CELPIP Speaking Task 3: Describing a Scene, with sample answers
Task 3 shows a picture of a scene and asks you to describe it to someone who cannot see it. You get 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak.
The task at a glance
Time to prepare
30 seconds
Time to speak
60 seconds
Picture
Yes, shown on screen
A structure that works
Start with an overview: the place, the time of day, the general mood.
Move through the picture in one order, such as left to right or front to back.
For each person, say who they are, what they are doing and how they seem.
Use words of place, like "in the foreground", "behind" and "next to".
Sample tasks with model answers
Original practice tasks in the test's format. Start the timer and answer out loud, then read the model answer.
Task
Look at the picture of a campground. Describe what is happening in it, as clearly as you can, for someone who cannot see it.
Like all media in our tests, this picture is AI-generated.
Answer out loud while the timer runs. This page does not record or score you.
Model answer, written by MapleMock
This picture shows a campground beside a lake on a summer evening, surrounded by tall pine trees. Right at the front, two kids are sitting by a small campfire, roasting marshmallows on long sticks. Behind them, on the left, there's a green tent, and a man is sitting on the ground next to it, scratching his head, as if he's not sure he set it up properly. In the middle there's a picnic table where a woman is studying a big paper map, with a blue cooler on the ground beside her. Over on the right, a teenager is paddling a red canoe, close to a little wooden dock. And far away, on the other side of the lake, I can see a small wooden cabin with a pickup truck parked next to it. It looks like a calm, peaceful evening, although the man by the tent doesn't seem very relaxed.
Task
Look at the picture of a train platform. Describe what is happening in it, as clearly as you can, for someone who cannot see it.
Like all media in our tests, this picture is AI-generated.
Answer out loud while the timer runs. This page does not record or score you.
Model answer, written by MapleMock
In this picture, I can see a small train station on a snowy winter morning, and it's quite a busy scene. Heavy snow is falling, and a long silver train is waiting at the platform with its doors open. On the left, a conductor in a dark uniform and cap is checking a young passenger's ticket on a tablet. Just to the right of them, a woman is kneeling in the snow beside her brown suitcase, and some of her things, like clothes and a black bag, are lying on the ground around her, so maybe something fell out. In the middle, a man in a uniform and cap, maybe another train worker, is running toward the train with a coffee cup in his hand. On the right, an older man is sitting calmly on a bench, throwing breadcrumbs to a group of pigeons. At the very back, a station worker in an orange jacket is shovelling snow.
Common mistakes
Listing objects without saying what the people are doing.
Jumping around the picture with no order.
Using vague words like "thing" and "stuff" instead of naming what you see.
Practise it on the clock
Speaking practice is coming soon. The free Listening & Reading mock is open now.
