CELPIP Writing currently includes Writing an Email and Responding to Survey Questions. This response bank gives you two original scenarios for each task, while the companion task map explains the underlying vocabulary functions. The models show one defensible response, not a guaranteed score or a script to memorize.
Plan and write your own answer first. Then use the rationale to inspect vocabulary, tone, completeness, and organization. The parent guide, CELPIP Writing vocabulary by task, explains the distinct communication job of each task.
Task 1 practice: community room
Situation: You reserved a community room for a volunteer meeting. When you arrived, the room was locked and no staff member could open it. Write to the center manager. Explain what happened, describe the effect, and request a solution.
Model:
Dear Center Manager,
I am writing about our confirmed reservation for the Cedar Room last Saturday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. When our twelve volunteers arrived, the room was locked, and the employee at reception was unable to locate the appropriate key.
As a result, we held the meeting in the lobby, where noise made it difficult to discuss private participant information. We also lost approximately thirty minutes while trying to find an alternative space.
Could you please clarify why the room was inaccessible and confirm whether our rental fee will be refunded? I would also appreciate written confirmation that a key will be available before our next booking on October 8.
Sincerely,
Jordan Lee
Why it works: Confirmed reservation establishes status. As a result links event and effect. Clarify requests an explanation; confirm whether requests a decision. The writer reports the failed access without making an unsupported accusation.
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 →Task 1 practice: delayed repair
Situation: Your apartment window has not closed properly for ten days. The building office acknowledged your first request but has not scheduled a repair. Write a follow-up email describing the problem, its impact, and the action you want.
Model:
Dear Building Office,
I am following up on maintenance request 418, submitted on September 13. The bedroom window still does not close completely, although I received confirmation that the request had been logged.
The gap allows rainwater to reach the inside sill during storms and makes the room noticeably colder at night. I have moved furniture away from the window to prevent damage, but that is only a temporary measure.
Please let me know when a technician can inspect the window. If an appointment cannot be arranged this week, could you provide a temporary seal and an estimated repair date?
Thank you for your assistance.
Why it works: Following up on refers to earlier contact. Logged means recorded, not resolved. Temporary measure accurately limits the current response. The request gives a preferred action and a practical alternative.
Task 2 practice: library priorities
Survey: A local library can either extend evening hours or add more weekend workshops. Which should it choose?
Model: I would prioritize extended evening hours because they would improve access for a broader range of residents. People who work standard business hours often have little time to borrow materials, use computers, or ask staff for help before the library closes. Longer hours would make existing services more accessible without requiring residents to attend at a fixed event time.
Weekend workshops could provide valuable instruction, particularly in digital skills. However, their benefit would depend on topic, capacity, and each resident's availability. By contrast, evening access would support different purposes throughout the week. On balance, extending hours is the more flexible option, although the library could test one monthly workshop before committing substantial resources.
Why it works: The response chooses early, compares through access, flexibility, and capacity, concedes a benefit, and ends with a bounded compromise.
Task 2 practice: neighborhood improvement
Survey: Should the city create a small public garden or install additional covered bus shelters?
Model: I would choose additional covered bus shelters because they address an existing daily need. Many residents rely on buses throughout the year, and protection from rain or intense sun would make waiting safer and more comfortable. The benefit would be especially significant at stops used by older adults and families with young children.
A public garden could strengthen community ties and improve the appearance of the neighborhood. Its use, however, would be more seasonal, and maintenance would require dependable volunteers or continuing city funds. Shelters also involve maintenance, but their purpose is straightforward and their use is less dependent on organized participation. For these reasons, the shelters would provide the more reliable public benefit.
Why it works: Address a need, rely on, and dependable volunteers are precise combinations. Could avoids promising that a garden will produce benefits. The comparison applies the same criteria—frequency, maintenance, and access—to both choices.
Revision checks
- A request was recorded but not completed: logged / resolved.
- Ask for an explanation of uncertainty: clarify / guarantee.
- Recognize an opposing benefit: concede / exaggerate it.
- A choice made after comparison can begin on balance / regardless.
Answers: 1 logged. 2 clarify. 3 concede. 4 on balance. The surrounding definitions make each answer determinate.
After drafting, underline the purpose, every relevant detail, and the requested action or comparison criteria. Practice weak vocabulary in the CELPIP vocabulary hub with Lyra Practice's email and survey guides.
Sources
Related
- CELPIP Writing vocabulary by task
- CELPIP Task 1 email vocabulary
- CELPIP Task 2 survey vocabulary
- CELPIP vocabulary hub
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