CELPIP® Speaking Task 5 sample: A Birthday Tribute From Everyone
Comparing and Persuading · Choose: 60 seconds · Preparation: 60 seconds · Response: 60 seconds · Published
Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.
Practice question
You're organizing a birthday surprise for your aunt in Surrey with your brother. You have three weeks and a budget of $180. Relatives living in different time zones want to contribute, but some cannot attend on her birthday. Your aunt enjoys family photos and hearing people's voices. Review these two keepsake options and choose the one you would arrange.
Family Video Montage
- $160 total
- Two-minute video clip per relative
- Ready in 14 days
- Downloadable video combining photos and voices
Bound Photo Album
- $110 total
- One photo per relative
- Ready in 21 days
- Bound album with 24 photo pages
Your friend’s alternative
Live Online Birthday Party
- $40 total
- 45-minute group gathering
- On her birthday evening
- Live conversation; no recording
Your brother, Dylan, suggests the Live Online Birthday Party. He likes the lower price and the chance for everyone to talk together. Explain why the option you selected would make a better birthday surprise, and try to get him to support your choice.
Model answers
These are transcripts of a model response, provided for comparison with your own recording.
The models choose Family Video Montage before responding to the friend’s alternative.
Level 7 sample answer
119 words
Dylan, I understand why you like the online party. It's cheaper, and talking together would be fun. But I think we should choose the Family Video Montage. Some relatives can't come that evening, and they're on different time zones. With the video, each person only needs to send a short clip. That's a easier way for everyone to join. Also, our aunt can watch it again whenever she wants. The party has no recording, so she wouldn't have that memory to keep. Um, the video costs $160, but that's still within our budget. It'll be ready in two weeks, so we have enough time. Could we choose that and give her something she can enjoy after her birthday too?
Why this answer is at level 7
This level 7 answer makes a clear choice and supports it with relevant reasons about participation, replaying memories, cost, and timing. Compared with the higher-level answers, its explanations are simpler, its vocabulary is less precise, and occasional grammar slips interrupt the flow.
With the video, each person only needs to send a short clip.
— Content/Coherence: This offers a practical solution after mentioning relatives' availability. The connection is understandable, but a higher-level answer explains more explicitly how recording separately removes the need to coordinate across time zones.give her something she can enjoy after her birthday too?
— Vocabulary: The everyday wording communicates the lasting benefit clearly, but 'something' is broad. Higher-level answers describe the keepsake and its value more precisely, making the recommendation more persuasive.That's a easier way for everyone to join.
— Listenability: The sentence is short and easy to follow, but the incorrect article in 'a easier' briefly disrupts the flow. Higher-level answers express the same practical advantage with smoother grammatical control.Um, the video costs $160, but that's still within our budget.
— Task Fulfillment: This correctly addresses affordability, which matters to Dylan's preference for the cheaper party. A higher-level answer also weighs the price difference directly and explains why including absent relatives justifies the extra expense.
Level 9 sample answer
149 words
Dylan, the online party would certainly save money, and I like your idea of giving everyone a chance to chat. My concern is that some relatives already can't attend that evening. We'd be planning a family surprise that leaves part of the family out. I'd choose the Family Video Montage because each relative can record a two-minute message whenever it suits them. Our aunt would still hear their voices and see family photos, which are both things she enjoys. More importantly, she could replay the finished video. If she wanted to hear one person's message again the following week, it would be right there. The live party wouldn't be recorded. Although $160 is considerably more than $40, it's within our $180 budget, and the fourteen-day turnaround gives us a week to spare. I think the lasting keepsake is worth the extra money. Would you help me collect the clips?
Why this answer is at level 9
This level 9 answer develops a persuasive comparison through concrete examples, clear organization, and more precise language than the level 7 answer. The level 11 answer goes further by acknowledging the value of live interaction more fully and weighing the financial tradeoff more explicitly.
We'd be planning a family surprise that leaves part of the family out.
— Content/Coherence: This turns an attendance problem into a clear reason to reconsider the party. The higher-level answer balances that concern with a fuller acknowledgment of what relatives could gain from responding to each other live.the fourteen-day turnaround gives us a week to spare.
— Vocabulary: The precise scheduling vocabulary connects the production time to the preparation window efficiently. The higher-level answer sustains similarly precise language across more aspects of the decision, including the effort required from relatives.If she wanted to hear one person's message again the following week, it would be right there.
— Listenability: This concrete example makes the replay benefit easy to picture and follow. The higher-level answer conveys that benefit more compactly while maintaining a smooth transition from the aunt's preferences to the lasting keepsake.Although $160 is considerably more than $40, it's within our $180 budget,
— Task Fulfillment: This directly answers Dylan's cost objection instead of merely stating the montage's price. The higher-level answer makes the tradeoff more tangible by specifying the additional expense and the money remaining.
Level 11 sample answer
164 words
Dylan, I can see the appeal of spending just $40 on something interactive. Hearing everyone respond to each other would be special. The difficulty is that a live party only works for whoever can be there, and we already know some relatives can't attend that evening. I'd put our money towards the Family Video Montage. Asking for a two-minute clip gives relatives in different time zones a manageable way to contribute without coordinating a forty-five-minute call. It also brings together the two things our aunt particularly enjoys: family photographs and familiar voices. Unlike the unrecorded party, it becomes something she can return to whenever she feels like it. We'd be paying an additional $120, so I wouldn't pretend the difference is small. However, the $160 total still leaves $20 in our budget, and delivery in fourteen days gives us a week's breathing room. For this particular surprise, I'd rather spend more and include those who can't attend. Can we go ahead with the montage?
Why this answer is at level 11
This level 11 answer combines precise language, balanced persuasion, and a clear decision tailored to this family. It recognizes the appeal of live interaction, explains why flexible contributions matter more here, and supports the recommendation with explicit budget and timing calculations.
For this particular surprise, I'd rather spend more and include those who can't attend.
— Content/Coherence: This draws the earlier reasons into a clear decision: broader family participation justifies the added cost. The recommendation follows from the specific circumstances rather than claiming that a montage is always preferable.delivery in fourteen days gives us a week's breathing room.
— Vocabulary: The phrase 'breathing room' naturally expresses the practical value of the spare week. It adds conversational ease while keeping the timing argument precise and relevant.We'd be paying an additional $120, so I wouldn't pretend the difference is small.
— Listenability: The direct, conversational concession makes the cost argument easy to follow. It creates a natural pause in the persuasion before the answer explains why the expense remains manageable.It also brings together the two things our aunt particularly enjoys: family photographs and familiar voices.
— Task Fulfillment: This explicitly connects the montage's features to the aunt's stated interests. Alongside the attendance, cost, and delivery arguments, it makes the choice feel tailored to her birthday surprise.
What moves an answer from 7 to 9 to 11
These are model answers written to show each level. The labels are practice estimates, not examiner scores.
Make your chosen option clear and compare it with the friend’s alternative using the stated facts. Explain how those differences meet your needs and persuade the listener respectfully.
- Content/Coherence: Level 7 models communicate the main ideas; level 9 models develop relevant details with clear connections; level 11 models sustain precise, well-integrated development.
- Vocabulary: Compare adequate everyday wording with more varied, accurate choices at level 9 and flexible, precise expression at level 11.
- Listenability: Higher-level delivery needs clear pronunciation, rhythm, intonation and controlled pauses. Transcripts suggest phrasing and organisation, but cannot demonstrate these audio features; a recording is needed.
- Task Fulfillment: Compare how fully the response addresses the request, develops enough relevant detail and maintains an appropriate tone for the audience within the task limits.
Assess the criteria together. A longer answer or rarer words alone do not establish a higher level.
Answer this question and get your level
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