CELPIP Speaking Task 1: Give Advice the Listener Can Use

What makes advice useful to the listener

Task 1 places you in an everyday conversation: someone has a difficulty and wants your advice. A successful response addresses that person directly, offers useful suggestions and explains them clearly. The speaking test covers eight tasks—advice, personal experience, scene description, prediction, comparison, a difficult situation, opinion and an unusual situation—but the same communication concerns recur throughout them.

Four areas provide a practical way to assess a response. Content and coherence concern the ideas and their connections: each explanation should support its suggestion, and the second suggestion should not contradict the first. Vocabulary concerns range and accuracy. Knowing several ways to express an idea is useful, but a word must fit the situation. Listenability concerns how comfortably another person can follow your speech, including pace, pauses, pronunciation and grammatical clarity. Task fulfilment concerns whether the response actually answers the question and suits its audience. Advice to a sister should sound like advice to a sister.

Use a relaxed, conversational tone, as if speaking to a friend, while still taking the question seriously. Casual speech does not mean unfinished fragments. Express the whole thought in connected sentences and reduce repeated fillers such as “um” when they interrupt the flow.

Preparing Tasks 1 and 2 carefully can also build confidence at the beginning of the speaking test. Familiarity with these tasks makes it easier to settle into the sequence of responses. This is a preparation priority, rather than a reason to neglect the later tasks.

Advice works when the other person can follow both the suggestion and the reason behind it.

Start with the situation, then build the answer

Question: catching up after illness

Your older sister has missed several classes because she has been sick and is worried about falling behind. Give her advice on how to catch up with her coursework.

The essential facts are the relationship, the missed classes and the worry about falling behind. The prompt does not say that she has been lazy or unwilling to study. Advice should respond to the difficulty she actually has.

A useful response has an introduction, a first developed suggestion, a second developed suggestion and a short conclusion. Familiar openings and endings save preparation time, leaving more attention for the two ideas.

Complete model answer

Hey Sarah, I'm sorry you've been unwell and missed so many classes. I know you've been trying hard to keep up. The best thing you can do now is make a plan and focus on the work ahead. I've been in a similar situation before, and here are some tips that I find quite helpful.

To begin with, having a well-planned and structured approach to your daily study sessions is crucial if you want to catch up. I believe this to be true because a clear study plan allows you to focus on the most important coursework and make the most of your study time. To illustrate, when I fell behind, I divided the missed lessons into manageable daily sessions. That helped me finish the work without trying to do everything in one evening. The positive impact of a structured plan cannot be underestimated.

Another thing you can do is work with a classmate who understands the lessons you missed. The rationale behind this is that asking for help not only improves your understanding, but also gives your classmate a chance to review the material. The benefits are mutual. That's why I often ask classmates for help when I'm struggling with a lesson. You could go through the notes together, then ask your teacher about anything that's still unclear. The ball's in your court now! I hope my suggestions can be a great help to you. Best of luck!

The first suggestion is a manageable study plan. Its explanation connects planning with focusing on important work, and its example shows how daily sessions make the plan usable. The second suggestion is working with a classmate. Its explanation identifies a benefit for each person, then gives a practical way to review notes and resolve remaining questions. The model develops two distinct suggestions rather than repeating the same advice with different words.

Openings and endings that leave room for the ideas

An opening has three jobs: address the listener, acknowledge the situation and introduce the advice. A straightforward version is:

Hey Sarah, I heard that you missed some classes because you were sick. Thank you for asking me for advice. Here's what I think you should do.

A version that emphasizes understanding is:

Hey Sarah, I know you've been worried about falling behind. I've been in a similar situation before, and here are some tips that I find helpful.

The useful part to learn is the function of each sentence. The details must change with the question. “I heard you would like to catch up with the classes you missed” names the actual concern more clearly than leaving the opening at “I heard you're struggling with something.” If the precise word disappears under pressure, simpler wording can keep the response moving; naming the difficulty remains preferable when possible.

Two common situations allow similar adaptation:

A conclusion closes the advice and offers encouragement. Several expressions serve that purpose:

• “Well, these are my tips for you. I hope you find them helpful.”
• “With these two suggestions, I hope your issues will soon be resolved.” Here, will be resolved is a passive form.
• “I hope these suggestions help you catch up with your coursework.” This ending is specific to Sarah's situation.
• “Well, that's all I've got. I hope it all works out for you in the end.” Works out means that the situation ends well or the problem gets sorted out.

“The ball's in your court now” means that the next decision or action belongs to the other person. “Best of luck” or “Good luck with catching up on your classes” adds encouragement. Choose expressions that fit the relationship and that you can say comfortably. Customizing familiar wording is more useful than trying to memorize every possible version.

Choose one opening and one ending that suit your way of speaking, customize unfamiliar wording, and learn that version thoroughly enough to retrieve it without searching. Understanding its purpose and memorizing a usable version work together: the familiar framing leaves preparation time for the actual suggestions.

Develop each suggestion with the 3-1 Principle

The 3-1 Principle, or Three Ones Principle, develops a suggestion through one point, one explanation and one example. Together, the three parts make a developed talking point.

The point states the advice. The explanation answers Why would this help? The example makes the advice concrete. For the first suggestion in the model, the structure can be expressed simply:

An example can be short. Its purpose is to support the suggestion, not to become a separate story that uses all the speaking time. It may be imagined, provided that it is believable, relevant and logically connected to the advice. A story about an unrelated hobby would not help explain why a daily catch-up plan works.

The same process develops the second suggestion. “Ask a classmate to go through the notes with you” is the point. A classmate may explain material that was missed; that is the reason the suggestion helps. Reviewing the notes together and listing remaining questions for the teacher is a practical example. If the explanation is difficult to find, asking Why would this help? brings attention back to the purpose of the advice.

During early practice, the logic can be worked out in Chinese before finding the English wording. This is a way to clarify the idea while studying. The final response still needs connected English sentences.

Finish one developed idea before moving to the next. Jumping among several unrelated suggestions leaves the listener to work out the connections. The structure reduces that burden and makes planning quicker.

How the model's language develops the ideas

The first model paragraph uses to begin with to introduce the suggestion, because to explain it and to illustrate to introduce the example. “To illustrate” has the same purpose as “for example.” For the first point, “first of all” and “to start with” are also useful alternatives. Learning one or two expressions well is enough to begin using them effectively; recognizing a long list on paper is not the same as being able to retrieve it while speaking.

The sentence pattern can vary while keeping the same relationship between ideas:

Having a well-planned approach to your daily study sessions is important if you want to catch up.

If you want to catch up, it's important to have a well-planned approach.

Both versions connect the action with a condition. The explanation can follow with “I believe this to be true because a clear plan helps you focus on the most important work.” A result can be added with “thus ensuring that you make good use of your study time.” These connected patterns allow more development than a series of separate, unfinished sentences beginning “I think.” Practise the complete pattern rather than only the linking word.

The second model paragraph uses not only … but also … to connect two advantages: reviewing together helps Sarah understand the missed material and helps the classmate review it. “The benefits are mutual” means that both people benefit. “Another thing you can do” introduces a genuinely different suggestion.

An optional final comment can draw a developed point together: “The positive impact of a structured plan cannot be underestimated.” The point is already complete after the explanation and example; this extra comment is useful only if it adds something relevant. It should not introduce an unrelated idea. The expression with flying colours means doing something very successfully, such as passing an examination with a strong result. Understanding its meaning does not mean it belongs in every answer.

Transfer the method to a different question

Question: a welcome gift basket

Your friend wants to put together a welcome gift basket for a new co-worker but is unsure what to include. Give him advice on choosing suitable items.

The relationship and subject have changed, but the response still needs an opening, two developed suggestions and an ending. A first suggestion could be to check dietary needs before choosing snacks. The explanation is that the new colleague should be able to enjoy the gift. Asking about food allergies before buying anything makes that suggestion concrete. This is one worked talking point, not a complete two-point response.

Advice must remain internally consistent. Recommending an option and then giving only reasons against it leaves the listener uncertain about the recommendation. A difficulty can be acknowledged, but the response should explain how it can be handled and why the advice still makes sense.

For a prompt that presents two choices, you can take either of two directions: recommend one and explain two advantages, or explain what each choice offers to help the person decide. Stay with the choices in the question rather than introducing an unrelated third option. In the language of contrast, use “but” or “however” as needed; combining them as “but however” repeats the same function.

Prepare for fluent delivery, not just a finished page

Task 1 allows a ninety-second response. Task 7 also has a ninety-second response; the other speaking responses are sixty seconds. The useful principle is to develop the answer for the available time. Leaving a large amount of unused time can indicate that an idea has been named without explanation. A fully developed introduction and two points with a brief ending missing are different from an answer whose second point is unfinished. Content development deserves priority over a decorative closing sentence.

Searching for an impressive word should not interrupt the whole response. When a word is unfamiliar or difficult to retrieve, use language whose meaning and pronunciation are secure. Fluent, connected speech helps the listener more than one advanced expression surrounded by long pauses.

Preparation should combine four activities: learn flexible openings and endings, identify personal blind spots, organize the answer, and practise putting all its parts together. Notes can hold the two ideas and their examples while familiar framing language handles the beginning and end. To make a sentence pattern usable, create several versions—ten sentences with different content is one practice approach—and say them aloud. Writing alone does not build the same speaking habit.

If sentences come out slowly, repeat them aloud as complete phrases instead of stopping after every word. A fourth or fifth attempt may flow much more easily than the first. Keep examples proportionate so that the second suggestion still receives enough time. Familiar linking expressions also provide a reliable way into the next thought.

Early practice can use two or three minutes of preparation. As the structure becomes familiar, reduce this to one minute and then to the thirty seconds used for Task 1. The aim is faster access to connected ideas, rather than faster speech at the expense of clarity.

Use feedback to make the next response better

Recording a response makes repeated weaknesses easier to notice. Review both the ideas and the language: unfinished thoughts, unclear connections, distracting fillers, a difficult transition or a recurring verb error. A grammar checker can help identify small problems, but an explanation of the correction is necessary if the error is to change. For example, the reminder is don't forget, not don't forgot: “Don't forget to ask about the lessons you missed.”

A notebook of recurring mistakes turns general repetition into focused practice. Record the error, understand the corrected form and say the corrected sentence again. An error that is easy to notice in writing may reappear during speech because attention is divided among content, structure and delivery.

Vocabulary work should also be practical. Test whether a familiar word can be used to describe an activity or choose an appropriate adjective, rather than merely recognized in a definition. Set a manageable study goal, such as learning a hundred useful words over a period of study. A disappointing starting result identifies a direction for study; it is not a reason to stop. Similar words need to be learned in the situations and combinations in which they actually work.

Build the vocabulary list from gaps noticed while speaking: something you wanted to say but could not express. Look up the word or phrase, check how it is used, and record the base form—for example, cry rather than cried. When revising a written version of a response, also look for suitable alternatives to words you repeat. Learn a phrase as a usable combination rather than as separate words.

For a recall exercise, record yourself reading the English items without adding their Chinese meanings. Replay the recording and recall each meaning yourself. If the meaning does not come back, return to the list and review it before trying again. This tests retrieval instead of merely recognizing the answer as it is read out.

Natural delivery develops through exposure and repetition. Listen to fluent speakers, notice how intonation and words connect, and compare those patterns with personal recordings. The aim is understandable speech, not the elimination of every trace of an accent. There is no template that produces naturalness immediately.

Pressure also needs attention. A deep breath or a brief pleasant thought may help interrupt the cycle of concentrating on nervousness. Find a settling method that works in practice. Once a response is over, leave its review until after the test; the next response still deserves full attention. Flexible examples prepared for Tasks 1 and 2 can reduce the amount that must be invented under pressure, but they must always be adapted to the actual question.