CELPIP® Speaking Task 4 sample: Sandbag station during spring flooding

Level 7 sample answer

137 words

I think a few things will happen soon. On the left, the man is putting too many bags on the pickup, and the top bag is already sliding. So I think it will fall on the ground and he will have to pick it up again. Also, the boy is putting too much sand in the sack, so the sand will go everywhere and the woman maybe laugh. In the middle, the old man can't lift the bag. I think the young woman will take it from him and carry it for him. Um, the dump truck is backing up to the sand pile, so it will dump new sand soon and the man in orange vest will be happy. And on the right, the little girl will jump in the puddle and get her dad wet.

Why this answer is at level 7

This answer makes several relevant predictions and gives clear reasons for many of them. Compared with the higher-level examples, its repeated sentence patterns, broad vocabulary, and occasional grammar problems make the explanation less precise and fluent.

• the top bag is already sliding. So I think it will fall on the ground — Content/Coherence: The sliding bag provides a clear reason for predicting a fall. However, the answer repeatedly uses simple links such as “so” and “also”; a higher-level answer would vary these connections and give the sequence a clearer sense of priority.
• he will have to pick it up again — Vocabulary: This communicates the likely response clearly, but “pick it up” does little to convey the effort of lifting a sandbag. The higher-level answers use more precise physical verbs such as “heave” and “haul.”
• so the sand will go everywhere and the woman maybe laugh — Listenability: The meaning remains understandable, but “the woman maybe laugh” interrupts the grammatical flow. A higher-level answer would use a complete verb phrase and describe the consequence more precisely, making the prediction easier to follow.
• I think the young woman will take it from him and carry it for him. — Task Fulfillment: This gives a relevant prediction about another person. The preceding difficulty with lifting supports it, but a higher-level answer would also explicitly connect the volunteer’s hurried approach to her likely intervention, as the next example does.

Level 9 sample answer

166 words

I'd say there are a few things about to happen here.

First, the man loading the pickup has stacked the bags way too high, and the top one's already slipping, so I'm pretty sure it'll thud onto the pavement and he'll have to heave it back up. The teenager shovelling sand is getting carried away too — he's overfilling that sack, so it'll be too full to tie and they'll have to dump some out.

In the middle, the elderly man clearly can't manage his sandbag on his own. Since the young volunteer is already hurrying over, she'll probably take it from him and suggest he hand out drinks instead.

The sand pile is almost empty, but the dump truck is reversing right up to it, so it should tip a fresh load any minute, which will put the guy in the orange vest at ease.

Finally, that little girl is going to land in the puddle with a big splash, and her father will get soaked.

Why this answer is at level 9

This answer develops clear chains of clues, predictions, and consequences, using more precise vocabulary and smoother phrasing than the lower-level example. Compared with the top example, its organization is more routine, and its final prediction gives less attention to the father’s possible intervention.

• he's overfilling that sack, so it'll be too full to tie and they'll have to dump some out. — Content/Coherence: This develops a useful chain from overfilling to a practical problem and then a likely solution. The top answer combines similarly clear reasoning with stronger prioritization, identifying the sliding bag as the most immediate event.
• it'll thud onto the pavement and he'll have to heave it back up. — Vocabulary: “Thud” and “heave” convey the bag’s weight and the effort of retrieving it more vividly than the lower-level wording. The top answer extends this precision across additional events, including the dwindling sand supply and tumbling cups.
• Since the young volunteer is already hurrying over, she'll probably take it from him — Listenability: The opening clause gives the listener the reason before the prediction, while contractions keep the phrasing conversational. The top answer adds more varied transitions and conditional structures while keeping the people and actions easy to track.
• that little girl is going to land in the puddle with a big splash, and her father will get soaked. — Task Fulfillment: This predicts a clear, immediate consequence of the girl’s leap. However, it treats the splash as certain without weighing her father’s attempt to stop her. The top answer incorporates that competing possibility through an explicit condition.

Level 11 sample answer

182 words

Quite a bit here is about to go wrong.

The most immediate thing is that the top sandbag on the pickup's tailgate is going to slide off — it's already halfway there — and the man in navy will have to haul it back up. Meanwhile, the teenager in green is cramming so much sand into that sack that the woman holding it will almost certainly have to tip some out before it can be tied.

As for the elderly man, the volunteer in purple will reach him before he wears himself out, and I wouldn't be surprised if she steers him toward the drinks table. At that table, the gust lifting the tablecloth could send those stacked paper cups tumbling, so the woman in red may be chasing them.

The dump truck reversing toward the dwindling pile should tip a fresh load within moments, which will take some pressure off the man in orange. And unless her father is remarkably quick, that little girl in pink is going to land squarely in the puddle, soaking them both — just as the heavier rain arrives.

Why this answer is at level 11

This answer prioritizes immediate events, covers a wider range of people, and connects predictions closely to visible clues. Precise vocabulary, varied sentence structures, and well-placed conditions make the explanation detailed and easy to follow.

• The most immediate thing is that the top sandbag on the pickup's tailgate is going to slide off — Content/Coherence: This establishes a clear priority instead of simply beginning a list. Identifying the sliding bag as the most immediate event gives the response direction and helps organize the other predictions around what is likely to happen soon.
• The dump truck reversing toward the dwindling pile should tip a fresh load within moments — Vocabulary: “Dwindling” efficiently describes the shrinking supply, while “tip a fresh load” precisely describes the truck’s likely action. “Should” expresses a confident expectation without making the outcome absolute.
• As for the elderly man, the volunteer in purple will reach him before he wears himself out — Listenability: “As for” clearly signals a change of focus, and the purple vest helps the listener identify the volunteer. The sentence connects her approach with his physical strain in a compact, conversational way.
• the gust lifting the tablecloth could send those stacked paper cups tumbling — Task Fulfillment: This adds a distinct prediction grounded directly in the wind, tablecloth, and stacked cups. “Could” appropriately marks it as a possibility, broadening the response’s coverage while maintaining a clear connection between evidence and outcome.