Describing a Scene

Describe a picture to someone who cannot see it. Position language carries the whole answer.

How the task works

Time

60 seconds

Counts as

1 task

Preparation

30 seconds

Section

Speaking

You are shown a picture and describe it to someone who cannot see it. Thirty seconds to prepare, sixty to speak.

This task and the next one use the same picture, so what you say here sets up Task 4.

Strategy that works

Work outward: the overall setting first, then the main figures, then the detail at the edges.
Position language is the whole task — in the foreground, to the left of, behind, just beyond.
Use the present continuous for what people are doing.
Do not interpret or predict yet. That is Task 4’s job.

What costs marks

Listing objects without saying where they are in relation to each other.
Speculating about what will happen, and leaving Task 4 with nothing to say.
Describing only the centre of the picture.

Practise it

Worked examples of this task, with answers and explanations, are on the CELPIP speaking samples page. The rest of the section is set out on the CELPIP speaking description page.

Common questions

How long do I get?

60 seconds, after 30 seconds of preparation.

Is anyone listening live?

No. You speak into a headset and the recording is rated later. There is no examiner in the room and no second attempt.

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

English test expert and educator at TestSucceed, where he builds the CELPIP practice tasks and mock tests and has spent years taking apart how Canada's immigration English tests award their points. See all TestSucceed preparation materials.