CELPIP® Writing Task 1 sample: Extra Shifts During Harvest Season
Writing an Email · 27 minutes · 150–200 words · Published
Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.
Practice question
You work full-time at Copperhill Fruit Packers in Penticton, and your manager, Hiroshi Tanaka, has asked every employee to work six days a week from late August until mid-October because of a large harvest. You want to help with the extra work, but you take a college course every Saturday morning that ends in December and costs $780. Hiroshi wants each person's answer by Friday so he can build the new schedule.
Write an email to your manager, Hiroshi Tanaka.
- Explain why working every Saturday would be difficult for you
- Describe what extra hours or days you could realistically offer
- Suggest a fair way to share the weekend shifts among staff
Model answers
Level 7 sample answer
176 words
Hello Hiroshi,
I am writing about the six-day schedule for the harvest season. I understand we have a lot of fruit this year and I want to help the team.
The problem is my Saturday mornings. I am taking a college course every Saturday until December, and I already paid $780 for it. If I miss to many classes, I can fail the course and lose my money. So working every Saturday is very hard for me.
But I can still do extra work. I can stay two more hours after my shift on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I am also free on Sundays. I can work Saturday afternoons too, because my class ends at noon.
I have one suggestion. Maybe we can make a rotation for Saturdays, so each person work two Saturdays a month, and I can always take the afternoon shift. This way it is more fair for everyone, and people with family or classes can still have some free time.
Please let me know if this is okay.
Thank you,
Yasmin
Why this answer is at level 7
This reads as a level 7 teaching example because it clearly explains the conflict and offers useful alternatives in a cooperative tone. Basic vocabulary, grammatical errors, and a loosely explained rotation keep it below the more polished answers.
I can stay two more hours after my shift on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I am also free on Sundays.
— Content/Coherence: The specific days and hours give Hiroshi useful scheduling information. The higher-level answers connect these alternatives more smoothly to the Saturday restriction and the wider team's needs.So working every Saturday is very hard for me.
— Vocabulary: The meaning is clear, but 'very hard' is broad and repeats the difficulty already explained. The higher-level answers identify the exact restriction more precisely: committing to Saturday mornings.If I miss to many classes, I can fail the course and lose my money.
— Readability: The consequence is understandable, but 'to many' should be 'too many,' and 'could fail' would express the possible outcome more naturally. The higher-level answers explain the attendance consequence with better grammatical control.Maybe we can make a rotation for Saturdays, so each person work two Saturdays a month, and I can always take the afternoon shift.
— Task Fulfillment: This addresses fair sharing and protects the writer's class time, although morning coverage remains unclear. A stronger response would explain the rotation more fully and acknowledge Hiroshi's Friday deadline, as the higher-level answers do.
Level 9 sample answer
193 words
Dear Hiroshi,
Thanks for giving us advance notice about the harvest schedule. I know how much fruit is coming in this year, and I'd like to do my part, but there's one conflict I should mention before you finalize the plan.
I'm enrolled in a payroll course at the college that meets every Saturday from 8:30 until noon. It runs until December, I've already paid $780, and missing more than two classes means I wouldn't receive the certificate. For that reason, committing to every Saturday morning isn't something I can manage.
That said, I'm happy to help out elsewhere. I could start at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, work every Sunday through mid-October, and stay an extra hour and a half on weekday evenings when the line is behind.
As for the team as a whole, a rotating schedule might work better than asking everyone for six full days. If staff were split into two groups that alternate weekends, nobody would burn out, and anyone with classes or childcare could still plan ahead. On my group's weekends, I'd cover Saturday afternoons only.
I'd be glad to talk it over before Friday.
Best regards,
Yasmin
Why this answer is at level 9
This reads as a level 9 teaching example because its reasoning flows clearly, its language sounds natural, and its availability is practical and specific. The fairness argument is less developed than in the top answer, and the Sunday offer needs clearer alignment with alternating weekends.
For that reason, committing to every Saturday morning isn't something I can manage.
— Content/Coherence: This explicitly connects the attendance requirement and tuition investment to the scheduling restriction. It is more focused than the earlier answer's general difficulty, while the top answer develops the wider operational reasoning further.stay an extra hour and a half on weekday evenings when the line is behind.
— Vocabulary: The language is natural and specific to packing work, making the offer sound credible. The top answer extends this workplace vocabulary through terms such as 'roster' and 'conveyors' and connects scheduling to mistakes.If staff were split into two groups that alternate weekends, nobody would burn out, and anyone with classes or childcare could still plan ahead.
— Readability: The conditional and linked clauses remain easy to follow, showing stronger sentence control than the earlier answer. The top answer adds further structural variety through an inverted conditional and describes a more specific workplace consequence.On my group's weekends, I'd cover Saturday afternoons only.
— Task Fulfillment: This applies the proposed rotation directly to the writer's restriction. However, the earlier offer to work every Sunday needs clarification alongside alternating weekends; a stronger response would state whether Sunday work is an exception to the rotation.
Level 11 sample answer
197 words
Dear Hiroshi,
Thank you for flagging the harvest schedule so early. With the orchards reporting their biggest crop in years, I fully understand why we need every pair of hands, and I'd like to be as flexible as I can. There is, however, one commitment I need to raise before you lock in the roster.
Every Saturday from 8:30 to noon, I attend a payroll administration course at the college, which runs until mid-December. Having already paid $780 in tuition, and knowing that more than two absences would cost me the certificate, I can't give up those mornings.
What I can offer is a good deal of time elsewhere: Saturday afternoons from 1 p.m., every Sunday until the season wraps up, and up to two extra hours on any weekday the packing line falls behind.
More broadly, would you consider a rotating weekend roster rather than a six-day week for everyone? Were the crew divided into two teams alternating weekends, the line would stay staffed every weekend while people avoided the kind of exhaustion that leads to mistakes on the conveyors.
I'd gladly sketch a draft before Friday, slotting myself into Saturday afternoons only.
Kind regards,
Yasmin
Why this answer is at level 11
This reads as a level 11 teaching example because precise workplace vocabulary, varied sentence structures, and a constructive offer to draft the roster support a persuasive request. It connects fair scheduling to staffing and accuracy, although Sunday availability could align more clearly with alternating weekends.
the line would stay staffed every weekend while people avoided the kind of exhaustion that leads to mistakes on the conveyors.
— Content/Coherence: The proposal links staff recovery to an operational concern Hiroshi would recognize: packing-line mistakes. This develops the fairness argument beyond free time or a general claim about burnout, though actual coverage would still depend on staffing.one commitment I need to raise before you lock in the roster.
— Vocabulary: The phrasing is precise and natural for a workplace email. 'Raise' introduces the concern tactfully, while 'lock in the roster' directly connects the request to Hiroshi's scheduling decision.Having already paid $780 in tuition, and knowing that more than two absences would cost me the certificate, I can't give up those mornings.
— Readability: The opening phrases combine financial and attendance consequences before delivering a clear boundary. Despite the sentence's complexity, the reasons remain easy to follow and the reference to Saturday mornings stays clear.I'd gladly sketch a draft before Friday, slotting myself into Saturday afternoons only.
— Task Fulfillment: The closing acknowledges Hiroshi's deadline and offers concrete help implementing the proposal. It reinforces the Saturday restriction while maintaining a cooperative, suitably semi-formal tone.
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