CELPIP® Speaking Task 8 sample: A Rolling Pin With Extras

Describing an Unusual Situation · Preparation: 30 seconds · Response: 60 seconds · Published 23 October 2026

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

Practice question

You are at a kitchenware store in Saskatoon that is closing down. You spot a strange baking tool: $40 for one, or two for $50, and everything is final sale. Your cousin Sunita loves baking but just moved into a tiny first apartment with almost no counter space. Call her, tell her precisely what the tool looks like using your own words, and ask whether she wants to split the two-item deal with you.

A wooden rolling pin about as long as a forearm. Its middle section is a clear glass cylinder, hollow inside, with a round silver screw cap at one end so it can be filled with water. At each end is a short red-painted wooden handle shaped like a spool of thread. Sticking out from the left handle on a short silver rod is a small round metal wheel with a zigzag edge, like a pizza cutter. Hanging from the right handle on a silver ring is a set of five flat yellow silicone rings of different sizes, stacked like bracelets. Plain white background. No text, labels or logos.

Model answers

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

Level 7 sample answer

143 words

Hi Sunita, it's me. Are you busy? I'm at the kitchen store downtown, the one that's closing, and I found a funny baking thing. It's a rolling pin, about as long as my arm from elbow to hand. The middle part is clear glass and empty inside, and there is a silver cap on one end so you can put water in it. Maybe cold water for pastry? The handles are red and made of wood. On one handle there's a small metal wheel with zigzag edge, like a pizza cutter. On the other handle, five yellow rings is hanging, um, different sizes, maybe for cutting cookies. It's $40 for one, but two is $50, so if we share, we each pay only $25. But it's final sale, and your kitchen is very small. Do you want to split it with me? Bye!

Why this answer is at level 7

This answer gives Sunita a recognizable picture of the tool, explains the shared cost, and asks about buying together. Compared with the higher-level answers, its descriptions are less precise, and a grammar slip and hesitation make the wording less smooth.

The middle part is clear glass and empty inside — Content/Coherence: Describing the main body before its attachments gives Sunita a useful starting point. The higher-level answers make the construction easier to picture by identifying a hollow tube or cylinder and describing how the cap closes.
a small metal wheel with zigzag edge, like a pizza cutter — Vocabulary: The pizza-cutter comparison helps explain an unfamiliar attachment using an everyday object. The higher-level answers add more exact wording about its position or mounting, helping Sunita picture how it connects to the handle.
five yellow rings is hanging, um, different sizes, maybe for cutting cookies. — Listenability: The agreement error in 'rings is' and the hesitation interrupt the description. The higher-level answers connect the rings, their sizes, and their possible purpose in more controlled sentences.
But it's final sale, and your kitchen is very small. — Task Fulfillment: This flags both the purchase restriction and Sunita's limited space, alongside the earlier shared-cost calculation. The higher-level answers personalize the concern by referring specifically to her counter space instead of the kitchen's overall size.

Level 9 sample answer

174 words

Hey Sunita! Quick question, since I know you're the baker in the family. I'm at that kitchenware shop on the east side that's closing down, and I've found the oddest gadget. It's a rolling pin, roughly the length of your forearm, but the middle section is a clear glass tube that's hollow, with a silver screw cap on one end. I think you fill it with cold water so the dough doesn't get sticky. Both handles are red wooden knobs shaped like spools of thread. Out of the left one sticks a metal wheel with a zigzag edge, just like a pizza cutter, and hanging off the right one is a silver ring holding five flat yellow silicone rings in different sizes, stacked like bracelets. My guess is they're for cutting out circles of dough. Here's the catch: it's forty bucks for one, but two are fifty, and it's all final sale. I know your counter space is pretty tight, so be honest. Would you want to go halves on it? Call me back!

Why this answer is at level 9

This answer builds a detailed picture through precise materials, shapes, positions, and familiar comparisons, while keeping a conversational tone. Compared with the top answer, the buying proposal is less fully developed because Sunita must calculate her share, and the closing gives less immediate direction.

a silver ring holding five flat yellow silicone rings in different sizes, stacked like bracelets. — Content/Coherence: The description distinguishes the silver holder from the yellow attachments and explains their arrangement. The top answer integrates both handle attachments into a more explicitly parallel structure, making their relationship easier to follow.
Both handles are red wooden knobs shaped like spools of thread. — Vocabulary: Material, colour, and shape are conveyed precisely, and the thread-spool comparison supplies a familiar visual reference. The top answer compresses this image into 'red wooden spools,' leaving more room to connect the handles to their attachments.
Here's the catch: it's forty bucks for one, but two are fifty, and it's all final sale. — Listenability: The conversational transition clearly signals a shift from description to purchase conditions. The top answer separates the price calculation from the final-sale warning, giving each point more space and making Sunita's individual cost explicit.
I know your counter space is pretty tight, so be honest. — Task Fulfillment: This directly acknowledges the constraint that matters to Sunita and invites an honest decision. The top answer strengthens the proposal by stating the individual cost and asking for a response before reaching the till.

Level 11 sample answer

188 words

Hi Sunita, it's me. I'm standing in the clearance aisle of that kitchenware store near the river, the one that's closing for good, and I've stumbled on something you'd appreciate far more than I would. Picture a wooden rolling pin about the length of your forearm, except the whole middle section is a hollow glass cylinder, clear as a window, with a silver screw cap at one end. I suspect you'd fill it with ice water to keep pastry from going soft. The handles are red wooden spools, and each one carries an extra tool: on the left, a small zigzag-edged wheel on a silver rod, much like a pizza cutter, and on the right, a silver ring holding five flat yellow silicone rings, graded in size and stacked like bracelets. They're presumably for cutting rounds of dough. Now, one costs forty dollars, but two go for fifty, which works out to twenty-five each. The catch is that it's final sale, and I know every centimetre of your counter is already spoken for. Would you want to split the deal? Let me know before I reach the till.

Why this answer is at level 11

This answer combines a precise visual description with controlled sentence structure and a well-developed buying proposal. Its comparisons, explicit shared cost, attention to Sunita's counter space, and practical closing make the call cohesive and persuasive.

The handles are red wooden spools, and each one carries an extra tool — Content/Coherence: This introduces the shared structure before describing the attachments on the left and right. Sunita gets a clear framework for placing each unfamiliar part, which helps her assemble a mental picture.
a hollow glass cylinder, clear as a window, with a silver screw cap at one end. — Vocabulary: The wording specifies shape, material, transparency, and the cap's mechanism and position. The everyday window comparison supports the precise description without requiring Sunita to know specialist baking terminology.
Now, one costs forty dollars, but two go for fifty, which works out to twenty-five each. — Listenability: The transition signals the move to the buying decision, and the sentence presents the prices before calculating the individual share. That order reduces the amount Sunita needs to work out while listening.
Let me know before I reach the till. — Task Fulfillment: After asking to split the deal and acknowledging final sale and limited counter space, this closing gives Sunita a clear response window. It fits the situation of calling while still shopping.

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.

Help the listener picture the unusual object through its shape, material, size and arrangement. Use comparisons and spatial language, then complete the requested interaction.

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.

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