CELPIP® Speaking Task 6 sample: A Teammate Gone Silent Before Deadline

Level 7 sample answer

135 words

Hey Dylan, I waited for you after your shift because you don't answer messages. Can we talk for a minute? Um, I know you started working night shift, and that must be really tiring. But our project is due next Friday, and we still don't have your market research part. We need it by Wednesday, or we can't finish the rest of plan. The other two wanted to tell Ingrid, but I said I will talk to you first. I don't want you to get in trouble. So please finish your section and send it to me by Wednesday. If you're too busy, I can help, for example I can make the charts. Also, you don't have to come to every meeting, we can just share a document online. But please answer our messages, okay?

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 model clearly explains the deadline problem, acknowledges Dylan's workload, and offers practical help. Compared with the higher-level answers, its language is less controlled and its plan does less to establish progress checks or secure Dylan's agreement.

• We need it by Wednesday, or we can't finish the rest of plan. — Content/Coherence: This clearly connects Dylan's missing research to the team's deadline. A higher-level answer explains the dependency more precisely, showing how the missing research affects the remaining analysis or presentation.
• that must be really tiring. — Vocabulary: This everyday phrase communicates sympathy appropriately. The higher-level answers express Dylan's exhaustion with more varied, precise language, making the acknowledgment of his night shifts more developed.
• If you're too busy, I can help, for example I can make the charts. — Listenability: The concrete offer is easy to understand, but the clauses run together in the written wording. A higher-level answer would connect or separate them more cleanly so the listener can follow the offer effortlessly.
• So please finish your section and send it to me by Wednesday. — Task Fulfillment: This directly asks Dylan to deliver the missing work by the required day. A higher-level answer would also establish an earlier progress check and ask whether he can realistically commit, given his shifts.

Level 9 sample answer

167 words

Hi Ingrid, thanks for seeing me during your office hours. I wanted to talk to you about our marketing plan group, and honestly, it's not an easy conversation. One of our members, Dylan, was supposed to handle the market research section, but he's missed our last two meetings and hasn't replied to any messages for about a week.

I want to be fair to him, because I know he's started working night shifts and he's probably exhausted. I'm not here to get him in trouble. The problem is that the rest of the plan depends on his research, which we need by Wednesday, and with the presentation next Friday, we're running out of time.

What I'd like to ask is whether the three of us could divide his section and still submit on time, and whether his mark could reflect what he actually contributed. Maybe you could also reach out to him directly — he might respond to you more readily than to us. Would that be possible?

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 model gives Ingrid a balanced explanation and requests concrete help with workload and grading. Its organization and tact are stronger than the level 7 answer, while the level 11 answer develops a more closely coordinated plan with checkpoints and explicit agreement.

• The problem is that the rest of the plan depends on his research — Content/Coherence: This makes the project's dependency explicit and explains why Dylan's silence requires intervention. The level 11 answer develops that connection further by explaining the effect on the analysis and linking it to a staged recovery plan.
• whether his mark could reflect what he actually contributed. — Vocabulary: This measured wording expresses grading fairness without demanding punishment. Compared with level 7, it handles a sensitive request more precisely; level 11 sustains similarly flexible language across empathy, consequences, and negotiation.
• I'm not here to get him in trouble. — Listenability: This short sentence gives the listener a clear statement of intent between the background and the deadline problem. Level 11 uses similarly direct spoken signposts throughout a more detailed negotiation.
• Maybe you could also reach out to him directly — Task Fulfillment: This gives Ingrid a useful role and preserves concern for Dylan alongside the grading request. A stronger response would also seek agreement on when the team should reassign the research if contact remains unsuccessful.

Level 11 sample answer

186 words

Dylan, thanks for waiting — I figured catching you right after your shift was the only way we'd talk. Before anything else, I'm not here to lecture you. I know you took on those night shifts to cover your rent, and juggling that with a full course load would wear anyone down.

But I need to be straight with you: the marketing plan is due next Friday, it's worth thirty percent of our grade, and without your market research, the rest of our analysis is built on guesswork. The other two are frustrated enough that they wanted to go to Ingrid, and I talked them out of it because I'd rather hear your side first.

So here's what I'm asking. I need the finished section by Wednesday night, because everything else hinges on it. If you send me your raw data by Monday, I'll help you organize it, and you won't need to show up to every meeting as long as you're replying in our group chat. In return, you'd present the research slides, since you know that material best. Does that sound workable, given your schedule?

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 model combines empathy, clear consequences, and a negotiated recovery plan. Its precise language and spoken signposting connect the research deadline, an earlier data handoff, flexible participation, and Dylan's presentation responsibility into a coherent proposal.

• without your market research, the rest of our analysis is built on guesswork. — Content/Coherence: This explains exactly why the missing section matters: the team's analysis needs evidence. It strengthens the deadline argument by identifying a concrete academic consequence rather than simply saying the group cannot finish.
• juggling that with a full course load would wear anyone down. — Vocabulary: The natural expressions convey the strain of balancing paid work and college. They make the empathy specific to Dylan's circumstances while keeping the conversation informal and appropriate for a teammate.
• So here's what I'm asking. — Listenability: This brief spoken signpost clearly marks the move from explaining the problem to proposing action. It helps the listener follow the detailed requests that come next without relying on elaborate transitions.
• If you send me your raw data by Monday, I'll help you organize it — Task Fulfillment: This creates an early, concrete checkpoint and pairs Dylan's responsibility with practical support. Alongside the Wednesday deadline and closing feasibility question, it makes the proposed arrangement easier to act on and negotiate.