CELPIP® Writing Task 1 sample: Cheap Tables Arriving Too Late
Writing an Email · 27 minutes · 150–200 words · Published
Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.
Practice question
You handle purchases for a volunteer board game group in Airdrie, and you have a $600 budget before tax for six folding tables. An online store charges $90 per table with free delivery in three weeks, while a local hardware store charges $110 per table with immediate pickup. Your group needs all six tables for an open house next Saturday. Your coordinator, Nisha, favours the online offer and has asked you to place the order today.
Write an email to your volunteer group coordinator, Nisha.
- Compare the two offers, including their total costs and availability.
- Explain how the purchasing decision could affect the open house and the group's budget.
- Recommend a practical approach and ask Nisha to authorize your next step.
Model answers
Level 7 sample answer
178 words
Hi Nisha,
Before I order the folding tables today, I want to check the two choices with you. Six tables from the online store would cost $540 before tax, with free delivery in three weeks. At the local hardware store, six tables costs $660 before tax, but we could pick them up immediately.
The online offer would save money and stay within our $600 budget. However, those tables would arrive after our open house next Saturday. We need all six for the event, so ordering online would mean finding other tables to use that day. The local choice would solve the timing problem, but it is $60 over our budget.
Could I contact the local store and ask for a discount on six tables? If they agree to $600 before tax, we could meet both needs. If they refuse, we should discuss about borrowing tables for the open house before placing the online order. I would not want to order without a plan for Saturday.
Please let me know if I can make that call today.
Thanks,
Fatima
Why this answer is at level 7
This level 7 answer clearly compares the offers and proposes a practical solution. Compared with the higher-level answers, grammatical slips and less precise wording weaken its polish, while authorization for the fallback remains less explicit.
However, those tables would arrive after our open house next Saturday.
— Content/Coherence: This clearly connects the delivery delay to the event deadline. The higher-level answers develop the consequence further by explaining why committing funds before securing temporary tables creates a problem.we should discuss about borrowing tables for the open house before placing the online order.
— Vocabulary: The borrowing proposal is relevant, but 'discuss about' is an awkward expression. A higher-level answer would use 'discuss borrowing' and distinguish discussing a possibility from confirming an arrangement.At the local hardware store, six tables costs $660 before tax, but we could pick them up immediately.
— Readability: The price and availability are easy to understand, but 'six tables costs' contains a subject–verb agreement error. The higher-level answers maintain this clarity with more consistent grammatical control.Please let me know if I can make that call today.
— Task Fulfillment: This requests authorization for a specific next step: contacting the hardware store. The higher-level answers also ask Nisha to decide whether additional spending is acceptable if negotiation fails.
Level 9 sample answer
178 words
Hi Nisha,
I checked the table offers before placing today's order. The online purchase would total $540 before tax, including delivery, but the three-week delivery time misses our open house next Saturday. Buying locally would cost $660 before tax, with immediate pickup. That puts the local option $60 above our approved budget.
Although the online price leaves us $60 under budget, it does not address our immediate need for six tables. Unless we arrange temporary replacements, we would be committing our funds without securing the equipment for the event. The local offer provides certainty about availability, but I do not want to exceed the spending limit without your approval.
I recommend asking the hardware store whether it can reduce the total to $600 before tax for a six-table purchase. Could you authorize me to negotiate today? If the price remains $660, please let me know whether an additional $60 could be approved. Otherwise, we should confirm a borrowing arrangement for Saturday before choosing the online deal.
Please reply today so I can act on your decision.
Thanks,
Fatima
Why this answer is at level 9
This level 9 answer combines accurate comparisons with clear reasoning about spending and event readiness. It improves on the level 7 answer through controlled language and explicit authorization requests; the level 11 answer makes the negotiation target and fallback decision more tightly connected.
Although the online price leaves us $60 under budget, it does not address our immediate need for six tables.
— Content/Coherence: This weighs the saving against the actual event requirement, developing the comparison beyond price. The top answer draws the broader conclusion explicitly: neither existing offer satisfies both constraints.we would be committing our funds without securing the equipment for the event.
— Vocabulary: The precise verbs 'committing' and 'securing' explain the purchasing risk in an appropriate semi-formal register. The top answer extends this precision by identifying the temporary arrangement as unconfirmed.If the price remains $660, please let me know whether an additional $60 could be approved.
— Readability: The conditional structure makes the unsuccessful-negotiation scenario easy to follow. The top answer brings the fallback choices together and closes with a direct request to select an acceptable course.Could you authorize me to negotiate today?
— Task Fulfillment: This directly requests permission to act and establishes urgency. The surrounding recommendation supplies the $600 target; the top answer additionally explains the required per-table reduction and explicitly requests fallback authorization.
Level 11 sample answer
186 words
Hi Nisha,
Before committing to the online offer today, I would like your approval for an alternative approach. Six tables online would cost $540 before tax, with delivery included, compared with $660 for immediate pickup locally. However, the three-week delivery schedule means the online tables would arrive after next Saturday's open house.
The apparent saving therefore comes with a gap we would still need to fill: six tables for the event itself. Conversely, purchasing locally would secure the equipment in time but exceed our $600 budget by $60. Neither offer meets both requirements as it stands, and placing the online order now would leave us dependent on a temporary arrangement that has not been confirmed.
May I first ask the hardware store to match our $600 budget before tax? A reduction of $10 per table would make immediate pickup feasible within the approved amount. If the store declines, I recommend either authorizing the additional $60 or confirming borrowed tables before ordering online. Please indicate which fallback you would approve so I can proceed today without prematurely committing the group's funds.
Thanks for your guidance.
Best,
Fatima
Why this answer is at level 11
This level 11 answer integrates cost, timing, budget authority, and event readiness into a coherent decision. Precise language, controlled sentence structures, and a quantified negotiation proposal make its recommendation especially clear and actionable.
Neither offer meets both requirements as it stands,
— Content/Coherence: This synthesizes the comparison into the central decision problem: the online offer meets the budget, while the local offer meets the deadline. That conclusion gives the proposed negotiation a clear purpose.A reduction of $10 per table would make immediate pickup feasible within the approved amount.
— Vocabulary: The wording precisely links the required discount to an achievable purchasing outcome. 'Feasible' and 'approved amount' suit the coordinator relationship while keeping the financial reasoning understandable.Conversely, purchasing locally would secure the equipment in time but exceed our $600 budget by $60.
— Readability: The sentence balances the local offer's benefit and drawback in a controlled structure. 'Conversely' clearly signals the shift from the online offer, making the comparison easy to follow.Please indicate which fallback you would approve so I can proceed today without prematurely committing the group's funds.
— Task Fulfillment: This asks Nisha to authorize a fallback after the alternatives have been explained. It connects her decision to action today and preserves her authority over spending the group's funds.
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.
Cover each email bullet with relevant detail, explain its effect on the reader and make a workable request. Keep a consistent register, with an opening, connected paragraphs and an appropriate closing.
- 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.
- Readability: Look for increasingly controlled grammar, sentence variety, punctuation and paragraphing. Complexity helps when it keeps the message easy to read.
- 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