The PrepEx Journal
CELPIP Writing Task 2: Survey Response Format, Three Sample Answers and 15 Practice Questions
CELPIP Writing Task 2 gives you about 26 minutes to answer a survey: choose Option A or B and explain your choice in 150–200 words. Neither option is the right one; raters judge how well you support and compare your choice. See how it's rated, a planning pattern, three original sample answers with exact word counts and 15 practice prompts.
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CELPIP Writing Task 2 is a survey response: you read a short situation with two options, choose one and explain why in 150–200 words, in about 26 minutes. Neither option is the right answer. Raters judge how clearly you support, organise and word your choice, and whether you answered the survey you were given. You can write one on PrepEx under the 26-minute clock and get a free AI grade with a practice level estimate, no account needed (one free grade a day).
Get my survey response 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 and score comparison chart, its official podcast interview with a rater and its 2024 test data report on 12 November 2026. CELPIP can change these details, so recheck its site before test day. Every survey prompt and sample answer below is an original PrepEx example, not a real test question.
What CELPIP Writing Task 2 is
Task 2, Responding to Survey Questions, follows the email task in the 53-minute Writing section. The screen describes a decision, such as how a city should use land or how an employer should change a policy, and gives two options, A and B. You choose one and explain why, as if you were answering a real survey.
| Detail | Task 2: Responding to Survey Questions |
|---|---|
| What you do | Choose Option A or Option B and explain why |
| Time | About 26 minutes |
| Length | 150–200 words |
| On screen | Timer, word counter, spell-checker |
| For planning | Pen and notepaper provided at the test centre |
CELPIP's own Writing study pack recommends three things for this task: take a clear position, develop your reasons and compare your choice with the other option. The comparison doesn't need a set phrase or equal space. A sentence or two on what the other option offers, and why yours still wins, is often enough.
The email task has its own guide: CELPIP Writing Task 1.
How Task 2 is rated
Both Writing tasks are rated on the same four dimensions. Four to six trained raters assess each Writing performance independently, rating each dimension on five performance levels, and those ratings are converted to a CELPIP level from 0 to 12. For Canadian immigration, your CELPIP level is your CLB level.
| Dimension | What CELPIP says it covers | In a survey response |
|---|---|---|
| Content/Coherence | Number, quality and organization of ideas; examples and details | A clear choice, two reasons that don't overlap, and a specific example or result for each |
| Vocabulary | Word choice, range, precision and suitable use | Exact words for the topic, and comparison language you can control |
| Readability | Format and paragraphing, connectors, grammar and sentence structure, spelling and punctuation | Short paragraphs that each do one job, and clear turns such as "However" or "To be fair" |
| Task Fulfillment | Relevance, completeness, tone and word count | An answer to the survey actually asked, a fair tone toward the other side, 150–200 words |
On CELPIP's official podcast, a former benchmark rater explained that raters read a response as a whole instead of counting errors, can't see your other scores or the score you need, and penalise responses far under or over the word count even when they're well written.
Writing is where many test takers stall. In CELPIP's 2024 data report, the average Writing level was 7.91, 27.3% of CELPIP-General test takers landed on exactly 8, and 29.8% reached 9 or higher. Test takers whose first language is English averaged 8.88 in Writing, still below 9. Our Writing 8 to 9 guide covers that step, and how CELPIP is scored explains levels for all four skills.
See how your own survey response does on these four dimensions. Write a timed survey response now
Choose an option in the first two minutes
Raters can't tell which option you really prefer. They see how well you support the one you wrote about, so five minutes spent deciding is five minutes taken from planning and checking.
Try this: for each option, name two different reasons and one real example. Pick the option where that comes easily, even if you only lean slightly toward it. Two developed reasons do more for you than four thin ones.
Once you've chosen, stay there. Switching sides halfway, or ending with "both options are good", leaves the rater without a position to judge.
A planning pattern for the 26 minutes
This is a way to organise your thinking, not a script to learn by heart. The parts stay the same from task to task; the sentences have to come from the survey in front of you.
| Minutes | What to do |
|---|---|
| 0–2 | Read the situation and both options. Choose. |
| 2–6 | On your notepaper: two reasons that don't overlap, a specific example or result for each, and one thing the other option does well. |
| 6–22 | Write: your choice in the first sentence or two; a paragraph for each reason; the comparison, in its own short paragraph or inside a reason; a one-line close if you have room. |
| 22–26 | Check that your choice is clear, both reasons are supported, the count is 150–200 and no typos remain. |
Good reasons differ in kind. "It's cheaper" and "it costs less to run" are one reason said twice. "It helps the people who need it most" and "it's easier to organise" are two. Support each with something concrete: who benefits, what would change, an example from your own life or a believable one that fits the prompt.
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. An opener like "Nowadays, there are many different opinions about this important issue" uses ten words and says nothing about the survey. Keep the plan and write the sentences fresh. Our templates page shows structures to adapt, with their limits.
Three CELPIP Writing Task 2 sample answers
These are original PrepEx examples on a city decision, a workplace policy and a school program. 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: every useful detail comes from its own prompt. One chooses Option A and two choose Option B. Word counts are exact.
Sample 1: a city decision (community garden or dog park)
Prompt (PrepEx example): Your city owns an empty lot beside the public library in your neighbourhood. Next year it will turn the lot into one of two spaces, and it is asking local residents which they prefer. Choose one option and explain your choice.
- Option A: A community garden, with raised plots that residents can sign up for each spring.
- Option B: A fenced off-leash dog park with benches and a water fountain.
Sample answer, Option A (187 words):
I would choose Option A, the community garden. I have lived two blocks from the library for six years, and I think a garden would be used by more kinds of people than a dog park.
First, most people around here live in apartments with no yard. My building has forty units, and the only place I can grow anything is a narrow balcony that gets about two hours of sun. Raised plots would give families, seniors and newcomers a place to grow vegetables and get to know neighbours they usually only pass in the elevator.
Second, a garden suits the location. The library already runs programs for children, and staff could take a group outside to plant beans or talk about where food comes from. A dog park beside the children's entrance would bring barking and the occasional loose dog.
I understand that dog owners need space, and the nearest off-leash area is a twenty-minute walk away. However, a dog park would mainly serve one group, while a garden is open to anyone willing to dig. That is why I hope the city chooses Option A.
Why it works
- Content/Coherence: the choice comes first, and each reason gets its own paragraph with a detail you can picture: forty units, a balcony with two hours of sun, a library group planting beans.
- Vocabulary: plain, exact words for the topic: "raised plots", "off-leash area", "the occasional loose dog". Nothing rare used for show.
- Readability: "First" and "Second" mark the reasons, and "However" signals the turn to the comparison.
- Task Fulfillment: it takes the dog owners' need seriously, with a fact, before explaining why the garden serves more people. Polite throughout.
Sample 2: a workplace policy (summer Fridays or extra vacation days)
Prompt (PrepEx example): Your company wants to give staff more time off in the summer and is asking employees to choose between two plans. Choose one option and explain your choice.
- Option A: The office closes at 1 p.m. every Friday in July and August.
- Option B: Each employee gets four extra vacation days to use between June and September.
Sample answer, Option B (188 words):
Both proposals are generous, but I prefer Option B, the four extra vacation days.
My main reason is that summer looks different for everyone on our team. Some colleagues want a long weekend at a cottage, while parents may need to cover the week when their children's day camp is closed. Four days that each person can book around their own plans would help everyone, not only those whose lives happen to fit a Friday afternoon.
Option B would also be easier on our customers. Our team schedules deliveries for several trucking companies, and Friday afternoon is when most of them call to confirm weekend loads. If the office closed at one o'clock, those calls would go to voicemail at our busiest time, and Monday would start with a backlog.
To be fair, Option A adds up to slightly more time off, and nobody would have to compete for popular dates. Still, half days are easy to lose to unfinished work, and a shared calendar would prevent most scheduling conflicts. On balance, four full days that people can actually plan around would be worth more to our team.
Why it works
- Content/Coherence: two different kinds of reason, what staff need and what customers need. The trucking detail ties the second reason to this writer's job.
- Vocabulary: workplace words used exactly: "weekend loads", "backlog", "scheduling conflicts", "on balance".
- Readability: a one-sentence opening paragraph, then longer ones; "To be fair" and "Still" carry the reader through the comparison.
- Task Fulfillment: it admits that Option A gives slightly more time off, then explains why B is still better for this team. The tone is direct without sounding like a complaint.
Sample 3: a school program (online tutoring or a homework room)
Prompt (PrepEx example): Your child's elementary school wants to offer more homework help and is asking parents to choose between two programs. Choose one option and explain your choice.
- Option A: An online tutoring service that children can use from home on weekday evenings.
- Option B: A homework room in the school library, supervised by a teacher, open from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. three days a week.
Sample answer, Option B (195 words):
As the parent of a Grade 4 student, I would vote for Option B, the supervised homework room.
Children my son's age find it hard to focus on a screen after a full day at school. When he does homework on our tablet, he is usually watching a video within ten minutes. In the library with a teacher nearby, he would have fewer distractions and could ask a question the moment he gets stuck. Teachers would also know exactly what the class covered that day, which an online tutor would not.
The schedule matters too. Many parents at our school work until five, so an extra ninety minutes of supervision three days a week would make those afternoons much easier. Children who stay would also be with their friends, and they often explain things to each other better than adults do.
I can see why online tutoring appeals to families who live far from the school, because their children could get help without staying late. However, younger students need structure more than flexibility, and a tutor on a screen is easy to ignore. For these reasons, I believe the homework room would help more children.
Why it works
- Content/Coherence: the writer's own situation supplies the evidence. The tablet and the video "within ten minutes" do more than a general claim about screens could.
- Vocabulary: "supervised", "distractions", "structure more than flexibility": accurate and natural for a parent, not showy.
- Readability: "The schedule matters too." is a four-word sentence that moves the reader to the second reason without a heavy connector.
- Task Fulfillment: the comparison names a real advantage of Option A, then answers it, and the tone stays respectful toward families who would choose it.
To see how CELPIP's own raters level real responses, compare your work with the rated samples on CELPIP's score comparison chart. More PrepEx survey samples, with annotations, cover housing, transport and workplace topics.
Read the samples, then write your own: PrepEx's Task 2 practice grades your survey response on the same four dimensions and shows which one to fix first.
15 CELPIP Writing Task 2 practice questions
Original PrepEx survey prompts, grouped by topic. Set a 26-minute timer, choose within two minutes and write 150–200 words. For a harder drill, write a second answer for the option you didn't choose.
Community and city
- Winter services. Your city can improve one winter service. Option A: clear residential sidewalks within a day of each snowfall. Option B: keep outdoor skating rinks lit and open until 10 p.m.
- A downtown street. The city wants a livelier downtown street in summer. Option A: close it to cars on weekends. Option B: widen the sidewalks and add restaurant patios.
- A bare corner. A busy intersection near you looks run-down. Option A: a mural by local artists on a blank wall. Option B: new trees and planters along the street.
- Recreation centre. Your recreation centre can add one program. Option A: free drop-in sports for teenagers on Friday nights. Option B: weekday-morning fitness classes for seniors.
Workplace
- Fewer meetings. Your manager wants less time spent in meetings. Option A: no internal meetings on Wednesdays. Option B: a 30-minute limit on every meeting.
- New staff. Your company is changing how it welcomes new hires. Option A: an experienced coworker as a buddy for three months. Option B: a two-day orientation workshop in the first week.
- One extra day off. Your employer will add one paid day off a year. Option A: a volunteer day when the whole staff helps a local charity. Option B: a personal day each employee can take any time.
- Too much email. Your team gets more email than it can read. Option A: a shared chat tool for quick questions. Option B: no work email after 6 p.m. or on weekends.
School and learning
- Phones at school. A local high school is reviewing its phone rules. Option A: phones stay in lockers all day. Option B: phones allowed at lunch and breaks, but not in class.
- The Grade 7 trip. A school can fund one kind of trip for its oldest class. Option A: a three-day outdoor education camp. Option B: several one-day visits to museums and local workplaces.
Home and neighbourhood
- Noise in the building. Your building's management wants fewer noise complaints. Option A: strict quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., with fines for repeat complaints. Option B: hallway carpet and better seals on apartment doors.
- Speeding on your street. The city wants slower traffic on residential streets. Option A: speed bumps. Option B: a 30 km/h limit with more signs.
- Garbage day. Your town wants to reduce waste. Option A: garbage every two weeks, with weekly compost pickup. Option B: weekly garbage, limited to two bags per home.
Local services
- The checkout line. A neighbourhood grocery store can change one thing. Option A: more self-checkout machines. Option B: more staffed lanes during the evening rush.
- Clinic appointments. A community health clinic can expand one service. Option A: evening appointments twice a week. Option B: phone and video appointments during regular hours.
For email prompts, our Task 1 guide has 15 more, and the CELPIP writing topics page has prompts for both tasks.
Write a survey response under the 26-minute clock and get a practice level estimate. Take a free CELPIP practice test
Words for giving reasons and comparing
Connectors help the rater follow your argument, but they don't replace it. Use the one that fits the sentence, not a fixed set in every answer.
Stating your choice
- I would choose Option A, the…
- I'm in favour of…
- Of the two plans, … would work better for…
Giving reasons and support
- My main reason is that…
- This matters because…
- For example, … / In my case, …
- As a result, …
Comparing the two options
- Unlike Option B, Option A would…
- …, whereas…
- Both would…, but only Option A…
- In the long run, …
Recognising the other side
- I can see why some people would prefer…
- It's true that…; however, …
- To be fair, … Still, …
Finishing
- For these reasons, …
- On balance, …
Raters also look at precision. The topic words in the samples above, such as "raised plots", "weekend loads" and "supervised", show more control than another "Furthermore". Our cohesion and connectors lesson covers linking words in more depth.
Common Task 2 mistakes
- Sitting on the fence. "Both options have advantages" as your whole answer, or a conclusion that drifts toward the other side.
- Listing without support. Three reasons in three short sentences, none explained.
- Rewriting the survey. Suggesting a third option or "why not both?" doesn't answer the question you were asked.
- Memorised openers. General lines you could paste into any survey. Raters recognise them, and they eat into your 200 words.
- Going far over the word count. 260 words earns nothing extra, can be penalised and leaves no time to check.
- Attacking the other side. "Dog owners are selfish" hurts your tone. Disagree with the option, not the people who would choose it.
- Writing it like an email. A survey answer doesn't need "Dear Sir or Madam" or "Sincerely". Spend those words on support.
How to practise Task 2
Practise with the 26-minute limit from the first attempt. Untimed practice hides the real difficulty, which is choosing fast and still finding specific support. After each response, check it against the four dimensions or have it rated, then rewrite the weakest paragraph. CELPIP's own free practice tests are worth doing too, for the screen layout.
On PrepEx, a free account gets two graded CELPIP practice sessions a day. Each graded survey response 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 2 practice or the free survey response lesson, and paste drafts into the CELPIP word counter to learn what 150–200 words feels like. 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 Writing tasks under real timing and see where you stand. Start a free CELPIP practice test
CELPIP Writing Task 2 questions
How many words should CELPIP Writing Task 2 be?
150–200 words. CELPIP allows a little room either side, but a response far over or under the count can lose marks, because word count is part of Task Fulfillment. The on-screen counter shows your total as you type.
How long is CELPIP Writing Task 2?
About 26 minutes. It follows Task 1, the email, which takes about 27 minutes, so the Writing section is 53 minutes in total.
Can I choose both options in CELPIP Writing Task 2?
No. The task asks you to choose one option and explain why. You can mention what the other option does well, but your answer should clearly support one choice from start to finish.
Does it matter which option I choose in CELPIP Writing Task 2?
No. Neither option is the correct one, and the four rating dimensions are about how well you support, organise and word your choice. Pick the option you can give two specific reasons for.
How many paragraphs should CELPIP Writing Task 2 have?
Three or four short paragraphs usually suit 150–200 words. A common shape is your choice, one paragraph per reason and a short comparison or close. Paragraphing is part of Readability, so make each paragraph do one job.
Can I use a template for CELPIP Writing Task 2?
Use a planning pattern, not memorised sentences. A former CELPIP rater advised on CELPIP's official podcast against bringing a memorised template, because raters recognise general sentences that could fit any prompt. Plan the same parts each time and write the words fresh from the survey.
How is CELPIP Writing Task 2 scored?
Trained human raters score it on four dimensions: Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Readability and Task Fulfillment. Four to six raters assess each Writing performance independently, and their ratings are converted to a CELPIP level from 0 to 12.
What kind of questions come in CELPIP Writing Task 2?
Everyday decisions with two options: how a city should use a space or a budget, a new workplace policy, a school program, a building rule or a change to a local service. The 15 practice prompts above cover each type.
Sources we checked
- CELPIP Writing Pro Study Pack (2026) — Task 2 survey about 26 minutes and Task 1 email about 27 minutes, 150–200 words each; strategy advice to take a clear position, develop reasons and compare the options
- 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, raters can't see other scores
- CELPIP: Test Overview — personal timer, word counter and spell-check
- CELPIP: Test Day Information — pen and notepaper provided at the test
- CELPIP: Score Comparison Chart — rated Writing and Speaking samples for each level
- CELPIP 2024 Data Report — Writing average 7.91, share at exactly level 8 and at level 9 or higher, Writing average for English first-language test takers
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