CELPIP® Writing Task 2 sample: Shared Walkway Snow Clearing Survey

Responding to Survey Questions · 26 minutes · 150–200 words · Published 23 October 2026

Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.

Practice question

Xin manages Keldren Housing Co-operative in Saskatoon, which has a 300-metre shared walkway connecting residents' entrances to the parking area. Residents currently take turns clearing it, but their changing schedules have made the arrangement unreliable. The annual budget can purchase either professional clearance by 7 a.m. on weekdays, with residents handling weekends, or clearance after every snowfall within eight hours, including weekends. The contractor cannot provide both early weekday service and weekend coverage at this price.

Which snow-clearing contract would better meet the needs of neighbours using the shared walkway?

Option A: Guarantee professional clearance by 7 a.m. on weekdays; residents would continue clearing snow on weekends.
Option B: Clear after every snowfall within eight hours, including weekends, without guaranteeing early-morning access.

Model answers

Level 7 sample answer

166 words

I prefer Option A because knowing the walkway will be cleared before work would help residents plan their mornings. A regular service during the week would remove much of the work that neighbours currently share.

Many people have less time in weekday mornings. I usually prepare my things quickly before leaving, and I would not want to add snow clearing to that routine. If snow make the walkway difficult to use, even a short trip to the parking area can take longer. A 7 a.m. guarantee would be useful.

Also, residents would only need to organise the weekend work. We could take turns as we do now, but there would be fewer days to cover. For example, neighbours who are free on Saturday could help while others take Sunday.

Option B offers weekend service, which is a real advantage. However, waiting up to eight hours could mean leaving home before the contractor arrives. I think dependable weekday mornings matter more, so I would choose Option A.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 model states a clear preference, gives relevant reasons and acknowledges the competing option. Its development remains straightforward, especially when discussing weekend reliability, and a grammatical error makes it less polished than the higher-level models.

For example, neighbours who are free on Saturday could help while others take Sunday. — Content/Coherence: The example makes weekend sharing easy to picture, but it does not explain how changing schedules would be managed. The higher-level models examine why weekend assignments could remain unreliable.
A regular service during the week would remove much of the work that neighbours currently share. — Vocabulary: The wording communicates the benefit clearly, although “work” is broad. The higher-level models use more precise language to distinguish physical snow clearing from organising assignments and finding replacements.
If snow make the walkway difficult to use, even a short trip to the parking area can take longer. — Readability: The meaning is understandable, but “snow make” contains a subject–verb agreement error. The higher-level models maintain grammatical control while explaining more complex relationships between schedules, access and responsibility.
However, waiting up to eight hours could mean leaving home before the contractor arrives. — Task Fulfillment: This directly identifies a relevant disadvantage of Option B and supports the weekday preference. A stronger response would weigh that disadvantage more fully against the continuing unreliability of resident-managed weekend clearing.

Level 9 sample answer

180 words

I support Option B because professional snow clearing should cover the whole week. Keeping residents responsible for weekends would leave an important part of the current problem unresolved.

The co-operative already knows that changing schedules make volunteer arrangements unreliable. Moving those responsibilities to Saturday and Sunday would not necessarily make them easier to manage. Some neighbours may work weekends, while others may be away. An eight-hour service commitment would give everyone a clear expectation without another round of messages asking who can shovel.

Weekend access also matters. I often buy groceries on Saturday, and neighbours may attend classes, meet friends or leave for work. A shared walkway should support those routines as well as weekday commuting. For a path stretching 300 metres, professional coverage would take a substantial task off residents' hands.

The main drawback is that an early snowfall might not be cleared before people leave home. That inconvenience deserves consideration. Even so, I would accept a less precise arrival time in exchange for coverage after every snowfall. Option B offers the more consistent arrangement across different household schedules.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 model develops a persuasive case around unreliable schedules, weekend access and the walkway’s length. Its vocabulary and organisation are more controlled than the level 7 model, but its treatment of morning access is less developed than the level 11 model’s explicit comparison of occasional assistance with permanent weekend duties.

Moving those responsibilities to Saturday and Sunday would not necessarily make them easier to manage. — Content/Coherence: This connects the proposed weekend arrangement directly to the existing scheduling problem. The level 11 model develops the reasoning further by showing how simultaneous absences could leave clearing unfinished.
An eight-hour service commitment would give everyone a clear expectation without another round of messages asking who can shovel. — Vocabulary: “Service commitment” describes the contract precisely, while the messages about shovelling make its practical benefit concrete. The level 11 model adds a more compact vocabulary for the related duties of assigning, swapping and checking work.
I often buy groceries on Saturday, and neighbours may attend classes, meet friends or leave for work. — Readability: The sentence moves smoothly from a personal example to a parallel list of neighbours’ activities. The level 11 model makes the comparison more pointed by placing a Saturday worker alongside a Monday commuter.
That inconvenience deserves consideration. — Task Fulfillment: This acknowledges the morning-access drawback, but gives it little further examination before accepting the trade-off. The level 11 model addresses the practical possibility of residents clearing snow before the contractor arrives and compares that burden with regular weekend duties.

Level 11 sample answer

191 words

Option B would provide the stronger long-term arrangement because it removes dependence on a volunteer schedule that has already proved unreliable. Its eight-hour response window is imperfect, but its coverage is comprehensive.

A weekday guarantee would favour a familiar commuting pattern without accommodating everyone who uses the walkway. Someone leaving for a Saturday shift needs access just as much as a neighbour departing on Monday morning. Extending professional service through the weekend would recognise that shared infrastructure serves households with different routines.

More significantly, Option A would preserve the administrative burden of assigning, swapping and checking weekend duties. On a 300-metre route, a missed turn could leave a substantial section uncleared. If two assigned residents were away simultaneously, someone else would still have to step in. Paying a contractor throughout the week would make responsibility much clearer.

I acknowledge the appeal of a path cleared by 7 a.m., especially after overnight snow. Under Option B, residents might occasionally need to clear a short section before the contractor arrives. Nevertheless, occasional assistance is preferable to a permanent weekend obligation. I would choose reliable coverage across all seven days over a narrower guarantee.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 model combines a clear position with developed reasoning about different household routines and continuing administrative duties. Precise vocabulary, controlled sentences and a direct comparison of the competing burdens make its argument stronger than the other models.

More significantly, Option A would preserve the administrative burden of assigning, swapping and checking weekend duties. — Content/Coherence: The transition establishes a priority among the reasons. The specific duties explain why retaining weekend volunteering would preserve the existing problem, developing the level 9 model’s reference to messages about shovelling.
Its eight-hour response window is imperfect, but its coverage is comprehensive. — Vocabulary: “Response window” and “coverage” distinguish arrival timing from the scope of service. This concise distinction captures the central trade-off and prepares the reader for the argument about professional clearing throughout the week.
If two assigned residents were away simultaneously, someone else would still have to step in. — Readability: The controlled conditional sentence makes a scheduling failure easy to follow. It presents a possible consequence clearly, helping the reader understand why weekend assignments could continue creating extra work.
Nevertheless, occasional assistance is preferable to a permanent weekend obligation. — Task Fulfillment: This explicitly weighs the burdens after acknowledging that residents might need to help before the contractor arrives. It gives a clear reason for accepting Option B’s timing limitation while favouring its weekend coverage.

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.

State a clear survey choice and develop reasons with concrete examples. Explain consequences, connect paragraphs and address the competing option where useful without losing your position.

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