CELPIP Writing Task 1 Guidelines

(1) Guidelines

Task 1 instructs you to write an email regarding a day-to-day matter. For example, you may be asked to write to a company to make a complaint or to say how happy you are with their service. It is very important to consider the task carefully and plan your response well. Use the paper and pencil provided to prepare your response. Here are some guidelines to help with this:

EXAMPLE PROMPT

Task1: Writing an Email (30 minutes)

Fundraising for Children

You are volunteering at a children's charity. You are raising money for a children's activity. Your task is to contact local businesses to raise this money.

In about 150-200 words, write an email to a local company. Your email should do the following things:

- Introduce your charity and explain what it does

- Explain the activity you are planning.

- Ask for money and explain how it will be spent.

(2) Tip for Writing Email messages:

1) Use the right tone. Writing a personal message is different from writing to a company or a work colleague. Consider the situation and choose the right words and phrases to create an appropriate tone. Be aware of how formal or informal or informal your tone should be.

2) Stay on topic. In the example prompt, you are asked to raise money for a charity. It is fine to write about the kind of work the charity does, but don't spend a lot of time introducing yourself and talking about your own experience. Refer to the tasks listed in the prompt and stay focused on them.

3) Keep your emotions under control. You may be asked to write a complaint about a bad product or unsatisfactory service. You can express disappointment and dissatisfaction, but it is not appropriate to express extreme anger or to threaten the reader. For example, instead of writing, "I can't believe you haven't fired every single stupid worker in your company!" it is much better to write, " I strongly recommend that you consider a full training program for all your staff members."

4) Phrase things appropriately. Word choice and sentence structure greatly affect the impact of your writing. Choosing your words carefully will result in a much more effective message. Consider these sample sentences related to the example prompt

5) Include enough information to inform the reader. Look at the sample sentences again. The effective sentences provide more information and specific details. The goal of your email is to get someone to do something. so you need to provide enough information to support your request.

Task 1 - Guidelines