CELPIP Writing Task 1: Writing an Email
Task 1 gives you a situation, a reader and three bullet points, and 27 minutes to turn them into an email of 150–200 words. This guide covers the format, a plan that always covers every point, the tone rules, the phrases that help, and original samples at two levels. At the bottom you can write your own email on a practice prompt and get it scored.
Updated October 20, 2026
The format
Task 1 of the CELPIP-General writing test is called Writing an Email. You read a short situation (two to four sentences), a line that tells you who to write to, and three bullet points that say what the email must do. You then type the email in a plain text box. The time allotted is 27 minutes, and the recommended length is 150–200 words; a counter shows your word count as you type. Writing as a whole is 53 minutes, with Task 2 taking the other 26.
Typical situations: a problem with a neighbour, landlord or building; a complaint or request to a company or city department; a message to a manager or coworker about a schedule, a proposal or a change; a note to a friend about plans, a visit or a favour. The three bullets almost always follow a pattern: describe something, explain its effect or your reason, and ask for or suggest something.
A plan that covers every bullet point
Raters rate four categories, and Task Fulfillment (relevance, completeness, tone, word count) is one quarter of the task. The simplest way to protect it is to write one paragraph per bullet point, in the order given. Use this skeleton; it fits every Task 1 situation:
- Greeting that matches the reader: "Dear Ms. Lam," / "Dear Customer Service," / "Hi Dana,".
- Purpose line (one sentence): why you are writing. "I am writing about the renovation in apartment 4B." / "I was so happy to read your message."
- Bullet 1 (2–3 sentences): the facts, with one specific detail: when, how often, how much.
- Bullet 2 (2–3 sentences): the effect or reason, with one consequence the reader can picture.
- Bullet 3 (2–3 sentences): the request or suggestion, polite and concrete, with a fallback if it helps ("If that is not possible, could you…").
- Closing line and sign-off: "Thank you for your help with this matter." + "Kind regards," / "Best," + your name.
Spend the first two minutes writing the three bullet points as short notes with one detail each. Draft for about eighteen minutes. Keep the last five for the checks in the errors section. Aim for 170–190 words: enough to develop each point, short enough to re-read.
Formal, semi-formal or friendly
Tone is part of Task Fulfillment, and it is the easiest category to lose marks in without noticing. The reader named in the situation decides it:
| Reader | Tone | Greeting and sign-off | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager, landlord, company, school, city office, someone you do not know | Formal | "Dear Mr./Ms. Name," or "Dear Customer Service," · "Sincerely," / "Kind regards," | No contractions, full sentences, requests as questions ("Could you please…"), no slang. |
| Coworker, neighbour you have met, club organiser | Semi-formal | "Hi Jordan," / "Hello Mrs. Chen," · "Best," / "Thanks," | Contractions allowed, friendly but organised, still polite requests. |
| Friend, family member | Friendly | "Hi Marco," · "See you soon," / "Love," | Contractions, warmth, questions, exclamation marks in moderation; still full sentences and paragraphs. |
Friendly does not mean careless: the level 9 email to a visiting friend uses conditionals and relative clauses in a warm register. Formal does not mean stiff: "I would be grateful if you could" once is enough.
Useful phrases by paragraph
- Purpose: "I am writing about…" · "I am writing to ask whether…" · "I am writing to let you know that…" · "Thanks for your message about…"
- Describing a problem: "…has been going on for three weeks" · "…starts at 7 a.m. every day, including weekends" · "Since the work began, I have…"
- Explaining an effect: "As a result, …" · "This means that…" · "The noise is loud enough to…" · "Last week, for example, …"
- Requesting: "Could you please…?" · "I would appreciate it if you could…" · "Would it be possible to…?" · "If that is not possible, I would be grateful for…"
- Suggesting: "One solution would be to…" · "How about…?" · "I would be happy to…"
- Closing: "Thank you for your help with this matter." · "I look forward to hearing from you." · "Let me know what you think."
Use each phrase once. Raters notice an email built entirely from memorised openers; the level comes from what you put between them.
The errors that cost the most
From the mid-level samples on this site and from scorer reports, these are the Readability errors that appear most often in level 5–7 emails. Each one is cheap to fix in the final five minutes:
- "Since" and "for": "has been renovating for three weeks", "since September".
- Prepositions of time: "on Saturday", "on November 12", "in the morning", "at 7 a.m.", "on weekends".
- Articles: "a solution", "the building manager", "a very beautiful place".
- Requests: "Could you please talk to the tenant?" (not "Please you can talk").
- Verbs that take "to": "want to visit", "explain the steps to me", "suggest that we…".
- Comma splices: two full sentences need a period, a semicolon or a conjunction.
- Subject–verb agreement: "my friend has", "the person who drives pays".
Then the three Task Fulfillment checks: every bullet point answered, the tone matches the reader from the greeting to the sign-off, and the word count is between 150 and 200.
Samples at two levels
Each sample page shows a high-level email (9 to 11) and a mid-level email (5 to 7) on the same prompt, rated on the four categories, with the corrections and the evidence:
- Renovation noise from the apartment upstairs
Levels 10 and 6 · formal tone
- A community-centre course that changed halfway
Levels 9 and 7 · formal tone
- A friend wants to visit next month
Levels 9 and 5 · friendly tone
- Cancelling a gym membership before moving
Levels 11 and 7 · formal tone
- Proposing a carpool to a coworker
Levels 9 and 6 · semi-formal tone
More on the email writing format page, and on all writing samples.
Practice prompts
8 original Task 1 prompts in the official format, by theme. Pick one in the scorer below, start the 27-minute timer, and write.
- Renovation noise from the apartment upstairs (housing, formal)
- A community-centre course that changed halfway (education, formal)
- A friend wants to visit next month (family, friendly)
- Cancelling a gym membership before moving (services, formal)
- Proposing a carpool to a coworker (work, semi-formal)
- A bag left behind at a conference venue (services, formal)
- Thanking a business that supported a neighbourhood cleanup (community, semi-formal)
- A daycare that is changing its closing time (family, formal)
Frequently asked questions
How long is CELPIP Writing Task 1?
Task 1 (Writing an Email) is 27 minutes. The recommended length is 150–200 words, and the word count is shown on screen while you type.
Do I need a subject line in the CELPIP email?
No. The test screen gives you a text box, not an email client. Start with the greeting ("Dear Mr. Patel," or "Hi Sam,"), write the body in short paragraphs, and end with a closing and your name.
Formal or informal: how do I know?
The situation names the reader. A manager, landlord, company, school or city department takes a formal or semi-formal tone ("Dear…", no contractions, polite requests with "Could you…"). A friend, neighbour you know, or family member takes a friendly tone ("Hi…", contractions, "Let me know"). Mixing the two costs Task Fulfillment marks.
What happens if I miss one bullet point?
Task Fulfillment drops, and because it is one of four equally weighted categories, the task level usually falls one or two levels. Plan one paragraph per bullet point before you write, and check all three in the last two minutes.
Can I invent details?
Yes. The raters assess your English, not your biography. Invented but specific details (a date, a membership number, a street) make the email more convincing and lift Content/Coherence.
Score your email
Write your email on one of the prompts (or paste the one you answered elsewhere) and get an estimated CELPIP level, the four category ratings, every error explained, and a level-10 model answer on the same prompt.
Renovation noise from the apartment upstairs
The tenant in the apartment above yours started a renovation three weeks ago. The work begins at 7 a.m., including on weekends, and you work evening shifts. Write an email to the building manager.
In about 150–200 words, write an email to the building manager. Your email should do the following things:
- Describe the problem and when it happens
- Explain how it is affecting you
- Suggest what the manager could do about it
Draft saved in this browser.
Free: 2 full reports per day per device, no sign-up. Your text is scored by an AI model on the four official categories; the level is an estimate.
- Checking the task and the word count
- Rating the four categories
- Finding and explaining errors
- Writing a model answer