CELPIP Writing Questions

Real writing prompts, exactly as they are published

Prompts are the thing you are really spending your practice time on, so here are real ones taken straight from the sets listed above, unedited. Read them the way you would on test day: settle who you are writing to and what you want from them before you decide how to open.

• Task 2Medium

  Activity Funding Survey

  The school administration is asking students and parents how extracurricular funding should be used next year. Interest in technology clubs has grown, but arts programs also have long waiting lists. Since the activity budget cannot support every request, the school wants feedback before choosing new programs.

• Task 2Hard

  After-Hours Email Survey

  The company manager is surveying employees about work messages after office hours. Some staff feel pressure when emails arrive late at night, but other teams work with clients in different time zones. The company is updating its communication policy this month.

• Task 2Hard

  AI Drafting Survey

  The school administration is surveying students and parents about writing assignments. Some teachers say new digital tools can help students plan and revise, while others worry that students may depend on them too much. The school is updating its homework policy this term.

How to practise CELPIP Writing effectively

• Write against the clock from the first attempt

  Twenty-seven minutes for Task 1 and twenty-six for Task 2 is not much once you have read the prompt twice. Start the timer on attempt one rather than saving it for later — a response you can actually produce in the time is worth more than a better one you cannot.

• Land inside the word band without counting

  Both tasks target 150 to 200 words. Practise arriving in that band by feel, because on test day the counting and re-counting is time you do not have to spare.

• Use the difficulty split deliberately

  The breakdown on this page shows how many prompts sit at each level. Build the habit on the easier ones — same opening move, same paragraph plan — and take the harder prompts once the structure no longer needs thinking about.

• Rewrite the same prompt the next day

  A prompt is not used up after one attempt. Write it, read the feedback, then write it again the following day with that feedback in front of you. The second version is usually where the improvement actually happens.

• Alternate the two tasks

  You can drop into a single task page from the cards above, but do not stay there for weeks. Task 1 rewards a controlled, polite register and Task 2 rewards committing to one side; the two want different things from you, and alternating keeps both within reach.

• Take the structure from the guide, the reps from here

  If you are still deciding how to plan a response before you start typing, begin with the structure and worked examples in our read the full CELPIP Writing strategy guide.

CELPIP Writing FAQs