CELPIP Writing Tips: How to Score 9+ on Task 1 and Task 2

The CELPIP Writing tips that move scores are simple: decide who you are writing to before you type, open with one sentence that states your purpose, answer every part of the prompt in order, back each idea with one specific detail, plan for about 4 minutes and check for about 3, then fix the mistakes you repeat.

Most people who miss a 9 in CELPIP Writing don't miss it because their English is weak. They miss it because they skip a part of the prompt, pick the wrong tone, or run out of time before they check. Those are habits, and habits can be trained. This guide shows what CELPIP says a Level 9 writer does, then turns it into tips for both tasks. When you want the structure itself, use the Writing Task 1 template and the Writing Task 2 template.

🎥 How to reach a 10 or higher without big words, in under five minutes (4:42)

The shortest lesson on the channel, and the one most people need first: what the examiner is scoring when you write plainly, and why the advanced word you are about to use is the one that costs you.

📚 The full CELPIP Writing Course is free: CELPIP Writing Course · More lessons on the CELTESTPIP YouTube channel

What are the best CELPIP Writing tips?

1. Ask "who am I writing to?" first. In Task 1, the reader in the prompt decides how formal you are, and your greeting and sign-off.
2. Start with a purpose statement. One sentence that says why you are writing (Task 1) or which option you choose (Task 2).
3. Answer every part, in order. Task 1 usually asks you to do around three things. Give each one its own paragraph so none goes missing.
4. Give every idea one specific detail. "The waiter brought the wrong dish twice" beats "the service was bad".
5. Use your own words, not the prompt's. Copying phrases from the question shows nothing about your vocabulary.
6. Mix short and long sentences. Short ones make a point land. Longer ones show you can control grammar.
7. Join paragraphs with plain transitions. "Another concern is", "On top of that", "That said". Clear beats fancy.
8. In Task 2, give reasons and compare. Say why your choice is better, and say a word about the other option.
9. Plan for about 4 minutes and check for about 3. That is CELPIP's own advice, and it is where the easy points are.
10. Know your own repeat mistakes. Most people make the same three or four errors every time. Check for those first.

The rest of this page explains each tip, with a sample answer for each task. For tips across all four skills, see our CELPIP 9 guide.

What does a Level 9 CELPIP writer do?

CELPIP publishes Level Descriptors that say, in "At this level, I can" form, what a typical writer at each level does. The May 2026 version describes a Level 9 writer as someone who can "write short formal and informal texts of some complexity" and "support key ideas with relevant facts, descriptions, details, or quotations", in situations that are formal or informal.

The difference between a 9 and a 10 is small on paper and very useful in practice:

Read the last row twice. At Level 9, CELPIP expects most informal conventions but only some formal ones. Formal emails are where a 9 stays a 9, so give them extra practice.

CELPIP's Writing Pro: Target 9+ Study Pack lists three things a Level 9 writer should work on next: fully developing ideas, using more context-specific vocabulary, and making fewer grammar and vocabulary errors. Every tip on this page serves one of those three. To see every level side by side, use our CELPIP Writing score chart.

How CELPIP Writing Is Scored: The 4 Criteria

Trained raters score your writing on four dimensions. CELPIP publishes what they look at in each one:

CELPIP publishes these dimensions but not a formula for how they combine into your level. So don't bet on one strength covering a weakness. Perfect grammar will not rescue an email that skipped one of the things the prompt asked for.

CELPIP Task 1 Strategy: Writing an Email

Task 1 gives you 27 minutes to write an email of 150 to 200 words about an everyday situation. The prompt names the person you are writing to and usually asks you to do around three things. Every one of them needs an answer.

Step 1: Decide who you are writing to (30 seconds)

This is the most important decision in Task 1. Get it wrong and you lose Task Fulfillment marks even if your grammar is perfect.

CELPIP's 2026 overview study pack describes the Task 1 reader as someone in the middle: "This is not an email to a friend or family member, but also not to a member of the government." Its tone advice is that "formality should be neither too formal nor too informal." So the real question is how well you know the reader and what you are asking for.

How to tell: the prompt names the reader and your relationship. Read it twice before you plan. Either way, CELPIP's Target 9+ advice applies: use a greeting and sign-off that fit the situation, and avoid rudeness, sarcasm and casual slang.

Step 2: Plan before you write (about 4 minutes)

Don't start typing right away.

• Note the reader and the tone.
• Read every part of the prompt and write a one-line idea for each.
• Put them in order: greeting, purpose, one paragraph per part, closing, sign-off.

This step prevents the two biggest Task 1 problems: a messy email and a part of the prompt you forgot to answer.

Step 3: Write with this structure (about 20 minutes)

Greeting (one line). Match the reader. "Dear Mr. Thompson," for a manager. "Hi Sarah," for a neighbour you know.

Purpose (one or two sentences). Say why you are writing. Get to the point.

Body (one short paragraph per part of the prompt). Two or three sentences each, with one specific detail. Don't just state the point. Develop it a little.

Closing (one or two sentences). A forward-looking line or a polite request that fits the tone, then your sign-off and name.

Step 4: Check (about 3 minutes)

Read once for grammar. Read again for flow and for every part of the prompt. The spell check catches misspelled words, but it will not catch a real word in the wrong place ("their" for "there") or a missing article.

Task 1 example: what a 9+ answer looks like

Prompt: Write an email to your building manager about noise from another apartment. In your email, describe the noise, say when it happens, and explain what you would like the manager to do.

Dear Ms. Rivera,

I am writing to report an ongoing noise problem from the apartment directly above mine, unit 405.

For the past three weeks, loud music has been playing almost every evening between 10 p.m. and midnight, and on weekends it sometimes continues until 1 a.m. The bass is especially disruptive. It vibrates through the ceiling into my bedroom, and it makes it very difficult to sleep before my early shifts at the hospital.

I have already tried to speak with the tenant directly, but no one answered the door on two separate occasions. I also left a polite note, and the situation has not improved.

I would appreciate it if you could contact the tenant and remind them of the building's quiet hours, which the lease sets from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. If the noise continues after that, I would like to meet with you to discuss what other options might be available.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely, Alex Chen

Why it works. The formal tone matches a building manager. All three parts of the prompt are answered, each with a concrete detail (unit 405, 10 p.m. to midnight, the bass coming through the ceiling, the lease's quiet hours). The writer shows they tried to solve it first, which makes the request reasonable. One idea per paragraph. (169 words.)

CELPIP Writing Task 2 tips: how do you answer the survey?

Task 2 gives you 26 minutes and 150 to 200 words. You read a short survey with two options, pick one, and explain why. It is not an email, so there is no greeting and no sign-off, and it is not an academic essay either. Write to the people running the survey, clearly and politely.

Step 1: Choose your side quickly (30 seconds)

Don't overthink it. Pick the option you can support with better examples, not the one you would choose in real life. If you have two strong reasons for Option A and one vague reason for Option B, write about A.

Step 2: Plan your response (about 3 minutes)

Write down:

• your choice
• reason 1 and a specific detail
• reason 2 and a specific detail, from a different angle
• one sentence about the other option

Step 3: Write with this structure (about 18 minutes)

Opening (one or two sentences). State your choice in the first sentence. No warm-up.

Reason 1 (three or four sentences). The reason, then a specific example from real life: a place, a person, a number from your own week.

Reason 2 (three or four sentences). A different angle from reason 1, with its own detail.

The other option, then your conclusion (two or three sentences). Say something fair about the option you did not choose, then why yours is still better. CELPIP's own Target 9+ advice for Task 2 is to "compare your choice to the other choice", so this paragraph earns its place.

Give reasons, not suggestions or descriptions, and write in paragraphs, never in point form.

Step 4: Check (about 5 minutes)

Same as Task 1: grammar first, then flow, then the word count on screen.

Task 2 example: what a 9+ answer looks like

Prompt: Your employer is planning next year's work schedule and has asked staff to choose one option. Option A: staff work from home three days a week. Option B: staff work in the office every day, and the company provides a free lunch. Choose one option and explain why.

I would choose Option A, working from home three days a week, because it would give me back time and help me do better work.

My main reason is the time I would save. My commute is about an hour each way on two buses, so three days at home would give me back six hours every week. I could use those hours to exercise before work or help my children with their homework, and I would start each day with more energy.

Another reason is focus. Our office is open plan, and phone calls and conversations happen around my desk all day. At home, I can close the door and finish a report in one morning instead of two. My work would be faster and more accurate.

I understand that a free lunch is attractive, and seeing colleagues every day builds team spirit. However, two office days a week are enough for meetings and social time, and the hours I would save at home are worth far more to me than a free sandwich.

Why it works. The choice is in the first sentence. Two separate reasons, each with a detail from the writer's own life (two buses, six hours a week, an open plan office). The last paragraph is fair to Option B and still explains why A is better. Polite and plain, not an essay. (175 words.)

How should you split your time on CELPIP Writing?

CELPIP's Writing Pro: Target 9+ Study Pack recommends planning each response for around 4 to 5 minutes and checking it for around 3 minutes after you write. Here is how we teach it. Neither split is official, and both sit close to that advice.

Task 1 (27 minutes)

Task 2 (26 minutes)

The Task 2 template explains why we keep Task 2 planning short and the check long.

If you are running out of time: write one closing sentence now, so the response has an ending. In Task 2, a short note on the other option is better than none, but two developed reasons matter more than a rushed third paragraph.

Which grammar mistakes cost the most points?

These are the errors we see most often in student answers. They all live in Readability, so fixing them pays off on both tasks.

A quick checking trick: read your answer from the last sentence to the first. You stop reading for meaning and start seeing each sentence on its own, so errors stand out. For the full list of grammar points and how they affect your level, see our CELPIP grammar guide.

Does CELPIP Writing have spell check, and how many words should you write?

Yes, there is a spell check. CELPIP's Guidebook lists "a personal timer, word counter, and spell-check" among the test's features. It is a spelling tool, not a grammar tool: it cannot tell you that "their" should be "there" or that a verb doesn't agree with its subject. CELPIP's own writing advice also warns that it is "sometimes difficult to choose the right word when the spelling checker offers you a choice," so know your own spelling of common words. More detail, including retakes, is in our guide to CELPIP Writing spell check and retake rules.

Word count: 150 to 200 for each task. CELPIP says there is a little room to be under or over, and that your score may suffer if you are significantly outside the range. It publishes no exact buffer. We teach students to aim for 175 to 200 words: enough room to develop every idea, without running out of time. Watch the word counter on screen as you write.

How should you practise CELPIP Writing?

Daily (15 to 20 minutes)

• Write one email or survey answer under a timer. Use the free first question in the Writing Task 1 sample test and the Writing Task 2 sample test.
• Check your answer against the four dimensions above. Be honest about where you lost marks.
• Read one article from a Canadian news site and notice how the writer opens paragraphs and moves between ideas.
• Build your word bank with the CELPIP word lists. A bigger word bank means more precise details.

Weekly

• Write both tasks back to back under full timed conditions. No pausing, no looking things up.
• Ask a friend or a teacher three questions: does the tone match the reader, is every part of the prompt answered, which mistake repeats?
• Keep a list of your repeat grammar errors and drill those.
• Keep Listening, Reading and Speaking going too. Writing points don't help if another skill falls below your target.

The week before the test

• Don't learn new grammar rules. Review the ones you know.
• Write two or three timed answers and focus on your planning, not just the writing.
• Make sure you can type comfortably for 20 minutes at a time. If you type slowly, the clock is a real problem.
• Read the test day checklist so nothing surprises you.

For a full schedule across all four skills, use the 4-week CELPIP study plan.