CELPIP® Writing Task 1 sample: Rain and the Sketching Trip
Writing an Email · 27 minutes · 150–200 words · Published
Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.
Practice question
You are a parent volunteer for a Grade 6 autumn sketching trip in Burnaby next Thursday, when heavy rain is forecast. The school has paid $180 for a bus to an outdoor learning area, and the booking can be moved free of charge if the teacher confirms by noon tomorrow. Your child's teacher has suggested an indoor art studio instead, but its extra fee of $8 per student would be difficult for several families. You could volunteer the following Thursday, although another volunteer would be unavailable.
Write an email to your child's teacher, Wen Zhang.
- Compare the two trip options and explain your concerns.
- Discuss the effects on families and volunteer arrangements.
- Recommend a plan and request a decision before the deadline.
Model answers
Level 7 sample answer
170 words
Hello Wen,
I am writing about the Grade 6 sketching trip next Thursday. With heavy rain forecast, drawing at the outdoor learning area could be difficult. The indoor art studio would avoid the rain and let the class keep the same date, but it would cost more.
Several families would find the extra $8 per student difficult to pay. I do not think they should have to choose between that payment and their child's participation. Moving the trip also has a problem because one volunteer cannot come the following Thursday. I am available then, but we would still need enough adults for the class.
I suggest moving the bus booking to the following Thursday and asking for another volunteer. The booking can be changed free if you confirm by noon tomorrow, so the school would keep the value of its $180 payment. Could you make decision before that deadline and let us know what help you need? I can help contacting other parents.
Thank you for considering this.
Best,
Greta
Why this answer is at level 7
This level 7 answer covers the main concerns and gives a clear recommendation in an appropriate tone. Compared with the stronger answers, its reasoning is simpler, its volunteer plan is less secure, and some grammatical errors interrupt otherwise clear writing.
I suggest moving the bus booking to the following Thursday and asking for another volunteer.
— Content/Coherence: The recommendation follows logically from the rain and cost concerns. However, it does not make postponement depend on finding enough volunteers; the higher-level answer establishes that condition before moving the booking.but it would cost more.
— Vocabulary: This is clear but broad wording for the studio's disadvantage. The stronger answers connect the additional fee more precisely to affordability and whether every child can participate.Could you make decision before that deadline and let us know what help you need?
— Readability: The request is easy to understand, but 'make decision' needs an article. The higher-level answers use more consistently controlled grammar while combining the decision request with practical arrangements.The booking can be changed free if you confirm by noon tomorrow
— Task Fulfillment: This accurately identifies the deadline and the opportunity to avoid a change fee. A stronger response also sets an earlier volunteer response deadline so the teacher can make an informed decision before noon.
Level 9 sample answer
174 words
Hello Wen,
The heavy rain forecast for next Thursday makes me concerned about the outdoor sketching trip. Although the art studio would provide a dry alternative on the original date, its additional fee creates a difficulty that postponing the outdoor visit could avoid.
An extra $8 per student would be hard for several families to manage. I would prefer an arrangement that allows everyone to participate without an unexpected payment. However, moving the trip to the following Thursday would mean losing one volunteer. I can still attend, but we would need to confirm that the class has enough adult support before finalizing the change. Otherwise, postponement would simply exchange one problem for another.
Could we provisionally move the bus booking while you seek a replacement volunteer? Since the school has already paid $180, using the free date change seems worth pursuing. Please confirm the decision before noon tomorrow, when that option expires. I can help contact parents about volunteering so we can keep the plans on track.
Thanks for coordinating the arrangements.
Best,
Greta
Why this answer is at level 9
This level 9 answer develops the trade-offs more fully and uses smoother connections and more controlled language than the level 7 answer. Its main limitation is the proposal to move the booking provisionally without explaining whether that is possible or what happens if no replacement volunteer is found.
Otherwise, postponement would simply exchange one problem for another.
— Content/Coherence: This draws a clear conclusion from the supervision concern and shows why postponement needs planning. The top answer carries that reasoning into a specific condition and an alternative if volunteer recruitment fails.an arrangement that allows everyone to participate without an unexpected payment.
— Vocabulary: This expresses the family concern more precisely than simply saying the studio costs more. The top answer makes the same concern more direct by describing cost as something that could determine who joins the class.Although the art studio would provide a dry alternative on the original date,
— Readability: The concessive opening smoothly acknowledges the studio's advantage before introducing its drawback. Compared with the level 7 answer, the sentence structure connects the comparison more efficiently; the top answer sustains that clarity through a more detailed action plan.Could we provisionally move the bus booking while you seek a replacement volunteer?
— Task Fulfillment: This gives the teacher a practical request, but a provisional transfer is not established as an available option. The top answer requests volunteer confirmation first and supplies a fallback if nobody is available.
Level 11 sample answer
185 words
Hello Wen,
With heavy rain forecast for next Thursday, I'm concerned that an outdoor sketching trip could turn into an exercise in keeping paper dry. The studio would solve that problem and keep the date, but the extra $8 per student makes it a difficult substitute.
Several families would struggle with that charge, and I wouldn't want cost to determine who joins the class. Postponing would avoid the studio fee but leave a gap in supervision: although I can attend the following Thursday, another volunteer cannot. We shouldn't move the bus until that gap has been filled.
Could you send a request for a replacement volunteer and set tomorrow morning as the response deadline? If someone confirms, please transfer the $180 bus booking before noon, while the change is free. If nobody is available, could the class have an indoor sketching session at school while you consider another trip date? Please let families know the decision before the booking deadline, including whether the trip is proceeding or being postponed. That would keep everyone on the same page.
Thanks for working through the options.
Best,
Greta
Why this answer is at level 11
This level 11 answer combines clear comparisons with a workable sequence: seek a volunteer, confirm supervision, then transfer the booking before the deadline. Precise, natural language and an at-school fallback make the recommendation more complete than the other answers.
We shouldn't move the bus until that gap has been filled.
— Content/Coherence: This turns the supervision concern into a clear condition for postponement. It resolves the tension left in the other answers between preserving the bus payment and ensuring enough adults can attend.an outdoor sketching trip could turn into an exercise in keeping paper dry.
— Vocabulary: The wording makes the effect of heavy rain concrete and specific to sketching. Its light humour remains suitable for a parent writing to a teacher and communicates more vividly than a general statement about difficulty.If someone confirms, please transfer the $180 bus booking before noon, while the change is free.
— Readability: The conditional structure clearly links volunteer confirmation, the teacher's action, and the deadline. Despite including several practical details, the sentence is easy to follow and leaves the order of actions explicit.If nobody is available, could the class have an indoor sketching session at school while you consider another trip date?
— Task Fulfillment: This supplies a fallback for the unresolved volunteer problem while preserving the sketching activity and avoiding the studio charge. Framing it as a request appropriately leaves the teacher to decide whether the alternative is feasible.
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