CELPIP Writing · free template
CELPIP Writing Task 2: Responding to Survey Questions
CELPIP Writing Task 2 gives you 26 minutes to respond to a survey question in 150–200 words. The prompt presents a situation with two options - a community deciding between two projects, a company weighing two policies - and asks which you prefer and why.
The task is opinion writing with a fixed skeleton: state your choice immediately, defend it with two developed reasons, and close by restating it. The framework below keeps you from the classic trap of describing both options instead of arguing for one.
- Time limit
- 26 minutes
- Length
- 150–200 words
- Format
- Choose one option and defend it with reasons
The template
Choose
Commit to one option immediately. Sitting on the fence costs marks.
“I would prefer the community centre to be built on the riverside site.”
Defend
Two reasons, each tied to the survey's own criteria.
“It is within walking distance for the three neighbourhoods with the fewest facilities.”
Concede
Name the strongest objection and answer it in one sentence.
“Parking is admittedly limited, though the site is on two bus routes.”
A real prompt, with model answers
This is a free exercise from the Writing Task 2 question bank, shown with its scored model answers - the same responses learners compare against after submitting. Read the prompt, try answering with the template above, then see how the three levels differ.
Writing Task 2 prompt
Lobby Renovation or Reserve Fund
Read the following information.
Maintenance Fee Allocation Survey
The strata council of a residential building in New Westminster is surveying owners about how to use this year's maintenance fee increase, which will raise about forty thousand dollars. Some owners want the money spent on a full lobby renovation, arguing that the worn entrance lowers the value of every unit and that repairs there keep being postponed. Others want it added to the contingency reserve, since the roof is expected to need replacement within eight years and a special assessment would cost each owner far more.
Choose the option that you prefer. Why do you prefer your choice? Explain the reasons for your choice. Write about 150-200 words.
Option A:
The maintenance fee increase should pay for a full renovation of the building lobby.
Option B:
The maintenance fee increase should be added to the contingency reserve for future roof repairs.
Basic responseestimated CELPIP level 5
I choose Option B. I think the money must go to the contingency reserve for the roof.
The first reason is the roof is more important than the lobby. A lobby is only for looking nice, but a roof protect the building from rain and snow. In New Westminster it rains a lot, so a bad roof is a big problem for everybody in the building.
The second reason is money. If we do not save now, we must pay a special assessment later. My neighbour say a special assessment can be many thousands of dollars at one time. This is very hard for owners who are retired or have a small income.
I know some owners want a nice lobby because it help the price of the units. But we can paint the lobby cheap and wait some years. The roof cannot wait. So I prefer Option B and I hope the council choose it too.
What works: The position is clear from the first line and each paragraph gives one separate reason.
What holds it back: Frequent verb agreement errors and very simple sentence patterns limit the range on display.
Good responseestimated CELPIP level 8
I prefer Option B, putting the maintenance fee increase into the contingency reserve.
My main reason is timing. The council expects the roof to need replacement within eight years, which is not far away for a project of that size. If we start setting money aside now, the cost is spread over several years instead of arriving all at once. A special assessment would reach every owner in the same month, and not everyone in our building could manage that.
I also think a leaking roof causes far more damage than a tired lobby. Water would affect the top floor units, the elevator machinery and eventually the whole structure, while a worn entrance is only a matter of appearance.
I understand that owners who plan to sell soon are worried about first impressions, and the lobby does look dated. However, buyers also ask about the reserve fund, so a healthy reserve is a selling point as well. For that reason I support Option B.
What works: Two well-separated reasons are developed with concrete consequences, and the opposing view is answered directly.
What holds it back: Sentence openings are repetitive and a few phrases stay close to the wording of the survey.
Excellent responseestimated CELPIP level 11
After weighing both proposals, I would put the entire increase into the contingency reserve.
The strongest argument for Option B is that the roof is a known liability rather than a hypothetical one. A replacement within eight years means we have roughly eight budget cycles to prepare, and every year we skip makes the eventual special assessment steeper. Owners on fixed incomes are the ones who suffer when a five-figure bill arrives with sixty days' notice, and preventing exactly that situation is what a reserve fund is for.
I do not dismiss the lobby argument. First impressions matter when units go on the market, and the entrance has been patched rather than properly repaired for years. Cosmetic work can be staged, though: fresh paint, better lighting and new seating would lift the space for a fraction of forty thousand dollars, and the difference could still go to the reserve.
Protecting the building has to come first, so I support Option B, with a modest refresh funded separately.
What works: Natural idiom, varied structures and a genuine concession that strengthens rather than weakens the argument.
What holds it back: The closing suggestion of a separately funded refresh slightly softens the either-or choice the survey asks for.
Put the template to work
Reading a structure is the easy half. Rehearse Writing Task 2 against the real clock with exam-style prompts and instant feedback.
Practice Writing Task 2Writing Task 2 - common questions
- Do I need to discuss both survey options?
- No - pick one and argue for it. You can mention the other option in one concession sentence ("While a new library would help students…"), but the marks are in how well you develop your own choice, not in balanced coverage.
- Does it matter which option I choose?
- Not at all. There is no correct answer; raters score the reasoning and language. Choose whichever option you can support with the most concrete, specific reasons in English - which is not always the one you would pick in real life.
- How is Task 2 different from Task 1?
- Task 1 is transactional - you write to a person to get something done. Task 2 is persuasive - you write to an organization to defend an opinion. Task 2 stays formal, needs a clear thesis in the first sentence, and rewards linking words that carry an argument (“firstly”, “more importantly”, “in contrast”).