How to prepare for CELPIP Writing

Task 1: Writing an Email

You use the local public library several times every week. However, the library is closed on Sundays and Mondays. You think the library should be open every day.

Write an email to the chief librarian in about 150–200 words. Your email should do the following things:

• Describe the importance of the library for you.
• Explain why the opening hours don’t work for you.
• Suggest how people could use the library if it were open every day.

Task 1: Sample Response

Dear Ms. Sonora,
My name is Charles Stevens. As a longstanding resident of the neighborhood, I have had an Annex Library Card for two decades. I truly appreciate the work that you do as the Chief Librarian, in making it such an inclusive environment and fostering the local community.
Now, as a parent of two children (Gary, 6, and Sofia, 4) it is clear to me that the library’s service to the community could be enhanced if opening hours were extended to Sundays and Mondays. As you know, many families have sports activities and shopping scheduled on Saturday mornings. Sunday is the only day on which we could all enjoy the library’s playrooms, youth groups, and creative programs. Monday is the only night on which all members of the Annex Theatrical Troupe can practice in the auditorium.
These opinions are widely shared: parents at Annex Kindergarten are unanimous in their desire to share a Sunday cappuccino in the downstairs coffee shop and to rehearse their lines in the auditorium on Mondays.
Please consider opening the library seven days a week; I hope to raise the issue at your next steering committee meeting.
Warm regards,
Charles Stevens

Task 2: Responding to Survey Questions

Mail Delivery Survey

The government wants to either make people pick up their mail at the post office or have it delivered only twice a week. This will save the government money. The government is asking your opinion of the change.

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: I prefer to get my mail at the local post office.

Option B: I prefer to have mail delivered to my home twice a week.

Task 2: Sample Response

There are two primary reasons that I prefer to pick up my mail at the local post office: security and availability.
As a person who regularly sends and receives confidential documents, security is a crucial aspect of my use of Canada Post. The standard mailboxes attached to duplexes in downtown Toronto are insecure. In contrast, the postal storage in Canada Post locations (and pharmacies throughout the city) is protected from casual theft.
The second primary reason that I prefer to pick up my mail is that, even though receiving the mail would require a short walk, it would remain available daily. In my line of work as a commissioner of oaths, a two-day delay in receiving a document can be a serious professional problem. Furthermore, a good walk never did anyone any harm, even, perhaps especially, in the teeth of the February winter.
Finally, I would hope that — should the government institute the new pick-up-your-mail policy — they will also lengthen the hours at Canada Post locations, and broaden the range of pharmacies that can serve as mail handling locations.