CELPIP Writing Email Tips for Achieving High Scores

CELPIP, IELTS, or PTE, irrespective of the English test a student takes,  CELPIP Writing has been always a big concern to them. It is because the question requires students to come up with innovative ideas portrayed in words and sentences with the least (or no?) grammatical and spelling errors. Another nail in the coffin is to mind the criteria–instructed by the test makers—while writing every line. 

The Purpose of CELPIP Writing

CELPIP Raters (the language experts from Canada who ‘check’ your answers) are native English speakers. Apart from the criteria described for CELPIP Writing task 1, they look for several other factors mentioned.

The Factors You May Miss to Ask Yourself, but CELPIP Test Checkers Won’t:

• How do you address someone at the beginning of the email?
• How do you end the letter? 
• How polite you are?
• What tone do you write in?
• How well do you express your feelings?
• How effectively do you convey your message in words?

So, the purpose is to check how well you convert your ideas into words, and how these words effectively convey the message (purpose) to the one receiving the email.

The Question for CELPIP Email Writing

In CELPIP task 1 Writing, you are presented with an instruction to write an email to a known or unknown person. The instructions for CELPIP email writing clearly mentions the purpose of the email with a few important matters to include in the write-up.

The Matter of the Email Could Range from Subject to Subject. Here are a Few Common Types:

• Complaints 
• Suggestions 
• Feedback 
• Advice 
• Problems and concerns

Depending on the Recipient, the Email Can Be Divided Into Three Categories:

• Formal email writing 
• Informal email writing
• Semi-formal email writing

The Language

The language of the email should change according to the recipient. That said, formal language is expected when you write an email to an unknown person or a known person but with higher rank. For instance, an email written to the managing director (boss) of your company, the restaurant manager, the company secretary, and the like.  On the other hand, an email written to a known person (family members or friends) shall include informal language; you have the liberty to use words from routine or spoken English. Say, the word ‘enjoy’ is okay, which otherwise turns into ‘pleasing’ for formal writing.

Writing to the landlord typically lies between formal and informal because you know the person but you aren’t that friendly with them. We shall ignore the probability of the landlord being your friend because that is not a general case.

Dissection of the Question

CELPIP email question has been divided into two parts – on the left, you have general information that is the source of the question; on the right, you have common instructions and the three sub-sections that you are asked to include in your write-up.