CELPIP Writing Task 1: Email Format, Three Sample Answers and 15 Practice Questions

CELPIP Writing Task 1 asks you to write an email of 150–200 words in about 27 minutes. The prompt describes an everyday situation, tells you who you're writing to and lists the points your email has to cover. Raters judge your ideas, vocabulary, readability and whether you did what the task asked, in a tone that suits the reader. You can write one on PrepEx under the 27-minute clock and get a free AI grade with a practice level estimate, no account needed (one free grade a day).

Get my email graded free Read the three sample answers

We checked the task timing, word count, rating criteria and on-screen tools against CELPIP's 2026 Writing study pack, its Test Results, Test Overview and Test Day Information pages, its Writing study strategies, the official CELPIP podcast interview with a rater and CELPIP's 2024 test data report on 12 November 2026. CELPIP can change these details, so recheck its site before test day. Every prompt and sample answer below is an original PrepEx example, not a real test question.

What CELPIP Writing Task 1 is

CELPIP Writing has two tasks in one 53-minute section, and the email comes first. You read a short situation, such as a missed delivery, a favour from a neighbour or a change at work, and write an email about it. The prompt names the reader and lists what your email must do, usually as bullet points. Treat every bullet as required.

You type your answer and get a pen and notepaper for planning. The task is an email, not a letter, but the skills are the same, so if you searched for CELPIP letter writing samples, the answers below are what you need. The survey task has its own guide: CELPIP Writing Task 2.

How Task 1 is rated

Trained human raters score CELPIP Writing. Four to six of them assess each Writing performance independently, rating four dimensions, and those ratings are converted to a CELPIP level from 0 to 12. For Canadian immigration, your CELPIP level is your CLB level.

On CELPIP's official podcast, a former benchmark rater explained that raters read the response as a whole rather than counting errors, and that they can't see your other scores or the score you need. Responses far under or over the word count lose marks even when they're well written.

Writing is where moving up gets hard. In CELPIP's 2024 data the average Writing level was 7.91, and 80.4% reached level 7 or higher, but only 29.8% reached 9 or higher, the smallest share of the four skills. If you keep landing on 8, our Writing 8 to 9 guide shows what changes. For all four skills, see how CELPIP is scored.

See how your own email does on these four dimensions. Write a timed email now

Formal, semi-formal or informal

The reader sets the tone, and tone is part of Task Fulfillment. Before you write, look at the relationship in the prompt: a company you've never dealt with, a landlord or manager you know, or a close friend.

Most tone problems come from mixing levels: "Hey" to a property manager, or "I am writing to formally request" to your best friend. Choose one level and keep it from the greeting to the sign-off. Semi-formal needs the most care, because it has to sound polite and warm at the same time.

A planning pattern for the 27 minutes

This is a way to plan, not a script to memorise. Every Task 1 email needs the same parts, but the sentences have to come from the prompt in front of you.

About templates. A former CELPIP rater advised on CELPIP's official podcast against bringing a memorised template to the test, because raters recognise general sentences that could fit any prompt. A line like "I am writing this email to bring a matter of great importance to your kind attention" uses up words and tells the reader nothing. Keep the structure and write the sentences fresh. Our templates page shows structures to adapt, with their limits.

Three CELPIP Writing Task 1 sample answers

These are original PrepEx examples: one formal, one semi-formal and one informal. Each is written to show what an upper-level response, around level 10–11, looks like. They are not official CELPIP ratings, and they are not for memorising; notice that every useful detail comes from its own prompt. Word counts include the greeting and sign-off.

Sample 1: a complaint to a company (formal)

Prompt (PrepEx example): You recently moved and booked an internet installation. You took a morning off work, but the technician never arrived and nobody contacted you. Write an email to the internet provider's customer service team. In your email:

• explain what happened
• describe how this affected you
• say what you would like the company to do

Sample answer (176 words):

Why it works

• Content/Coherence: one paragraph per bullet, in the order asked. The date, the time window and the promised phone call make the complaint concrete.
• Vocabulary: exact, everyday business words: "installation appointment", "earliest available morning", "a credit on my first bill".
• Readability: "First" and "Second" separate the two requests, and a short sentence ("Nobody called, and nobody came.") breaks up the longer ones.
• Task Fulfillment: firm and polite, with a remedy the company can actually give. No sarcasm, no threats.

Sample 2: a repair request to a landlord (semi-formal)

Prompt (PrepEx example): Since the weather turned cold, the heater in your bedroom has barely worked. Write an email to your landlord, Mr. Kowalski. In your email:

• describe the problem
• explain what you have already tried
• ask for a repair and say when someone could come

Sample answer (185 words):

Why it works

• Content/Coherence: problem, what was tried, request: the bullets in order. Observations (16 degrees, one warm end, a night on the couch) show the problem instead of calling it "bad".
• Vocabulary: household words used exactly: "baseboard heater", "thermostat", "breaker panel".
• Readability: each paragraph does one job, and links such as "Before contacting you" and "If another day suits…" carry the reader along.
• Task Fulfillment: respectful but relaxed for a landlord the writer knows, with available days and a backup plan, so the request is easy to say yes to.

Sample 3: thanks and an invitation to a friend (informal)

Prompt (PrepEx example): Your friend Jordan looked after your dog for a week while you were at a family wedding in another province. Write an email to Jordan. In your email:

• thank Jordan and mention something specific they did
• tell Jordan about the trip
• invite Jordan to do something with you as a thank-you

Sample answer (171 words):

Why it works

• Content/Coherence: three bullets, three paragraphs. The thanks names two things Jordan actually did, and the trip gets real details rather than "it was great".
• Vocabulary: informal phrases used accurately: "on such short notice", "held off", "I owe you one", "my treat". Informal doesn't mean simple.
• Readability: sentence lengths vary, and there's one exclamation mark, not five.
• Task Fulfillment: warm and casual for a friend, with a concrete invitation (a place and two possible evenings) and a casual sign-off.

Want more? Our CELPIP Writing samples add annotated complaint, request, apology, invitation, recommendation and thank-you emails.

Read the samples, then write your own: PrepEx's Task 1 practice grades your email on the same four dimensions and shows which one to fix first.

15 CELPIP Writing Task 1 practice questions

Original PrepEx prompts, grouped by type. Set a 27-minute timer, write 150–200 words and cover all three points.

Complaints (formal)

• Missed recycling. Your street's recycling hasn't been collected for three weeks. Write to the city's waste services office: describe the problem, explain how it affects your household, ask what they will do.
• A damaged coat. A dry cleaner returned your winter coat with a torn lining. Write to the owner: say what you brought in and what came back, explain why the coat matters, ask for a solution.
• A late suitcase. Your bag reached Halifax two days after you did. Write to the airline: describe what happened, explain what you had to buy, ask for compensation.

Requests (semi-formal)

• An evening course. You want to leave work an hour early on Tuesdays for a course. Write to your manager: describe the course, explain how your work will be covered, suggest an arrangement.
• Planters on the patio. You'd like to put two vegetable planters on your building's shared patio. Write to the building manager: describe the idea, explain how it affects other residents, ask for permission.
• Too much homework. Your son has been doing three hours of homework a night. Write to his teacher: describe what you've noticed, explain the effect at home, ask for a meeting.

Apologies and changes of plan

• A missed birthday dinner (informal). Your shift ran late and you missed a friend's birthday dinner. Apologise, explain what happened, suggest how to make it up.
• Chairing a meeting (semi-formal). You agreed to chair your community association's next meeting but now can't attend. Write to the president: apologise, explain why, suggest who could replace you.
• A blocked driveway (semi-formal). While clearing snow, you parked across your neighbour's driveway and made them late for work. Apologise, explain what happened, offer to make up for it.

Thanks and invitations

• A reference that worked (semi-formal). A former supervisor wrote you a reference, and you got the job. Thank them, describe the new role, invite them for coffee.
• Come and visit (informal). Invite a friend to spend a long weekend in your new city: describe the city, suggest plans, explain how to get there.
• A shovelled walkway (informal). Your neighbour cleared your walkway every day while you were sick. Thank them, say how you're doing, offer to return the favour.

Information and advice

• Swimming lessons (formal). Write to a community centre: say what kind of adult lessons you want, describe your schedule, ask how registration works.
• Which neighbourhood? (informal). A friend is moving to your city. Recommend a neighbourhood, explain why, warn them about one thing.
• Winter tires (informal). A coworker who just arrived in Canada asks if they need winter tires. Give your advice, explain why, suggest where to get them.

Want a level estimate on your own email? Try both Writing tasks under test timing. Take a free CELPIP practice test

Common Task 1 mistakes

• Skipping or merging a bullet. Two points done well and one missing still costs you under Task Fulfillment. Give each point its own paragraph so the rater can find it.
• A tone that drifts. A formal opening and a "Cheers!" at the end of the same email.
• General instead of specific. "There were some problems with the service" tells the reader nothing. "The technician didn't come between 8 a.m. and noon" does.
• Far too long or too short. 250 words earns no extra credit, and 120 words leaves points undeveloped.
• Memorised filler. Opening and closing lines you could paste into any email. Raters recognise them.
• Words you can't control. A rare word used slightly wrong does more harm than a plain word used exactly.
• No clear ask. A complaint or request should end with what you want the reader to do.

Word counter, spell-check and the last four minutes

CELPIP shows a word counter under each Writing task and includes an automatic spelling checker that can offer a choice of words. Choose carefully: it can suggest the wrong word, and a correctly spelled word in the wrong place, like "advise" for "advice", is still a mistake. CELPIP says there's a little room either side of the suggested word count, but your score may suffer if you're well over or under.

Use the last few minutes in this order: every bullet answered, tone consistent, count in range, then typos. To practise landing in range, paste a draft into our CELPIP word counter.

How to practise Task 1

Write under the 27-minute limit from the start. Untimed practice hides the hard part, which is getting a specific detail into every paragraph while the clock runs. After each email, check it against the four dimensions above or have it rated, then rewrite one paragraph rather than starting a new prompt straight away.

On PrepEx, a free account gets two graded CELPIP practice sessions a day. Each graded email gets a level estimate on the same four dimensions CELPIP raters use (Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Readability and Task Fulfillment), with feedback on what to change. Start with Writing Task 1 practice or the free email lesson. After three graded sessions in at least two sections, a full-length CELPIP-General practice test unlocks free. For the whole exam, see the CELPIP test format.

Write both tasks under real timing and see where you stand. Start a free CELPIP practice test

Sources we checked

• CELPIP Writing Pro Study Pack (2026) — Task 1 email about 27 minutes, Task 2 survey about 26 minutes, 150–200 words each
• CELPIP: Canadian Residency — the Writing section has two tasks in 53 minutes
• CELPIP: Test Results — four to six raters for each Writing performance, the four rating dimensions (word count under Task Fulfillment), levels 0–12 and CLB equivalents
• CELPIP: Study Strategies for Writing — word counter under each task, automatic spelling checker, a little room around the word count
• The Official CELPIP Podcast, Episode 11: Interview with a CELPIP Rater — memorised templates recognised, far-off word counts penalised, responses judged as a whole
• CELPIP: Test Overview — personal timer, word counter and spell-check
• CELPIP: Test Day Information — pen and notepaper provided at the test
• CELPIP 2024 Data Report — Writing average 7.91; shares at level 7+, 9+ and 10+