Task 2 · 26 minutes · 150–200 words · original samples, not test items

CELPIP Writing Task 2 Samples With Answers Three survey questions answered in full, with a planner

Fill in your choice, two reasons with an example each, and the strongest point for the other side: the planner turns them into the four-paragraph outline that level 9–10 answers follow. Below, three original survey questions answered in full, each rated on the four official categories with notes.

Your choice (the option, in a few words) Reason 1 Example or number for reason 1 Reason 2 Example or number for reason 2 The strongest point for the other option (your concession)

Your four-paragraph plan · 6/6 fields filled

Choice and thesis (1–2 sentences). I would choose opening the library on Sundays, mainly because it helps the people with the fewest alternatives.
Reason 1 (4–5 sentences). My main reason is that it helps the people with the fewest alternatives. For example, parents working two jobs and newcomers in weekday language classes can only come on Sunday. Add one consequence: what this changes for the people involved.
Reason 2 (4–5 sentences). There is also a second argument: each staffing hour reaches more people. In practice, evening visits are short returns, while a Sunday afternoon fills the study tables for the whole period. Add a number or a scene if you can.
Concession and conclusion (2–3 sentences). I accept that late evenings would help students during exams. On balance, however, opening the library on Sundays does more for more people, so that is the option I would support.

Write each paragraph from its line, in your own words, and aim for 170–190 words in total. Do not copy the starters mechanically: raters reward development, not formulas.

Draft written? Score it free and compare your category ratings with the samples below.

Original samples · No account · Score your answer free

Three survey questions with full answers

Each answer responds to one of the original survey prompts on this site, at the length and in the format of the test. The level is our judgement against the official performance standards; the notes give the reason for each category.

Online or in-person evening classes

Level 10 · CLB 10

A local college is redesigning its evening courses for working adults and wants to know which format students prefer.

Which format would you choose?

Option A: Live online classes that you can join from home

Option B: In-person classes on campus one evening a week

Choose the option that you prefer and explain the reasons for your choice. Write about 150–200 words.

210 words

I would choose Option B, in-person classes on campus one evening a week, because for working adults the problem is rarely access to information; it is finishing what they start. Online courses are easy to join and easy to abandon. When I took a bookkeeping course from my kitchen table two years ago, the first three sessions went well, then a late shift, a sick child and a slow connection turned "I will watch the recording" into never. Of the fourteen people in my group, four finished. An evening on campus, by contrast, is an appointment: the room is booked, the instructor is waiting, and the drive there is the moment the working day ends and the studying begins. The second reason is the other students. In a classroom, the person next to you is a nurse, a mechanic or a newcomer with the same goal, and the ten minutes before class become a study group that no discussion board replaces. Several of my colleagues found their current jobs through someone they met that way. Online classes do suit parents with no evening childcare, and the college should keep a recorded option for them. On balance, however, one evening on campus produces more graduates, so Option B is my choice.

Category	Why this level
Content / Coherence	A thesis that reframes the question ("finishing what they start"), a personal scene with a number (four of fourteen finished), a second reason with a concrete payoff, a concession with a suggestion.
Vocabulary	Precise and natural: "easy to join and easy to abandon", "an appointment", "the moment the working day ends".
Readability	Varied sentence length, a cleft-like contrast ("the problem is rarely…; it is…"), smooth transitions; no errors.
Task Fulfillment	Choice in the first sentence, two reasons with examples, the other option acknowledged, a conclusion; 196 words.

Write your own answer to this survey

One big festival or several small events

Level 9 · CLB 9

Your neighbourhood association organises activities for residents. It has the budget for either one large event or several small ones each year.

Which option should the association choose?

Option A: One large summer festival with music, food and games

Option B: A small event every month, such as a market, a movie night or a sports day

Choose the option that you prefer and explain the reasons for your choice. Write about 150–200 words.

198 words

I prefer Option B, a small event every month, because a neighbourhood is built on people seeing each other often, not once a year. A single summer festival is wonderful for one weekend and then disappears. Last year our association put almost everything into a July festival: it rained on the Saturday, the band played to forty people, and by September nobody remembered the names they had learned. A monthly event is a habit instead of a gamble. The February movie night in the community hall cost less than the festival's sound system and drew sixty families, many of whom came back for the March market. Monthly events also reach different people. Seniors come to a Sunday afternoon market, teenagers come to a sports day, and parents of young children come to anything that ends before bedtime. One festival has to please everyone at once; twelve small events can each please someone in particular. I understand that a big festival makes the neighbourhood visible to the whole city, and that matters for local businesses. On balance, though, twelve chances to meet the neighbours do more for the people who live here, so I would choose the monthly events.

Category	Why this level
Content / Coherence	Two distinct reasons (habit versus gamble; different audiences), each with a specific example (rain in July, sixty families in February), and a concession that names the strongest point for the festival.
Vocabulary	Natural collocations: "built on people seeing each other", "a habit instead of a gamble", "please someone in particular".
Readability	Clear paragraphs, a colon-led example, one sentence slightly long; no errors.
Task Fulfillment	Choice first, reasons, examples, concession, conclusion; 199 words.

Write your own answer to this survey

Cards only or cash at the farmers’ market

Level 9 · CLB 9

The organisers of your town’s weekly farmers’ market are deciding how vendors should accept payment next season and are asking customers for their opinion.

Which option do you prefer?

Option A: All vendors accept cards and phone payments only

Option B: Vendors keep accepting cash as well as cards

Choose the option that you prefer and explain the reasons for your choice. Write about 150–200 words.

212 words

I would choose Option B, keeping cash as well as cards, because a farmers' market exists to be the easiest place in town to buy food, and a cards-only rule makes it harder for exactly the people who need it most. Every Saturday I see the same customers paying in cash: an older couple who buy one bag of apples and count out the coins, teenagers sent by their parents with a twenty-dollar bill, and newcomers who have not yet opened a Canadian bank account. Under Option A, each of them would be turned away, politely, by a sign at every stall. A sign is cheaper than a card reader, but it costs the market the welcome it is known for. Cash also protects the smallest vendors. The honey seller and the woman who sells six kinds of bread work alone and sell perhaps two hundred dollars on a good morning; card fees of two or three percent come straight out of their profit. For them a cash sale is simply worth more. I accept that cards are faster at a busy stall and safer for the organisers to count at the end of the day. The market can encourage cards without banning cash, however, so Option B is the fairer choice.

Category	Why this level
Content / Coherence	A thesis about the purpose of the market, two reasons (customers, vendors) each developed with specific people and numbers, a concession answered in one sentence.
Vocabulary	Precise and idiomatic: "count out the coins", "turned away, politely, by a sign", "come straight out of their profit".
Readability	Varied structures, a short sentence used for emphasis ("For them a cash sale is simply worth more."), transitions placed mid-sentence; no errors.
Task Fulfillment	Clear choice, reasons with examples, other option acknowledged, conclusion; 203 words, slightly over the range, which raters do not penalise.

Write your own answer to this survey

What the three answers have in common

The choice and the thesis in the first sentence. Not "I think Option B is better" but "Option B, because…": the reader knows what every paragraph will prove.
Two reasons, each with something you can picture. Four of fourteen finished; rain on the Saturday; an older couple counting out the coins. Raters reward development, and a scene or a number is development in one sentence.
A concession with a fact attached. "I accept that cards are faster at a busy stall" shows judgement and sets up the conclusion.
A conclusion in new words. "Twelve chances to meet the neighbours" restates the choice without repeating the first sentence.

The Task 2 guide explains the four-paragraph structure and the phrases; the sample pairs show the same survey at a mid level and a high level, so you can see what the level-6 version of each move looks like.

From a plan to a scored answer

Fill in the planner above in two minutes: the option, two reasons, one example each, the concession. Do not write sentences yet.
Draft from the outline for about eighteen minutes, one paragraph per line, aiming for 170–190 words.
Spend the last five minutes on the checklist: choice in sentence one, an example in each reason, "fewer" with countable nouns, "were" in unreal conditionals, no comma splices.
Score the draft: the report rates the same four categories as above, lists every error with the rule, and writes a level-10 model answer on the same prompt. Rewrite once and score again.

CELPIP writing Task 2 questions to practise

8 original survey questions in the official format. Each opens in the scorer with the 26-minute timer; the three answers above cover the first three. For both tasks under the official clock, take the free writing mock test.

Longer weekday evenings or Sunday opening at the library (community)
Working from home or a four-day week (work)
A playground or a community garden (community)
School uniforms at the local elementary school (education)
Free transit for students or a cheaper pass for everyone (services)
One big festival or several small events (community)
Online or in-person evening classes (education)
Cards only or cash at the farmers’ market (services)

Frequently asked questions

What is CELPIP Writing Task 2?

Responding to Survey Questions: a situation, a question and two options; you choose one and explain the choice in about 150–200 words in 26 minutes. It is a survey response, not an academic essay: no title, no greeting, and the first sentence states your choice.

How many reasons should a Task 2 answer have?

Two, each developed with a specific example or a number, plus a one- or two-sentence concession. The three samples here all use that shape; three reasons without examples is the most common level-6 pattern.

Do I have to choose the option I agree with?

No. Choose the option you can support with the most specific examples in English. Raters rate the writing, not the opinion.

Can I use "I" and my own experience in Task 2?

Yes. A survey asks for your view, and a short personal scene ("When I took a bookkeeping course from my kitchen table…") is the most efficient way to develop a reason.

How are these samples rated?

By us, category by category, against the official performance standards (Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Readability, Task Fulfillment); the levels are our judgement, not official scores. The AI scorer on this site uses the same four categories.

Where are the CELPIP writing Task 2 questions to practise?

The eight original survey prompts on this site are listed below; each opens in the scorer with the 26-minute timer, and the writing mock test runs Task 1 and Task 2 back to back.

Task 2 timing and word counts: CELPIP Test Format & Scoring (53 minutes for the writing component) and the official free sample test (26 minutes, 150–200 words), read 20 October 2026. Rating categories: CELPIP Writing Performance Standards. The prompts and answers are original and are not test items.