CELPIP Writing Task 1: Writing an Email, with sample answers
Task 1 gives you a situation and asks you to write an email about it, covering each point the prompt lists. You have 27 minutes and should write about 150 to 200 words.
The task at a glance
Time
27 minutes
Length
About 150–200 words
Points to cover
3 listed in the prompt
A structure that works
Open with a greeting that fits the person you write to: a name and title for someone you don't know, a first name for a friend.
State why you are writing in the first sentence or two.
Give each listed point its own short paragraph, in the order the prompt lists them, with a detail or example.
Close with what you want to happen next, then a polite sign-off and your name.
Sample questions with answers
Original practice tasks in the test's format, each with a model answer.
Task
Three months ago you signed a one-year contract with a local gym. The gym has now closed its location near your home, and the only other branch is a forty-minute drive away. Write an email to the gym's customer service manager.
Your email should:
Explain why you joined this gym.
Describe how the closure affects you.
Say what you would like the gym to do.
Model answer, written by MapleMock to show a complete response · 196 words
Dear Customer Service Manager,
I am writing about my membership, which I started in March on a one-year contract at your Maple Avenue location.
I chose your gym mainly because it was a five-minute walk from my apartment. I work long hours as a nurse, often on evening shifts, so I needed somewhere I could reach quickly before or after work. The early opening hours and the swimming pool were also important to me, since I am recovering from a knee injury and my physiotherapist recommended swimming three times a week.
Since the Maple Avenue branch closed last week, the nearest location is a forty-minute drive away. I do not own a car, and by bus the trip takes over an hour each way. In practice, I can no longer use the membership at all, yet the monthly fee is still being charged to my credit card.
I would therefore like you to cancel my contract without the early cancellation fee and refund this month's payment. If that is not possible, I would ask you to pause my membership until a branch reopens closer to my home.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely, Priya Nair
Task
Your building's management is renovating the apartment above yours. For two weeks the work has started at 7 a.m., including on weekends, and dust has come through your ceiling vents. Write an email to the building manager.
Your email should:
Describe the problems the renovation is causing.
Explain how they are affecting you or your family.
Suggest changes that would make the situation better.
Model answer, written by MapleMock to show a complete response · 197 words
Dear Mr. Lavoie,
I live in unit 304, directly below the apartment that is being renovated, and I am writing about the problems the work has caused over the past two weeks.
Every day, including Saturday and Sunday, the drilling and hammering begin at seven in the morning and continue until late afternoon. In addition, fine white dust has been coming through the ceiling vents in my living room and bedroom. I clean it every evening, but by the next day the furniture is covered again.
This has been hard on my family. My husband works night shifts and sleeps in the morning, so he has barely slept since the work started. Our daughter has asthma, and the dust has made her cough at night; last week we had to take her to a walk-in clinic.
I understand that the renovation has to be done, but I would like to suggest two changes. Could the workers start at nine instead of seven, and stop work entirely on weekends? I would also ask that someone seal the vents in our unit, or clean them once the work is finished.
Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards, Amina Haddad
Common mistakes
Leaving out one of the listed points, or answering it in a single vague sentence.
A tone that doesn't fit the reader: too casual for a manager, too stiff for a friend.
Writing well under the asked length, or far over it with repetition.
Making the reader wait until the end to learn why you are writing.
One block of text with no paragraphs, which hides your organisation.
Practise it on the clock
In the test, the timer and the word counter run while you write. Practise the same way, then compare your answer with the model.