in your apartment has not been working properly. Write an email of about 150–200 words to your building manager. Describe the problem, explain why it needs urgent attention, and request a specific action.

Dear Mr. Thompson,

I am writing about the heating in my apartment, unit 12B, which has not worked properly for the past four days. The radiators come on briefly in the morning and then stay cold for the rest of the day.

With overnight temperatures now dropping below freezing, the apartment has become genuinely cold, and I am concerned both for my own comfort and for the pipes, which could be at risk if this continues much longer. My young daughter has also started to develop a cough since the cold set in.

Could you please arrange for a technician to inspect the heating system this week? I can provide access on any weekday after 4 p.m., or at any time this Saturday.

I would be grateful if this could be treated as urgent, given the forecast. Please let me know a time that suits, and I will make sure someone is home.

Thank you,
Daniel Okafor

Why it works. The urgency is justified, not just asserted — the weather, the risk to the pipes, and a health concern together explain why "this week" is reasonable (Content and Task Fulfillment). The requested action is specific and paired with concrete availability, which makes it easy to say yes to. The register is semi-formal throughout: polite and respectful ("I would be grateful," "Please let me know") without the stiffness of a legal complaint. Notice the connectors — "With overnight temperatures…," "given the forecast" — that keep it flowing (Coherence).

Sample 3 — A social message (informal)

Sample prompt. A friend has invited you to a weekend trip, but you cannot go. Write an email of about 150–200 words to your friend. Thank them for the invitation, explain why you cannot come, and suggest an alternative plan.

Hi Mei,

Thank you so much for inviting me to the cabin trip next weekend — it sounds like exactly the kind of getaway I've been needing, and I really appreciate you thinking of me.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to make it. My sister is visiting from Halifax that weekend, and it's the only chance we'll get to see each other before she moves abroad in the summer, so I don't want to miss it.

I'd still love to catch up properly, though. How about I cook dinner for the two of us the following weekend? You could tell me all about the trip, and I'll finally try that ramen recipe I keep going on about.

Let me know if that works for you. Have an amazing time at the cabin — and take lots of photos!

Talk soon,
Ana

Why it works. The tone is warm and genuinely informal — contractions ("I'm," "I'd"), a casual sign-off ("Talk soon"), and a natural voice — which is exactly right for a friend and would feel wrong in Samples 1 or 2. It still hits all three required points cleanly: thanks, a real reason, and a specific alternative (Task Fulfillment). The informality never tips into carelessness; the grammar and punctuation stay controlled (Readability). Holding this register as consistently as the complaint holds its register is the skill on display.

Task 2 samples — the survey response

Task 2 gives you two options and asks which you support. The answer that scores is not the one with the "correct" opinion — there isn't one — but the one that commits to a side and defends it with organised, developed reasons, including a fair look at the other side. Both samples follow the same five-part shape: position, first reason, second reason from a different angle, counter-argument, conclusion.

Sample 4 — A community decision

Sample prompt. Your city is deciding how to use a vacant downtown lot. Option A: build a public park. Option B: build a paid parking garage. Write about 250–300 words explaining which option you support and why.

I support Option A: turning the vacant downtown lot into a public park.

My first reason is that a park serves everyone, not just drivers. A parking garage benefits only the people who own cars and can pay to use it, whereas a green space in the centre of the city is open to families, older residents, office workers on their lunch break, and children who currently have nowhere nearby to play. For a shared public space, that broad benefit should count for more than convenience for a single group.

Second, the downtown area already struggles with air quality and summer heat. A park full of trees would help cool the surrounding streets and clean the air, while another garage would simply pull more traffic into an already congested core, making both problems worse rather than better.

I understand the case for parking. Local businesses worry that without it, customers will stay away, and that concern is reasonable. However, improving bus routes and adding bike lanes would address access without paving over the last open space downtown — and cities that have chosen parks over parking have generally seen foot traffic to nearby shops rise, not fall.

For these reasons — broad public benefit and long-term livability — I believe the park is the better use of the land.

Why it works. It commits in the first line and never wavers (Task Fulfillment). The two reasons come at the question from different angles — fairness of access, then environment — rather than restating one idea twice, which is what keeps a survey answer from feeling thin (Content). The counter-argument is genuine: it names the real objection (businesses need parking) and answers it, instead of knocking down a weak version. Connectors and a clean conclusion hold it together (Coherence), and the vocabulary is precise without showing off ("congested core," "long-term livability").

Sample 5 — A workplace policy

Sample prompt. Your company is reviewing its work policy. Option A: employees work mainly from home. Option B: employees work mainly in the office. Write about 250–300 words recommending one option.

I recommend Option A: allowing employees to work mainly from home.

The strongest reason is productivity. Without a daily commute and the constant interruptions of an open office, most people can concentrate for longer stretches and finish focused work more efficiently. In my own experience, the hours I once lost to travelling now go into either the work itself or proper rest, and the quality of what I produce has risen rather than fallen.

A second reason is that remote work widens the talent a company can keep. Skilled employees who move to another city, or who have young children or relatives to care for, can stay on instead of resigning. That continuity saves the real cost and disruption of constantly hiring and training replacements.

Working in the office does have genuine advantages, and I would not dismiss them — new employees learn quickly by watching experienced colleagues, and the best ideas often come from unplanned conversation. A sensible middle path is to keep home as the default while bringing teams together in person for a day or two each week, so that mentoring and collaboration still happen without forcing everyone into a daily commute.

On balance, though, a home-first policy delivers the larger gain in both productivity and staff retention, which is why I recommend it.

Why it works. Like Sample 4 it commits early and gives two distinct reasons (focus, then retention). Its counter-argument paragraph is the strongest move here: it concedes the office's real benefits and proposes a hybrid compromise, which shows the kind of developed thinking that lifts a score — then it still returns to a clear recommendation so the position never blurs (Task Fulfillment and Coherence).

What the strong samples share

Read across all five and the same handful of habits keep recurring. These are what to copy:

• They commit and stay committed. Every answer states its purpose or position early and holds it to the end. No hedging, no drifting.
• They hold one tone the whole way. The complaint stays formal; the note to a friend stays warm. Tone is chosen for the reader and never slips.
• They develop, they don't pad. Each reason is explained with a specific detail — a cost, a consequence, an example — rather than repeated in different words to fill space.
• They handle the other side honestly. The Task 2 answers name the real counter-argument and respond to it, which is far more convincing than ignoring it.
• Their vocabulary fits. The words are precise and varied but never forced; nothing reads like it was dropped in to sound impressive.

Now write your own

Samples show you the target. You close the gap by writing your own answers and finding out exactly where they fall short of these — which is hard to judge from the inside. Learn the structure from the Task 1 and Task 2 templates, write a full response to a fresh prompt, then get it scored against the four real criteria so you can see which one is costing you marks. That loop — write, score, fix the weakest criterion, repeat — is what actually moves a Writing band.

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Sources

• Writing task format, length guidance and scoring criteria: CELPIP Test Overview, Paragon Testing Enterprises — confirm current task instructions and timing on the official site.

The prompts and model answers above are original, written to representative practice scenarios; they are not official CELPIP test questions or answers.