CELPIP Writing Task 1 is officially Writing an Email. Current official preparation materials describe an everyday matter, a 150–200-word response, and usually about three content points. The task is not solved by attaching one universal “formal” template to every recipient.
An email to a building manager, a colleague, and a community organizer may share a clear structure, but the relationship changes the wording. Your lexical decisions should answer six questions: Why are you writing? What happened? What constraint matters? What do you want the recipient to do? What resolution is feasible? How will you close the exchange?
This guide develops those decisions with convey, constraint, feasible, tentative, mitigate, and follow through on. Continue in the CELPIP vocabulary practice hub or compare exam pathways through the Exam English hub.
State the purpose before the history
A useful first paragraph gives the reader an immediate reason to continue:
“I am writing to request a change to the community-room booking on 14 October.”
That is more useful than three sentences of background followed by Anyway, I want to ask something. Your opening can be direct without being abrupt:
- I am writing regarding...
- I am contacting you to request...
- I would like to explain... and propose...
- Thank you for your message about...
Do not memorize a ceremonial opening that consumes words without identifying the matter. Register comes from the relationship and request, not from inflated vocabulary.
Convey: make the message reach the reader
To convey something is to communicate a message, idea, decision, or impression so it reaches the recipient. It takes content as its object:
“I want to convey how disruptive the repeated cancellations have been.”
Use to for a recipient: convey the update to residents. Do not use the double-object pattern convey residents the update. And distinguish communication from sending an item. You send or attach a receipt; you may convey the urgency of the request.
Tone and wording can also convey an impression unintentionally. You failed again conveys blame; The repair is still outstanding reports the status more neutrally. This does not mean every complaint must be emotionless. It means you should choose the impression deliberately.
Constraint: name the real limit
A constraint is a limit that restricts what can be done. Useful email constraints include a work schedule, accessibility need, booking deadline, budget limit, or prior commitment.
“My main constraint is that the replacement appointment must occur before 3 p.m., when I begin work.”
Naming the constraint helps the recipient evaluate possible solutions. It is more precise than This time is bad for me. Do not use constraint for every preference. Wanting the quietest room is a preference unless some stated need makes it a genuine limit.
Common patterns include a constraint on the schedule, under these constraints, and time constraints. The verb constrain means limit: The short notice constrains the options available to us.
Feasible: propose something that can actually be done
Feasible means possible and practical under the relevant conditions. It is strongest when you name those conditions:
“If a morning appointment is feasible, I could attend on either Tuesday or Thursday.”
The word does not mean guaranteed, desirable, or easy. A refund may be desirable but not available under a stated policy. A replacement may be feasible without being the recipient’s preferred solution.
Use feasible for someone, feasible within a budget or period, or it is feasible to do something. Do not use feasible to me when you mean an idea seems acceptable; say feasible for me when it is workable in your circumstances.
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →Tentative: mark what is not confirmed
A tentative date, arrangement, or conclusion is not yet confirmed and may change:
“I have made a tentative booking for Thursday, pending your approval.”
The sentence communicates a current arrangement and its status. It does not mean the writer is nervous. The adverb is tentatively: The visit is tentatively scheduled for Thursday. Avoid I am tentative to attend and the invented verb to tentative.
If the date is confirmed, say so. Unnecessary hedging creates ambiguity. If a specific formal step makes a temporary arrangement valid, provisional may be more exact: provisional approval pending verification. For an ordinary unconfirmed date, tentative is natural.
Mitigate: reduce harm rather than erase it
To mitigate a problem is to reduce its severity or harmful effect. It does not mean eliminate it entirely.
“To mitigate the disruption, I can collect the equipment from your office rather than request delivery.”
This is useful when your proposed resolution cannot undo what happened. A rescheduled appointment may mitigate inconvenience but cannot recover the original time. Mitigate against occurs in some usage, but the direct-object pattern is cleaner here: mitigate the delay, mitigate its effects.
Do not use the word as empty business decoration: I hope you mitigate this. Name the harm and the practical action.
Follow through on: connect promise to action
To follow through on a promise, request, plan, or commitment is to carry it into action:
“Please confirm that the contractor will follow through on the repair scheduled for Friday.”
A promise to follow through is not proof that the action is complete. If you are stating your own next step, make it concrete:
“If you confirm the room by noon, I will follow through on the booking and send the participant list today.”
The pattern is follow through on + noun or gerund. Do not write follow through the repair.
Worked email: a service problem
Scenario: A recreation centre cancelled your evening course twice. Write to the program coordinator. Explain the effect, state your availability, and propose a resolution.
Dear Program Coordinator,
I am writing regarding the evening photography course, which has now been cancelled on two consecutive Wednesdays. I understand that staffing problems can occur, but the repeated changes have made it difficult to arrange childcare and have not conveyed a clear plan for completing the course.
My main constraint is that I can attend only after 6 p.m. on weekdays. A weekend session would also be feasible if participants received at least five days’ notice. Could you please confirm whether the remaining classes can be moved to Saturday mornings or assigned to another instructor?
To mitigate the inconvenience, the centre could offer one extended session and provide online access to the missed demonstration. If neither option is available, I would appreciate a partial refund for the cancelled classes. Please also let us know who will follow through on the revised schedule and when it will become final.
Thank you for considering these options. I look forward to your response.
Kind regards, Priya Shah
The email is firm but relationship-sensitive. It acknowledges a plausible difficulty without pretending the cancellations caused no harm. The request is specific, the constraint is genuine, and the proposed resolutions are feasible enough for the coordinator to assess.
Official CELPIP guidance says you do not need to add To, From, or Subject lines. Begin with an appropriate greeting, then make the purpose clear in the opening paragraph.
Adjust register to the recipient
Compare three requests:
To a colleague:
“Could you send the revised agenda by noon so I can follow through on the room booking?”
To a building manager:
“Could you please confirm whether a morning inspection would be feasible this week?”
To a close community teammate:
“Would Thursday evening work for you? I’ve tentatively held the room.”
The first is concise because the shared context is strong. The second names the requested decision politely. The third is lighter because the relationship permits it. None needs To whom it may concern unless the recipient is genuinely unknown.
Common Task 1 email mistakes
- Burying the purpose. State the request or issue in the first paragraph.
- Treating formality as complexity. Clear, courteous English is safer than ornate legal-sounding prose.
- Listing problems without a resolution. Offer one or two workable next steps.
- Calling a preference a constraint. Explain the condition that truly limits your options.
- Using feasible as certain. It means workable, not approved.
- Using tentative for a confirmed arrangement. Match the status accurately.
- Claiming mitigation eliminates the harm. It reduces severity; it does not undo the event.
- Confusing a promise with completion. Will follow through is future; followed through presents completed action.
- Using convey for an attachment. Send the file; convey the message or impression.
- Ignoring the prompt points. Vocabulary cannot compensate for an omitted request, explanation, or proposal.
Quick check
1. Which sentence names a genuine constraint?
A. “My constraint is that blue is not my favourite colour.” B. “Because I supervise the front desk until 5 p.m., I cannot attend an earlier appointment.” C. “Everything is constrained and inconvenient.”
2. Which sentence uses feasible accurately?
A. “The repair is feasible within the stated budget, but the manager must still approve it.” B. “The repair is feasible, so it has definitely been completed.” C. “The technician feasible the repair.”
3. Which wording distinguishes a promise from completion?
A. “The centre followed through on the refund, so it might send it later.” B. “The centre promised to follow through on the refund by Friday.” C. “The centre follow through the refund yesterday.”
Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-B. The strong options state the operative limit, preserve approval uncertainty, and describe a future commitment accurately.
Controlled practice
Write 150–200 words to a library manager about a study-room booking that was moved without notice. Include three prompt points: explain the effect, name one scheduling constraint, and propose two feasible resolutions. Use tentative only for an unconfirmed arrangement and mitigate only for reducing a named harm. Then revise the opening until a reader can identify your purpose from the first two sentences.
To practise precise professional and everyday vocabulary beyond a single template, try Lyra Practice.
Sources
- CELPIP test format and scoring — CELPIP
- Writing Pro Target 5 Study Pack — Prometric
- CELPIP free resources — CELPIP
Related
- IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 Letter Vocabulary
- TOEIC Writing: Respond to a Written Request Like a Colleague
- Provisional vs Tentative: What's the Difference?
- Mitigate vs Alleviate: What's the Difference?
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