CELPIP® Writing Task 1 sample: Spring Water Outside Your Locker
Writing an Email · 27 minutes · 150–200 words · Published
Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.
Practice question
You rent a ground-floor storage locker in Barrie for $85 a month to keep equipment for your amateur music group. During the spring thaw, you saw water collecting in the corridor outside your locker, although your equipment is still dry. The manager offered an upstairs locker for $25 more per month, but the elevator is switched off at 6 p.m. on weekdays. Your group practises on Tuesday evenings, and work prevents you from collecting its heavy equipment before 7 p.m.
Write an email to the storage facility manager, Harjit Gill.
- Describe the water problem and your concern about the equipment.
- Explain why the proposed upstairs locker creates difficulties.
- Request an affordable solution that preserves evening access.
Model answers
Level 7 sample answer
165 words
Dear Ms. Gill,
I am writing about the water in the corridor outside my ground-floor locker. I noticed it during the spring thaw. The music equipment inside is still dry, but I am worried that water could enter if the problem continues. I would like to prevent any damage.
Thank you for offering an upstairs locker. However, the extra $25 each month would increase my current $85 payment. Also, our music group practises on Tuesday evenings. Because of work, I cannot collect the equipment before 7 p.m., but the elevator stops at 6 p.m. The equipment are heavy, so carrying everything downstairs would be difficult.
Could you offer a dry locker at my current price and arrange elevator access on Tuesday evenings? If that is not possible, please explain how you plan to keep water away from the ground-floor lockers. I would prefer to stay, but I need a solution that works with our practice schedule.
Thank you for looking to this problem.
Sincerely,
Lucien
Why this answer is at level 7
This level 7 answer covers the water risk, extra cost and evening access problem in a clear sequence. Basic development, a subject–verb agreement error and an incorrect closing expression make it less polished than the higher-level answers.
The music equipment inside is still dry, but I am worried that water could enter if the problem continues.
— Content/Coherence: Clearly distinguishes the current corridor problem from possible equipment damage. The following sentence repeats the prevention point; the higher-level answers use that space to develop the reasoning or proposed action.Thank you for looking to this problem.
— Vocabulary: The intended polite closing is understandable, but the expression is incorrect. A higher-level answer would use a natural phrase such as thanking the manager for addressing the problem or providing assistance.The equipment are heavy, so carrying everything downstairs would be difficult.
— Readability: The cause and consequence are easy to follow, but the uncountable noun equipment requires is. The higher-level answers express the same practical difficulty with accurate grammar and more controlled phrasing.Could you offer a dry locker at my current price and arrange elevator access on Tuesday evenings?
— Task Fulfillment: Directly requests both affordability and evening access. A higher-level answer would specify the locker location more clearly or distinguish temporary protection from a permanent arrangement.
Level 9 sample answer
173 words
Dear Ms. Gill,
I am concerned about water collecting outside my ground-floor storage locker during the spring thaw. Although our amateur music group's equipment remains dry, I would like the issue addressed before water reaches the locker itself. Waiting for damage would make the situation harder to resolve.
I appreciate your offer of an upstairs locker, but it presents two difficulties. First, the additional $25 would raise the monthly charge from $85 to $110. More significantly, the elevator closes at 6 p.m. on weekdays, whereas work prevents me from collecting the equipment before 7 p.m. Our Tuesday evening practices therefore require access after the elevator has been switched off. Moving heavy equipment down the stairs is not a practical workaround.
Could you provide an upstairs locker at the existing rate, together with Tuesday evening elevator access? Alternatively, I would welcome a ground-floor option protected from the water. Please explain which solution you can offer and when it could be arranged, so our group can plan accordingly.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Lucien
Why this answer is at level 9
This level 9 answer combines complete coverage with accurate grammar, precise cost details and clear explanation of the access conflict. Its solution is practical, but it develops the inspection and temporary protection arrangements less fully than the top answer.
Waiting for damage would make the situation harder to resolve.
— Content/Coherence: Supports the request for preventive action, although the consequence remains broad. The top answer builds on prevention with a concrete sequence: inspect the corridor, provide temporary protection and consider a permanent move.Moving heavy equipment down the stairs is not a practical workaround.
— Vocabulary: Practical workaround precisely names and rejects an unsuitable alternative. The top answer extends this point by connecting the difficulty to the purpose of renting accessible storage.the elevator closes at 6 p.m. on weekdays, whereas work prevents me from collecting the equipment before 7 p.m.
— Readability: The contrasting clause makes the timetable conflict immediately clear, with accurate grammar and specific times. The top answer integrates this conflict into a broader explanation of why the proposed move fails to meet the group's needs.Could you provide an upstairs locker at the existing rate, together with Tuesday evening elevator access?
— Task Fulfillment: Requests a specific arrangement that addresses both the added rent and Tuesday access. The top answer adds an inspection request and separates immediate storage needs from a possible permanent relocation.
Level 11 sample answer
186 words
Dear Ms. Gill,
The water collecting outside my ground-floor locker during the spring thaw needs attention before it reaches our music group's equipment. Everything is still dry, so there is an opportunity to prevent damage while the problem remains outside the locker.
Although your upstairs offer puts some distance between the equipment and the water, it comes with strings attached. The monthly rent would rise from $85 to $110, and the elevator shuts down an hour before I can collect anything. Since work prevents me from arriving before 7 p.m. for Tuesday practices, carrying the heavy equipment down the stairs would defeat the purpose of renting accessible storage.
Could you inspect the corridor and explain how the water will be kept away from the lockers? While that is being resolved, please offer temporary storage in a dry ground-floor location at my existing rate, with evening access. If a permanent move becomes necessary, I would welcome a comparable arrangement. That would address the immediate concern without leaving our group caught between protecting its equipment and being able to use it.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Lucien
Why this answer is at level 11
This level 11 answer develops the problem into a coherent plan for prevention, temporary storage and a possible permanent move. It connects cost, protection and access through controlled sentences and expressive language, although one idiom is slightly conversational for the formal setting.
Everything is still dry, so there is an opportunity to prevent damage while the problem remains outside the locker.
— Content/Coherence: Turns the equipment's current condition into a reason for immediate preventive action. This establishes the logic behind the later inspection and temporary storage requests without claiming that damage has already occurred.it comes with strings attached.
— Vocabulary: Compactly introduces the financial and access disadvantages of the upstairs offer. The idiom adds expression and prepares the reader for the explanation, although it is slightly conversational for a formal email.The monthly rent would rise from $85 to $110, and the elevator shuts down an hour before I can collect anything.
— Readability: Presents both disadvantages in a balanced, readable sentence. Expressing the elevator restriction relative to the collection time makes its practical impact easy to grasp; the next sentence supplies the exact arrival time and Tuesday context.While that is being resolved, please offer temporary storage in a dry ground-floor location at my existing rate, with evening access.
— Task Fulfillment: Specifies an immediate solution that protects the equipment, preserves affordability and avoids dependence on the elevator. Alongside the inspection request and later permanent arrangement, it gives the manager a concrete sequence of actions to consider.
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