CELPIP Writing Task 2: responding to a survey

CELPIP Writing Task 2 format and timing

The survey asks for a preference between two options. Make the choice clear, support it with relevant reasons and explain why it suits the situation better than the alternative. You do not need an email greeting or sign-off.

Use the planning period to choose reasons you can explain. A preference that is easy to develop is more useful for practice than an ambitious argument you cannot express clearly within the available space.

How the CELPIP survey response is rated

• Content/Coherence: organize the argument around your chosen option. Explain how each reason leads to a benefit for the people in the scenario.
• Vocabulary: name the relevant features and consequences precisely. Avoid using a grand expression where a concrete description would explain more.
• Readability: use paragraphs and connectors that show cause, contrast and qualification. Check grammar, spelling and punctuation after you have a complete argument.
• Task Fulfillment: answer the actual survey, make your position clear, maintain an appropriate tone and meet the word count.

A comparison should use the same criterion for both options. If you favour an improvement because it serves more garden visitors, explain who benefits from the alternative and why your choice still better meets the need you identified.

A paragraph-by-paragraph survey template

Try 4–5 minutes for planning and about 3 minutes for proofreading, following CELPIP preparation guidance. Use the middle of the task to write and develop the argument. This is a suggested working routine.

1. Open with the option you support and the main reason it fits the situation.
2. Develop a reason with a concrete example or consequence. Connect the example directly to the proposed improvement.
3. Explain another relevant benefit, or expand the most important one if it needs more support.
4. Compare with the other option fairly. Acknowledge its use, then explain why your preference matters more in this situation.
5. Close briefly with the decision you recommend. Check that your final sentence agrees with the opening.

You can combine the comparison with a supporting paragraph. The goal is a connected response, not a fixed number of paragraphs.

Original CELPIP survey practice prompt

A neighbourhood association in Winnipeg has funding for one improvement to a community garden. Option A is a sheltered seating area. Option B is a set of additional raised planting beds. Respond to the association’s survey: choose one option, explain your reasons, and compare your choice with the other option. Write 150–200 words.

Write your own response before reading the samples. Both options are reasonable, so choose according to the reasons you can develop. You may add plausible details about this fictional garden, but do not present invented claims as research about real Winnipeg gardens.

For planning, ask who uses the garden, what problem your option would address and what benefit the other option offers. Make the comparison specific enough that a reader can understand the trade-off even if they would choose differently.

Survey sample: our estimate, around CLB 7

Why the first survey response works

• Content/Coherence: it supports the shelter with rest and social contact, then compares it with planting beds. The second sample gives a more developed explanation of access and competing needs.
• Vocabulary: familiar words communicate the choice clearly. Repetition of “place” and “people” could be reduced where a more specific noun would help.
• Readability: paragraph breaks separate the reasons. Most sentence patterns are straightforward, with some useful connections between ideas.
• Task Fulfillment: the choice is clear, the alternative is acknowledged and the response uses a suitable survey format.

The estimate is a teaching judgement. This answer illustrates how a complete, understandable argument can work even when its language and development remain relatively simple.

Survey sample: our estimate, around CLB 10

Why the second survey response works

• Content/Coherence: the argument identifies visitors without plots, explains their needs and links those needs to the funding choice. The comparison acknowledges the competing demand for planting space.
• Vocabulary: “accompanying a gardener,” “allocating the entire budget” and “shared seating area” make the explanation precise without changing its everyday setting.
• Readability: varied sentence structures express conditions and contrasts. Each paragraph develops one stage of the argument.
• Task Fulfillment: the response chooses one funded improvement and keeps the other option in proportion. It does not drift into an email format.

Compared with the earlier sample, the reasons are connected more carefully to the decision. The estimated band reflects that overall control, not the presence of any particular phrase.

Useful survey phrases and common Task 2 mistakes

Try “I would prioritize…” for a choice, “This would allow…” for a consequence, or “Although the alternative would help…, …” for a fair comparison. Complete each phrase with content specific to the prompt. Avoid repeatedly announcing that you have another reason.

• Discussing both options without making a clear choice.
• Listing benefits without explaining how they affect residents.
• Inventing research or statistics to make the argument sound stronger.
• Dismissing the other option without considering its practical use.
• Adding an email greeting and sign-off unnecessarily.
• Introducing a third proposal that replaces the choice in the survey.

Review the Writing overview or practise the email task next. The score chart and AI scoring guide explain how to interpret practice feedback cautiously.