CELPIP Writing Task 2: Responding to Survey Questions
Task 2 shows you a survey with two options and gives you 26 minutes to choose one and defend it in 150–200 words. It rewards a clear choice, reasons that become arguments through specific examples, and a short concession. This guide gives you the structure, the phrases, the errors to avoid, and original samples at two levels; you can score your own response at the bottom.
Updated October 20, 2026
The format
Task 2 of the CELPIP-General writing test is called Responding to Survey Questions. You read a short situation (a city, employer, school or community group is asking people's opinion), a question, and two options, A and B. You choose one and write about 150–200 words explaining your choice. The time allotted is 26 minutes. Like Task 1, the answer is typed in a plain text box with a word counter.
The situations are everyday civic and workplace choices: how a library, park or transit budget should be spent; which work arrangement to adopt; whether a school should change a policy; which kind of event a community should run. There is never a right answer. The raters rate the same four categories as in Task 1: Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Readability and Task Fulfillment.
A four-paragraph structure
- Choice and thesis (1–2 sentences): "I would choose Option B, opening the library on Sundays, because it serves the people who have the fewest alternatives." The "because" clause is the thesis: it tells the reader what your reasons will have in common.
- First reason (4–5 sentences): the reason, then a specific example, scene or number, then the consequence.
- Second reason (4–5 sentences): a different kind of reason (practical after personal, long-term after immediate), developed the same way.
- Concession and conclusion (2–3 sentences): "I accept that…" + the other option's best point, then "On balance, however, …" + your choice restated in new words.
Plan for two minutes: write the choice, two reasons and one example for each as notes. Draft for about seventeen minutes. Keep the last five for checking the connectors and the grammar list below. Three reasons with no examples is the most common level-6 pattern; two reasons with examples is the most common level-9 pattern.
Turning a reason into an argument
The difference between "Sunday opening is good for families" (a reason) and an argument is the support. Three kinds of support work in 150–200 words:
- A scene: "When I worked remotely during the pandemic, my laptop stayed open on the kitchen table and I answered messages until late in the evening."
- A number attached to a person: "A cleaner starting at 6 a.m. in the suburbs would save roughly $25 a month, which is a week of groceries."
- A local detail: "the food bank on Elm Street, which already runs a table in the park on Saturdays."
Invented details are fine; raters assess the English. What they cannot reward is "many people think" and "it is very useful". Compare the two answers on the playground or community garden page: the level 11 answer has a balcony, a street and a retired neighbour; the level 5 answer has "many childrens".
Useful phrases
- Choice: "I would choose Option A, …, because…" · "My choice is…" · "I support Option B, mainly because…"
- Reasons: "My main reason is…" · "The second reason is…" · "There is also a practical argument."
- Examples: "For instance, …" · "In my neighbourhood, …" · "When I…, I found that…"
- Consequence: "As a result, …" · "This means that…" · "…, which leaves…"
- Concession: "I accept that…" · "I understand the argument that…" · "…is appealing and easy to explain."
- Conclusion: "On balance, however, …" · "Given that, …" · "…so Option B is the better decision."
The errors that cost the most
- No article before "Option A": "I prefer Option B", not "the option B".
- "Fewer" and "less": fewer cars, fewer mistakes; less traffic, less money.
- Comparatives: easier, cheaper, fairer; "more" only with long adjectives.
- Collocations: get exercise, waste time doing, prepare for an exam, make a decision.
- Unreal conditionals: "If transit were free, students could…".
- Plurals: children, people, lives, advice (uncountable).
- List markers that are not sentences: "The first reason is that…" or "First, …", not "First reason, …".
Samples at two levels
- Longer weekday evenings or Sunday opening at the library
Levels 10 and 6
- Working from home or a four-day week
Levels 9 and 7
- A playground or a community garden
Levels 11 and 5
- School uniforms at the local elementary school
Levels 9 and 6
- Free transit for students or a cheaper pass for everyone
Levels 10 and 7
See also all writing samples and the list of common writing topics.
Practice prompts
8 original Task 2 surveys. Pick one below, start the 26-minute timer, and write.
- 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
Is CELPIP Task 2 an essay?
Not in the academic sense. It is a survey response: you choose one of two options and explain the choice in about 150–200 words, in connected paragraphs. No title, no greeting, no formal introduction with background; the first sentence states your choice.
Do I have to pick the option I believe in?
No. Pick the option you can support with the most specific reasons and examples in English. Raters assess the writing, not the opinion.
Should I mention the other option?
Yes, briefly: one or two sentences that acknowledge its strongest point and explain why your choice still wins. It shows judgement and gives you a natural conclusion. Do not spend a whole paragraph on it.
How many reasons do I need?
Two well-developed reasons, each with a specific example or consequence, score higher than three general ones. The level 9–11 samples on this site use two reasons plus a concession.
Can I use "I" and personal examples?
Yes. A survey asks for your view, and a short personal example ("When I worked from home last year, …") is one of the most effective ways to develop a reason.
Score your response
Longer weekday evenings or Sunday opening at the library
Your city’s public library can afford to extend its opening hours in one way only. It is asking residents which option they prefer.
Which option should the library choose?
Option A: Stay open until 9 p.m. on weekdays instead of 6 p.m.
Option B: Open on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Choose the option that you prefer and explain the reasons for your choice. Write about 150–200 words.
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