CELPIP® Speaking Task 7 sample: Setup Lessons for Every Buyer

Expressing Opinions · Preparation: 30 seconds · Response: 90 seconds · Published 23 October 2026

Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.

Practice question

Cody runs a device shop in Red Deer. He is considering including a 30-minute setup lesson with every new phone or tablet and raising all device prices by $15. Currently, only customers who request setup help pay for it. Should he make lessons standard? Explain which approach you support and why.

Model answers

These are transcripts of a model response, provided for comparison with your own recording.

Level 7 sample answer

186 words

I'd keep setup help as a separate service. A lesson could be useful, but customers should be able to decide whether they need it before paying more.

First, some people already know how to set up a phone or tablet. They may have done it several times before. Asking them to pay for an advice they don't need could seem unfair. Fifteen dollars isn't a huge amount, but it still matters to someone comparing prices.

Also, customers may want different kinds of help. One person might only need five minutes to change a setting. Another could have many questions and need longer than half an hour. Um, offering help separately makes it easier to discuss what each customer needs. I think it help the shop plan its time as well.

Finally, including a lesson might make customers feel they should stay even when they're in a hurry. They could just want to buy a device during their lunch break and leave.

Cody should clearly offer setup support to everyone, so customers know it's available. However, I'd keep the extra charge separate and let each buyer choose.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 teaching answer gives a clear position and several relevant reasons for keeping setup help separate. Compared with the level 9 answer, its explanations are simpler, its connections between examples and consequences are less developed, and occasional language errors reduce fluency.

One person might only need five minutes to change a setting. — Content/Coherence: This concrete example supports the argument that customers need different amounts of help. The level 9 answer develops its example further by explaining how specific setup activities could improve the customer's experience after leaving the shop.
Asking them to pay for an advice they don't need could seem unfair. — Vocabulary: The fairness argument is easy to understand, but “an advice” is incorrect because “advice” is uncountable. The higher-level answers use more accurate wording to explain the relationship between payment and the support customers need.
I think it help the shop plan its time as well. — Listenability: This short sentence is easy to follow, but “it help” should be “it helps.” The higher-level answers express staffing concerns in more controlled sentences, allowing listeners to follow the reasoning without this grammatical distraction.
However, I'd keep the extra charge separate and let each buyer choose. — Task Fulfillment: The conclusion directly answers Cody's question and consistently supports optional lessons. A higher-level response would strengthen this recommendation by examining the practical consequences of charging every buyer and explaining how optional support would operate.

Level 9 sample answer

235 words

I'd support including the setup lesson, because getting a device up and running is part of making the purchase useful. For an extra fifteen dollars, customers would know that practical help was available from the start.

One benefit is that it would remove the awkwardness of asking whether a question will cost extra. Someone buying their first tablet might hesitate to request help because they don't know how much support they'll need. An included lesson would give them a clear opportunity to ask questions about basic settings and everyday use.

It could also help prevent avoidable confusion later. For example, a customer could spend ten minutes connecting their email and another five learning to enlarge the text. That practical introduction could make the first week much smoother than taking the box home and trying to work everything out alone.

From Cody's perspective, standard lessons could give the shop a useful point of difference. Customers comparing similar devices might choose the store that offers personal guidance. The service would have to be organized carefully, though, so staff aren't trying to teach a lesson while other customers wait to pay.

I wouldn't require buyers to sit through all thirty minutes. They could decline or arrange the lesson for another time. Provided Cody explains the price clearly and makes booking convenient, I think including support would offer good value and help the shop build stronger relationships with customers.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 teaching answer develops a clear recommendation through practical examples, customer benefits, and a relevant staffing concern. It is more fluent and detailed than the level 7 answer, but its treatment of universal pricing and service costs is less probing than the level 11 answer.

a customer could spend ten minutes connecting their email and another five learning to enlarge the text. — Content/Coherence: These specific activities make the lesson's usefulness tangible, and the following explanation connects them to a smoother first week. The level 11 answer extends its examples into a deeper comparison of who pays, who benefits, and what the shop must provide.
standard lessons could give the shop a useful point of difference. — Vocabulary: “Point of difference” naturally expresses the shop's competitive advantage and broadens the discussion beyond customer convenience. The level 11 answer uses more precise analytical language to examine unequal value and the commitment created by each sale.
I wouldn't require buyers to sit through all thirty minutes. — Listenability: The contraction and direct wording create a conversational sentence that is easy to process. The level 11 answer combines similarly accessible phrasing with more explicit connections between contrasting customer situations.
Provided Cody explains the price clearly and makes booking convenient — Task Fulfillment: This condition makes the recommendation practical by addressing transparency and scheduling. However, allowing buyers to decline leaves the fairness of their compulsory payment unresolved. The level 11 answer addresses that payment issue directly and questions whether the charge covers staff time.

Level 11 sample answer

265 words

I'd keep the lesson optional and charge the customers who use it. Cody's proposal has a generous intention, but a compulsory price increase is a fairly blunt way to provide a service whose value varies considerably between buyers.

The clearest problem is the mismatch between payment and need. Imagine a customer buying three tablets for a small office after having set up the same type before. That purchase would cost an additional forty-five dollars, although the customer might decline every lesson. Meanwhile, a first-time buyer could benefit enormously from thirty minutes of guidance. Separate pricing would recognize that difference without making either customer defend their level of experience.

A standard lesson could also create an expectation that the shop must struggle to fulfil. If several devices were sold in an hour, each purchase would come with a substantial commitment of staff time. Unless appointments were carefully managed, customers could face long waits or lessons that felt rushed. Before adding the service to every sale, Cody would need to know whether fifteen dollars actually covered the time involved.

Finally, optional support could be tailored more precisely. A customer who needs help enlarging text has a different request from someone who wants a complete introduction. Explaining the available support at checkout would let buyers choose what suits them, instead of treating thirty minutes as the right amount for everyone.

I'd make the service highly visible, with clear prices and convenient appointments. That would preserve the personal assistance that could distinguish Cody's shop while keeping the device price fair for customers who simply want to buy and leave.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 teaching answer combines a clear position with detailed analysis of unequal customer needs, compulsory charges, and staffing capacity. Its precise language and connected examples support a practical alternative that preserves personal assistance while explaining why universal lessons could be difficult to justify.

That purchase would cost an additional forty-five dollars, although the customer might decline every lesson. — Content/Coherence: The office purchase example translates the universal price increase into a concrete consequence. It advances the fairness argument by showing how charges accumulate even when the buyer needs no lessons, developing the concern more fully than the level 7 answer.
a compulsory price increase is a fairly blunt way to provide a service whose value varies considerably between buyers. — Vocabulary: “Compulsory,” “blunt,” and “varies considerably” express distinct parts of the argument accurately and economically. The wording identifies both the inflexibility of the pricing policy and the uneven benefit customers would receive.
Meanwhile, a first-time buyer could benefit enormously from thirty minutes of guidance. — Listenability: “Meanwhile” clearly signals the move to a contrasting customer. The manageable sentence length helps listeners follow that comparison, while acknowledging the lesson's value makes the argument sound balanced and considered.
I'd make the service highly visible, with clear prices and convenient appointments. — Task Fulfillment: This recommendation turns the preferred approach into a workable shop policy. It preserves access to setup help, addresses awareness and booking, and completes an argument that has already examined customer fairness and the shop's staffing obligations.

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.

State your position and develop distinct reasons with concrete examples. Connect the argument and explain relevant trade-offs while keeping your position clear.

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