Original prompt and illustrative answer by Canada Exam Prep. This is not a real, recalled or officially scored CELPIP question. Our suggested planning method does not determine a CELPIP level.
Open the free writing workspace →What the task asks you to do
Task 1 asks for an email of 150–200 words, with 27 minutes available. The official overview describes an everyday situation and specific points to address. Read every instruction before choosing your tone.
Source: CELPIP — General Overview study pack, Writing ↗Try this original prompt
You registered for an evening pottery course at a community centre. The course has been cancelled, and the centre has offered a Saturday morning replacement. Write to the programme coordinator. Explain why the replacement is difficult for you, describe the effect of the cancellation, and suggest a reasonable solution.
Make a short plan before writing
Identify who receives the email and what you need from them. Here, a polite request is more useful than an angry complaint. The reader needs to understand the scheduling problem before deciding whether to move your booking or refund it.
- Opening: identify the cancelled course and your reason for writing.
- Problem: explain the weekend work conflict and the materials you already bought.
- Request: propose another evening or a refund, with a clear next step.
Read the complete sample
Original illustrative email — not examiner-rated
Dear Ms. Chen,
I am writing about the evening pottery course that was cancelled last week. I had registered for the Tuesday sessions because they fitted around my work schedule, and I was disappointed to learn that the course would not go ahead.
I understand that the instructor is unavailable. However, the replacement course offered on Saturday mornings is difficult for me to attend because I work at a grocery store on weekends. I also bought the required materials after receiving my registration confirmation, so simply postponing the course would leave me with an unexpected expense.
Could the centre offer an evening class with another instructor, perhaps on Wednesday or Thursday? I would be happy to join a smaller group or wait until next month if an evening option is likely. If neither arrangement is possible, I would appreciate a refund of the course fee.
Please let me know which options are available before the replacement course begins. Thank you for helping me find a practical solution.
Kind regards,
Alex Martin
Why these details help
The first paragraph gives the coordinator a clear reference. The next paragraph explains why Saturday is not a workable substitute; it does not assume the centre already knows the writer’s job. The final request gives the coordinator options rather than demanding an impossible outcome.
Notice the difference between “This is unacceptable” and a concrete explanation of the inconvenience. A specific detail gives your request a reason. It also helps the reader reply without asking several follow-up questions. The sample is one possible response; another sensible arrangement could work equally well.
Check your own draft
Read the prompt again with your finished email beside it. Underline the sentence that answers each requested point. If a point has no matching sentence, revise the content before polishing vocabulary.
- Can the coordinator identify the course and the problem?
- Have you explained an effect, rather than repeating that you are disappointed?
- Is your proposed solution practical and politely expressed?
- Do the greeting, closing and sentence tone fit the reader?
- Check word count, verb tense, punctuation and repeated wording.