CELPIP Writing Task 2 is Responding to Survey Questions: 26 minutes, with a suggested length of 150 to 200 words. You choose one of two options and explain your reasoning.
The official score report does not show a separate Task 2 result — Task 1 and Task 2 together form your Writing Overall performance.
Content / Coherence
This dimension asks whether your choice is clear, how many reasons you give and how good they are, how they are organised, and what supporting detail they carry.
CELPIP official preparation material suggests stating your choice at the beginning, giving two or three reasons in the body, putting each reason in its own paragraph, and adding specific detail. Two fully developed reasons usually provide stronger evidence than five reasons of one sentence each.
There is no correct choice
Choosing A or B is not itself right or wrong, and raters do not award a higher level because they agree with you. Pick the option you can develop more easily and stay consistent.
You may compare with the other option, but the focus must remain on why your choice is better. Proposing a third solution to escape the binary can affect Task Fulfillment.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary here concerns accurate, natural language for comparing, explaining, and persuading: more practical, benefit a larger number of residents, reduce long-term costs, in contrast.
Precision should never be traded for difficulty — a hard word that obscures your meaning costs more than it gains. Repeating the exact wording of the prompt also limits your demonstrated range.
Readability
Readability covers paragraphing, transitions, grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation. Task 2 is not an email, so it needs no salutation, closing, or signature.
Stating your position at the start, giving one reason per paragraph, and summarising at the end is usually the easiest structure to read. Connectors should express the real logic rather than being bolted onto every sentence as Firstly or Moreover.
Task Fulfillment
This dimension covers whether the response is relevant and complete, whether the tone suits a general survey audience, and whether the length is reasonable.
No clear choice, reasons unrelated to the prompt, attacks on the other side, or landing clearly outside 150 to 200 words can all affect it. The conclusion should also not introduce a brand-new reason that was never explained.
Who scores it
The current official FAQ states that CELPIP Writing uses a combined artificial intelligence and human scoring system, and that all Writing results are reviewed and confirmed by the scoring team.
Whatever process is used, the published basis for evaluation remains Content / Coherence, Vocabulary, Readability, and Task Fulfillment — not political positions or preset keywords.
How to check your own response
- Can a reader see your choice in the first paragraph?
- Does every reason have an example or a consequence?
- Do the paragraphs follow one another easily?
- Are the tone and the word count appropriate?
This diagnoses weaknesses usefully — but CELPIP publishes neither an individual Task 2 score nor the weighting between the two writing tasks, so a self-rating is not an official result.
FAQs
Does my choice affect the score? No. Development and consistency do.
Can I suggest a third option? Avoid it — it can read as not completing the task.
Do I need a greeting? No. Task 2 is not an email.
Next, read how to answer the survey task and how Writing Overall is scored.