Writing an Email

How the task works

You are given a situation and asked to write an email about it, in 150 to 200 words, in twenty-seven minutes. The prompt usually asks you to do about three specific things: explain, request, suggest, apologise.

Tone is part of the mark. Neither a text message nor a legal letter.

Strategy that works

• Number the three requirements in the prompt and give each its own paragraph. A rater can then see all three at once.
• Open by saying why you are writing. Raters should not have to infer the purpose from paragraph three.
• Spend four minutes planning, twenty writing, three checking. The word counter is on screen for a reason.
• Match the register to the reader: a landlord and a close friend get different emails about the same problem.

What costs marks

• Answering two of the three requirements thoroughly and forgetting the third.
• Writing 280 words because the ideas kept coming — length is part of Task Fulfillment in both directions.
• Opening with "I hope this email finds you well" and spending thirty of your words before the first fact.

Practise it

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

Common questions