CELPIP® Writing Task 2 sample: Community Centre Events Survey

Level 7 sample answer

181 words

I think the centre should keep the Frost Fair as one big festival in February.

First, the Frost Fair is a tradition in our neighbourhood. My family goes every year since we moved here, and my kids talk about the fireworks for weeks after. If the centre change it to small events, I think it will not feel special anymore. People will maybe skip a plant swap, but they don't want to miss a big festival.

Also, February is a hard month in London. It is cold and dark, and many people stay inside all the time. A big event gives everyone a reason to go out and meet their neighbours. In summer there are already many things to do, so we don't need more events then.

I know the lineups are long and the weather can be bad. But the centre can fix this with more food trucks and a heated tent. They can pay for this by spending less on fireworks.

So my choice is Option A. One big festival brings the community together better than four small ones.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 example gives a clear preference and relevant reasons about tradition and winter social contact. Compared with the higher-level answers, its explanations are more general, its vocabulary is repetitive, and grammatical errors sometimes interrupt otherwise clear writing.

• People will maybe skip a plant swap, but they don't want to miss a big festival. — Content/Coherence: The comparison supports keeping the Frost Fair, but it assumes residents prefer a festival without developing why. A higher-level answer would explain which shared experiences make the fair especially valuable to this community.
• My family goes every year since we moved here — Readability: The family example is easy to understand, but the verb tense does not fit an activity continuing since the move. The higher-level answers control grammar more consistently while presenting personal examples.
• One big festival brings the community together better than four small ones. — Vocabulary: The conclusion communicates the choice clearly, but repeats the basic contrast between big and small. Higher-level writing uses more precise language to explain the difference between a festival's atmosphere and the connections built through regular gatherings.
• They can pay for this by spending less on fireworks. — Task Fulfillment: This directly addresses the fixed budget by suggesting a trade-off. However, adding food trucks and a heated tent shifts toward changing the festival, while the choice asks about keeping it as it is. A stronger response would defend the stated option more directly.

Level 9 sample answer

190 words

I would vote for Option B, dividing the budget among four smaller events held in different seasons.

My main reason is that the centre should not put all its eggs in one basket. Two winters ago, freezing rain hit on the morning of the Frost Fair, the fireworks were cancelled, and half the vendors packed up by noon. With four events, a single bad forecast would not wipe out the centre's entire investment.

Smaller gatherings would also reach residents who rarely come out in February. My neighbour Layla uses a walker and avoids icy sidewalks, so she has never attended the fair. However, she would happily bring her seedlings to a spring plant swap or help serve pie at a fall harvest supper. Events like these give quieter people a chance to get involved rather than just stand in a crowd.

Admittedly, the Frost Fair has a special atmosphere, and some families will miss the fireworks. Still, four well-planned events would keep the community centre busy all year and build connections that last longer than one afternoon. For these reasons, I believe Option B is the smarter use of $24,000.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 example develops a clear argument through specific examples of weather disruption and accessibility, with controlled language and a balanced concession. Compared with level 11, it explains financial consequences and the practical demands of community participation less fully.

• the fireworks were cancelled, and half the vendors packed up by noon. — Content/Coherence: These concrete consequences make the weather argument more persuasive than the level 7 answer's general acknowledgement of bad weather. The level 11 answer develops the financial mechanism further by identifying expenses already paid before attendance falls.
• Events like these give quieter people a chance to get involved rather than just stand in a crowd. — Vocabulary: The contrast clearly distinguishes active participation from attendance. However, quieter people is a broad description after an example focused on mobility; the level 11 answer describes manageable volunteer roles more precisely.
• Admittedly, the Frost Fair has a special atmosphere, and some families will miss the fireworks. — Readability: The concession introduces the opposing view smoothly, and the sentence is grammatically controlled. The level 11 answer integrates concessions with more varied sentence structures and a sharper comparison between festival excitement and sustained community contact.
• four well-planned events would keep the community centre busy all year — Task Fulfillment: This directly supports the proposed seasonal schedule and connects it to ongoing community activity. A stronger answer would explain more concretely how smaller events remain practical within the fixed budget, as the level 11 example does through staffing demands.

Level 11 sample answer

197 words

Although I have fond memories of the Frost Fair, I would choose Option B and spread the $24,000 across four seasonal events.

The festival's greatest strength is also its weakness: everything depends on a single day in February. When the temperature dropped to minus 20°C a few years ago, the crowd thinned to a few hundred, yet the centre had already paid for the stage, the rink lighting and the fireworks. Had that money been divided among several events, one disappointing afternoon would have been a minor setback rather than the loss of an entire year's programming.

Smaller events would also suit the way people actually volunteer. Garrett, who coordinates our street's snow-shovelling schedule, told me he gave up helping at the fair because the setup required forty people working twelve-hour shifts. A plant swap or harvest supper, by contrast, could be run by a dozen residents, which means newcomers could take on manageable roles and gradually build ties with their neighbours.

I realize that a festival of 3,000 people has a buzz no potluck can match. Nevertheless, a community is sustained by regular contact, not one spectacular day, which is why Option B gets my vote.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 example combines a clear choice with detailed explanations of financial exposure and volunteer workload. Its precise vocabulary, flexible sentence structures, and acknowledgement of the festival's appeal support a persuasive argument focused on sustained community participation.

• I would choose Option B and spread the $24,000 across four seasonal events. — Task Fulfillment: The opening states the preferred option and explicitly connects it to distributing the existing budget. The following paragraphs sustain that focus by explaining how seasonal events could reduce dependence on a single date and make volunteering more manageable.
• Had that money been divided among several events — Readability: This controlled conditional structure connects the disappointing festival example to the alternative spending plan. It expresses a hypothetical consequence efficiently and adds grammatical variety without making the argument difficult to follow.
• newcomers could take on manageable roles and gradually build ties with their neighbours. — Vocabulary: Manageable roles and gradually build ties describe both the practical benefit and its social consequence precisely. This develops the broader idea of getting involved into a clear explanation of how smaller events could strengthen participation.
• I realize that a festival of 3,000 people has a buzz no potluck can match. — Content/Coherence: This concession recognizes the strongest attraction of keeping the Frost Fair: its scale and shared excitement. The concluding argument then weighs that attraction against regular contact, giving the choice a clear community-focused basis.