Picture two answers to the same Task 7 question. One reaches for advanced words: detrimental, paradigm, facilitate. The other uses common words exactly right: commute, rent, part-time.
The answer with the plainer words often scores higher. A final level comes from all four scoring areas, not vocabulary alone. But advanced words do not lift an answer when the phrases around them come out imprecise or unnatural, like make a big influence or in the nowadays.
Words that do not fit the sentence around them cost you. Words that are simple and exact do not.
That is this whole page in one example. Good speaking vocabulary is not rare. It is exact, and it sounds like something a person would actually say.
CELPIP publishes what the Vocabulary score measures:
Word choice
Suitable use of words and phrases
Range of words and phrases
Precision and accuracy
Notice that none of the four is difficulty. Range means enough different words to say exactly what you mean. It does not mean long ones.
🎥 Why big words hurt, and what to use instead (15:12)
This video covers both writing and speaking. The speaking section starts at 9:45, and the rest of it applies to speaking just as much.
Jump to: 0:00 why big words cost you · 2:30 the words to stop using · 4:30 word partnerships that sound natural · 9:45 vocabulary for speaking · 11:45 a before and after
Look at the kind of phrases that make an answer precise.
On a Task 1 answer about a move abroad: once you land there, forward your resume, afford a deposit.
On a Task 4 picture of a shop: bar code, self-checkout, aisle, stepping out.
None of those is a hard word. Aisle. Bar code. Forward your resume. What they share is that each one belongs to its situation. Self-checkout only makes sense in a shop. Once you land there only makes sense about a trip.
Precise means the word could only be describing this. A general word could be describing anything.
Vague words come in three kinds, and the fix is the same for all three.
1. A strong word stuck on a weak word
Really good. Pretty expensive. Great help. The first word makes the second louder, but the second word still says almost nothing. How expensive? Good at what?
❌ It's a really good university.
✅ It's one of the few universities in the province with a co-op program.
2. General nouns
Stuff. Things. Some items. The listener cannot see the picture, so stuff shows them nothing. (Driving her cart is a different problem, a word partnership that English does not use. That one is covered further down.)
❌ She is carrying some stuff to the car.
✅ She is carrying two paper grocery bags and a case of water to the car.
3. Abstract words that sound impressive
Beneficial sounds good and means very little. Beneficial how, and to whom?
❌ Learning a second language is very beneficial and gives you different opportunities.
✅ Speaking French would let you apply for the federal jobs in Ottawa that ask for both languages.
The fix for all three: say what it is, or what it does. Not a bigger word. A more exact one.
The purpose of range fits in one line: more words let you be more precise.
Range is a means. The end is precision. You need more words so that you can pick the one that fits, not so that you can show them off.
Here is what a lack of range sounds like on Task 4: I think the people will buy tickets. The people will be happy. Then the people will go inside.
The answer keeps saying the people. The fix is not a synonym for people. It is naming which people: the man at the counter, the woman with the cart. Repetition usually means you are being general. A thesaurus will not fix that. Being specific will.
Suitable use of words and phrases is about whether a word fits the words around it and the person you are talking to.
Every word in start asking for lunch is simple. Together, they are not how anyone says it. English has word partnerships, and a native speaker hears a wrong partnership immediately.
| Sounds wrong | Sounds natural |
|---|
| do a fast decision | make a quick decision |
| start asking for lunch | ask someone out for lunch |
| driving her cart | pushing her cart |
| a strong rain | heavy rain |
| take up the bus | catch the bus |
If you are not sure a phrase is right, use a simpler one you are sure of. A plain phrase that is correct beats an ambitious one that is not.
Suitable also means the right voice for the person. You must carefully evaluate the financial implications is fine vocabulary said to the wrong person, if the person is a friend. The Task 1 strategy asks for a helpful and thoughtful tone, and that shapes the words as much as the grammar.
🎥 General words, on real answers
CELPIP Speaking: 18 Mistakes That Cost You Points on All 8 Tasks (17:37)
Jump to 12:57, mistake 15: general words instead of precise ones, with the examiners' own list.
CELPIP Speaking Task 7 Template: Full 90-Second Answer + Structure (13:26)
Jump to 6:57 for a thin reason against a developed one, and 8:08 for why specific beats advanced.
A piece of Task 1 advice to a friend who wants to eat better and spend less.
General words:
I think a cooking class would be really good for you. It's very helpful and you can learn a lot of different things, and it's beneficial for your health and also for your money.
Precise words:
I think you should try the six-week evening class at the community centre. It's about ninety dollars, and by the third week you'll have three dinners you can make without a recipe, which is cheaper than two weekends of takeout.
The second one has no difficult words at all. Six-week. Evening class. Community centre. Ninety dollars. Without a recipe. Takeout. Each one belongs to this piece of advice and nowhere else.
Not phrases to memorise. Words that belong to what each task asks you to do, so that they are ready when you need them.
Task 1, Giving Advice. If I were you, I'd… · it might be worth… · have you thought about… · before you decide… · this week · by the weekend
Task 2, Personal Experience. when · the first time · the moment · from there · by the time · a few minutes later · and that's when
Task 3, Describing a Scene. in the foreground · at the far end · halfway along · leaning against · kneeling · reaching for · faded · striped · wooden
Task 4, Making Predictions. is about to · any minute now · judging by · she's going to be relieved · he'll probably be embarrassed
Task 5, Comparing and Persuading. compared to · the main advantage is · although yours is… · whereas · a better fit for what you need
Task 6, Difficult Situation. I know this means a lot to you · I've decided · I have to be honest with you · I'm not angry with you
Task 7, Expressing Opinions. the main reason is · my second reason is · and the third one is · admittedly · but that is a reason for…, not for…
Task 8, Unusual Situation. it looks like · it seems to be · on top of · growing out of · round · curved · painted · worn
When the word will not come
Build it out of easy words. You do not know trellis, so you say a wooden frame that plants grow up. You do not know wheelbarrow, so you say a one-wheeled cart for carrying soil. Everyone understands you, and you keep going.
Stopping to search costs more than a plain description. A long pause is also a Listenability problem, and it can cost you on completeness too.
Choosing a word because it sounds advanced. The Level 8 with ethical and disparities scored below the Level 9 with field of work.
Really good, pretty expensive, great help. A strong word on a weak word. Say how, or how much.
Stuff and things. Name the object.
Beneficial, different opportunities. Say what it does and for whom.
Fixing repetition with synonyms. Usually the repeated word is a general one. Be more specific instead.
Ambitious partnerships you are not sure of. Start asking for lunch is simple words in the wrong order. Use the phrase you know is right.
Formal words to a friend. Suitable means suitable for the person.
Stopping to find the perfect word. Describe it in easy words and move on.
1. Hunt the vague (5 min). Record any answer and write down every really, pretty, very, good, great, nice, stuff, thing and beneficial. Replace each with what it actually is or does. Record again.
2. Situation words (3 min). Pick any scene: a pharmacy, a bus station, a farmers market. In one minute, write ten words that only belong there. Prescription counter. Transfer. Pay by the pound. That list is your range for that scene.
3. Plain versus exact (5 min). Take the three kinds of vague word on this page, really good university, some stuff, beneficial, and write your own precise version of each for a situation from your own life.
4. Describe it without the word (3 min). Pick five objects you cannot name in English. Describe each in one sentence using only words you are sure of.
Related: Listenability for how your sentences are built · Scoring and Performance Standards for all sixteen factors · Common Errors, mistake 15 · Task 7, where specific beats advanced is taught on a full answer.