CELPIP Writing Task 1: How to Write the Email

What This Task Is Actually Testing

CELPIP Writing Task 1 gives you a short real-life scenario — a problem at work, an issue with a service, a request to a landlord, an update for a friend — and asks you to respond by writing an email. You get 27 minutes and are expected to write around 150-200 words.

Your response is scored on four things: Content/Coherence (did you address the situation logically and completely), Vocabulary, Readability, and Task Fulfillment (did you do what was actually asked). Many test-takers write fluent, grammatically clean emails that still lose marks because they missed part of the task or used the wrong tone. That's why the process below focuses as much on reading and planning as on writing.

Step 1: Read the Scenario Like a Detective

Before you type a single word, spend 60-90 seconds pulling four pieces of information out of the prompt: Who am I in this scenario? Who am I writing to? What is my relationship to that person? And what does the situation actually require me to do?

The scenario will always contain a short paragraph of context followed by a list of tasks — usually three specific instructions, sometimes phrased as questions or as "be sure to include..." statements. These are not suggestions. They are the exact criteria the task is graded against, so treat them as a checklist rather than general inspiration.

A useful habit: mentally (or on scratch paper, if allowed) rewrite the three instructions in your own words before you plan your paragraphs. If you can't restate what's being asked in one short sentence per point, you haven't fully understood the scenario yet.

Step 2: Match Your Tone to the Reader

CELPIP scenarios almost always signal a relationship: a manager, a company, a government office, a landlord, a coworker, a close friend, or a family member. That relationship tells you the tone you need, and getting it wrong hurts your score even if the content is otherwise strong.

Formal (unfamiliar authority, business, or official contact): use full sentences, no contractions, a respectful greeting such as "Dear Mr. Alavi," or "Dear Sir/Madam," and a closing like "Sincerely," or "Best regards," followed by your full name.

Informal (friend or close family member): contractions are fine, the greeting can be a first name ("Hi Priya,"), and you can close with something like "Talk soon," or "Take care,". The vocabulary can be more relaxed and conversational.

Semi-formal (a coworker you know, a neighbour, a service provider you've dealt with before): polite but not stiff. Full name greeting, contractions used sparingly, professional but warm.

A quick test: if you would never call this person by their first name in real life, your email shouldn't sound casual either. If the scenario describes someone you clearly know well, an overly stiff, formal email will feel just as mismatched as slang would in a letter to a government office.

Step 3: Cover All Three Points — No Exceptions

This is the single most common reason strong writers lose marks on this task: they write a beautifully organized email that only fully answers two of the three required points, or blends them together so vaguely that the grader can't confirm all three were addressed.

Imagine a scenario where you're emailing a former instructor and the task asks you to: explain why you're reaching out, describe a specific problem you're facing, and ask for a particular kind of help. If your email explains the problem well but never clearly states what help you're asking for, Task Fulfillment takes a direct hit, even if your grammar and vocabulary are excellent.

The fix is mechanical rather than creative: assign one paragraph to each of the three points and, before you finalize your response, reread the original instructions and check off each one. If you can't point to a specific sentence in your email that answers a specific instruction in the prompt, that point isn't covered yet.

A Reusable Structure You Can Adapt to Any Prompt

Because the scenario changes every time but the task format doesn't, it pays to walk in with a flexible skeleton rather than building your structure from scratch under time pressure. Here is a structure that works across almost every CELPIP email scenario:

Once you've used this structure a few times in practice, adapting it to a new scenario becomes fast and almost automatic, freeing up mental energy for tone and vocabulary instead of organization.

• Greeting — matched to tone (formal, semi-formal, or informal)
• Opening line — state clearly why you're writing (this sets up the whole email in one sentence)
• Body paragraph 1 — address the first required point in full
• Body paragraph 2 — address the second required point in full
• Body paragraph 3 — address the third required point, often paired with a request or next step
• Closing line — a polite wrap-up, thank-you, or statement of what you expect to happen next
• Sign-off — matched to tone, plus your name (or a placeholder like "[Your Name]" if instructed)

Managing Your 27 Minutes

A rough but reliable time split: spend 3-4 minutes reading the scenario and planning your three paragraphs, 18-20 minutes writing, and 3-4 minutes proofreading at the end. Skipping the planning stage to "save time" almost always backfires, because it's what prevents you from missing a required point or rambling past the ideal length.

Aim for roughly 150-200 words. Going a little over isn't penalized on its own, but padding your email with unnecessary detail to hit a word count often weakens Readability and Coherence rather than helping them. A tightly written 170-word email that clearly hits all three points beats a rambling 220-word one every time.

In your final proofreading pass, check three things specifically: did I address all three points, is my tone consistent from greeting to sign-off, and are there any small grammar slips (subject-verb agreement, verb tense, missing articles) that a quick reread would catch.

Common Mistakes That Quietly Cost Points

A few patterns show up again and again in lower-scoring emails, and all of them are fixable with awareness alone.

• Jumping straight into details without an opening line that states the purpose of the email
• Cramming all three required points into one dense paragraph instead of giving each its own space
• Using a formal tone with a friend or a casual tone with an official contact
• Restating the scenario back to the reader instead of responding to it (the reader already knows the context — your job is to react to it)
• Forgetting the greeting or sign-off entirely, which affects Readability even when the body content is strong
• Writing well past 200 words and running out of time to proofread