For many Canada PR applicants preparing with JG Language Academy, Task 1 of the CELPIP Writing section is the part that trips people up first — not because the English is hard, but because the format feels unfamiliar. You get a situation, three bullet points, 27 minutes on the clock, and a blank screen. No paper to scribble on, no do-over, and no chance to second-guess your opening line halfway through the email.
The good news is that once you understand the handful of email types CELPIP actually tests, and you’ve built a working template for each, Task 1 stops feeling unpredictable. This guide walks through the real question categories you’ll run into, gives you a usable structure for each one, and shows how a small shift in tone at the very start of your email can move you from a CLB 7 to a CLB 9. If you’ve been searching for CELPIP writing task 1 samples to practice against, the templates below are written to be adapted, not memorised word for word — examiners notice canned answers quickly.
Why Task 1 Catches So Many Candidates Off Guard
Task 1 is worth half of your overall Writing score, and it’s marked on four things: whether you addressed every bullet point (task fulfillment), how smoothly your ideas connect (coherence and cohesion), how varied and accurate your vocabulary is, and how clean your grammar stays under time pressure. Most candidates lose marks not because their English is weak, but because they run out of time before covering the third bullet point, or they pick the wrong tone for the recipient — writing to a landlord the way they’d write to a friend.
The fix isn’t more vocabulary lists. It’s having a structure in your head before the prompt even loads, so the 27 minutes go into content and tone, not into figuring out how to start.
The Six Email Types That Show Up on Test Day
CELPIP draws its Task 1 prompts from a fairly small set of real-life situations. Once you’ve built a template for each of these six, you can adapt to almost any prompt variation the test throws at you.
1. The Complaint or Problem Email
This is the one candidates see most often — a faulty product, a noisy neighbour, a billing error, a maintenance issue in your building. The examiner wants to see a clear problem, specific detail, and a reasonable request for resolution, not an angry rant.
- Opening: name the issue and when it started
- Middle: give two or three concrete details — dates, what you tried already, how it’s affecting you
- Closing: state exactly what you want done, and by when
2. The Request or Information Email
You’re asking someone — a school, a service provider, a government office — for information or a specific action, like rescheduling an appointment or asking about a program.
- Opening: state your purpose in the first line, no long preamble
- Middle: explain your situation briefly, then list what you need to know or need done
- Closing: thank them and mention a timeline if one applies
3. The Invitation or Informal Email
Written to a friend or family member — inviting them to an event, sharing news, or asking a favour. This is the one place where a warmer, conversational tone is expected rather than penalised.
- Opening: a friendly greeting, then the reason you’re writing
- Middle: the details a friend would actually want — where, when, why it matters to you
- Closing: an informal sign-off that still answers every bullet point
4. The Application or Inquiry Email
Applying for a job, a course, a rental, or a volunteer position. The tone needs to stay formal throughout, and this is where candidates often lose marks by underselling their own background.
- Opening: state what you’re applying for and where you heard about it
- Middle: connect your background to what’s being asked for, using specifics rather than generic claims
- Closing: mention attached documents if relevant, and how you can be reached
5. The Suggestion or Feedback Email
You’re asked to propose an improvement — to a workplace policy, a community service, or a school program. The examiner is looking for a reasoned suggestion, not just a complaint dressed up differently.
- Opening: acknowledge what currently exists before suggesting a change
- Middle: explain the suggestion and one or two concrete benefits it would bring
- Closing: offer to discuss further or provide more detail
6. The Apology or Explanation Email
You missed something — a payment, a meeting, a deadline — and need to explain why, without sounding defensive.
- Opening: apologise directly in the first sentence
- Middle: give a brief, honest reason and what you’re doing to fix it
- Closing: reassure the reader this won’t happen again
One Structure, Six Situations — How to Adapt It
Underneath all six types sits the same skeleton. Learn this once and you’re really just swapping the tone and the details each time:
- Subject line — short and specific, so the reader knows the topic before opening the email
- Greeting — match it to the relationship: “Dear Mr. Sharma,” for formal, “Hi Reena,” for informal
- Opening line — state your purpose in the first sentence; don’t bury it in the second paragraph
- Body — one paragraph per bullet point in the prompt, in the order they were given
- Closing line — a clear request, next step, or expectation
- Sign-off — “Sincerely,” or “Regards,” for formal; “Take care,” or “Talk soon,” for informal
A Real Case: How One Candidate Turned CLB 7 Into CLB 9
One of our students at JG Language Academy, preparing for Canada PR from Jalandhar, came to us after her second CELPIP attempt landed her at CLB 7 in writing — one band short of what her Express Entry profile needed. Her spoken English was strong, and her grammar in isolation was fine, but her practice emails all read the same way regardless of who she was supposedly writing to.
Her coach at JG Language Academy pulled her last four practice emails and noticed the same pattern each time: formal prompts written in an informal voice, with short, list-like sentences that never connected into full paragraphs. Over three coaching sessions, she worked through the six email types above, one at a time, timing herself at 27 minutes per attempt and reviewing tone and structure against real scoring criteria rather than just word count.
By her third mock test, her formal emails to a landlord and a college admissions office read distinctly differently from her informal one to a cousin — proper tone-matching, not just longer sentences. She sat her third CELPIP attempt six weeks later and scored CLB 9 in Writing, with her examiner feedback specifically noting strong task fulfillment and coherence.
| Before: CLB 7, generic tone across all email types, bullet points addressed but underdeveloped
After: CLB 9, tone matched to each recipient, every bullet point developed with specific detail Timeline: Six weeks of structured practice, three coaching sessions |
Common Mistakes That Cost Marks
- Writing the same tone for every email, regardless of who’s receiving it
- Spending too long on the opening and rushing the third bullet point
- Using memorised phrases that don’t quite fit the actual prompt
- Forgetting the subject line, or writing one that doesn’t match the situation
- Going well under 150 words or well over 200 — both cost marks in different ways
How to Practice with CELPIP Writing Task 1 Samples the Right Way
Reading model answers is a start, but it isn’t practice. The candidates who improve fastest treat every sample as a prompt to rewrite in their own words, under real time pressure, rather than something to memorise.
- Time yourself at 27 minutes per attempt, every single time, even in early practice
- Take the same prompt and rewrite it once formal and once informal, to feel the difference in tone
- After each attempt, check your own draft against the three bullet points from the prompt — did you actually answer all of them, or just touch on them?
- Get a second set of eyes on your writing. Tone and coherence are hard to judge in your own work
Task 1 rewards preparation that’s specific rather than general. Knowing six templates and practicing under real test conditions will get you further than a folder full of sample answers you’ve never actually timed yourself against.
If you’d like structured, one-on-one feedback on your own CELPIP writing — the kind that catches tone and coherence issues before test day — JG Language Academy’s CELPIP preparation program works through exactly this kind of practice with candidates preparing for Canada PR.
