CELPIP Writing Task 1 — Writing an Email

1 The two washing machines in your apartment building have been out of order for three weeks. The building manager put a paper sign on them and nothing has happened since. You now take your laundry to a laundromat four blocks away.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your building manager, Ms. Reyes.

• Explain which machines are broken and how long they have been out of order.
• Describe how this has affected you and the other tenants.
• Say what you would like the manager to do, and by when.

2 You paid for an eight-week swimming class at your local community centre. Two of the eight classes were cancelled with no notice, and a third started forty minutes late. Nobody has offered you anything for the missed lessons.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the programs coordinator at the community centre.

• Give the details of the class you registered for and what you paid.
• Describe exactly what went wrong on each occasion.
• Ask for a refund or another form of compensation, and say which one you would prefer.

3 Your mother has come out of hospital and needs someone at home with her every weekday morning for the next two months. You currently start work at eight in the morning. Your team also has a busy season coming.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your manager, Mr. Okafor.

• Explain your family situation and how long it will last.
• Describe the change to your working hours that you are asking for.
• Suggest how your work will still get done while your hours are different.

4 You are going away for two weeks in February. Your neighbour has offered before to help while you are gone, and you have decided to take up the offer. Your building requires the sidewalk in front of each unit to be cleared of snow within twelve hours.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your neighbour, Daniel.

• Say when you are leaving and when you will be back.
• Describe the three things you would like him to do while you are away.
• Explain how he can reach you and how you will thank him.

5 A desk you ordered online arrived last Thursday. The box was undamaged, but one leg of the desk is cracked and the surface has a deep scratch across it. The company's website asks customers to report damage by email within ten days.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the customer service team of the online store.

• Give your order details and the date the desk arrived.
• Describe the damage as precisely as you can.
• State what you want the company to do about it.

6 Your daughter will miss a week of school in May because the whole family is travelling to a relative's wedding overseas. She is in grade four and is already behind in mathematics.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to her teacher, Mrs. Lam.

• Explain why your daughter will be away and on which dates.
• Ask what work she should do while she is away.
• Say how you plan to help her catch up when she returns.

7 The transit authority has moved the bus stop that used to be at the end of your street. The nearest stop is now a fifteen-minute walk away, uphill, and several older people in the building have stopped taking the bus altogether.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the customer service office of the transit authority.

• Explain which stop was removed and where you now have to walk to.
• Describe the effect the change has had on you and on your neighbours.
• Ask for a specific change, and say what you will do if nothing happens.

8 The daycare your son attends has raised its monthly fee by a quarter, starting in three weeks. The notice was a single line at the bottom of the newsletter. Your family budgeted for the year in January.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the director of the daycare, Ms. Beaulieu.

• Say what you were told about the increase and how you were told about it.
• Explain why three weeks is not enough notice for your family.
• Ask what the increase pays for, and propose a fairer arrangement.

9 The hospital in your city is asking for volunteers to sit with patients who have no visitors. You have two free afternoons a week and you looked after your grandmother for three years before she died.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the volunteer coordinator at the hospital.

• Say which volunteer role you are writing about and where you heard of it.
• Describe the experience that makes you suitable for it.
• State exactly when you are available and ask what happens next.

10 A large branch on the city-owned tree in front of your house cracked in a storm last week. It is still hanging over the sidewalk where children walk to school, and the wind has moved it twice since.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the parks department of your city.

• Give the location of the tree and say when the damage happened.
• Describe the branch and why you believe it is dangerous.
• Ask the department to act, and say how soon you think it should be done.

11 You paid a painter half of his fee in advance to paint your apartment. He worked for two days, left his ladders in the living room, and has not come back for three weeks. He has not answered two phone calls.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the painter, Mr. Doucet.

• Set out what was agreed, what you paid and what has been done so far.
• Describe how the unfinished work is affecting your home.
• Give him a date to finish by, and say what you will do if he does not.

12 A company you once worked for is hiring, and a former colleague of yours has applied. You worked beside her for four years and she trained you. The hiring manager is someone you have never met.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the hiring manager, Mr. Osei.

• Explain who you are and how you know the person who has applied.
• Describe two things she did at work that you think matter for this job.
• Offer to answer questions, and say how he can reach you.

13 You promised to drive your friend to the airport at five in the morning last Sunday. You slept through your alarm, and by the time you saw her messages she had already paid for a taxi. She caught her flight, but only just.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your friend, Priya.

• Apologize and say honestly what happened that morning.
• Offer to cover the cost of the taxi and say how you will pay her back.
• Suggest a way to make it up to her, and ask how her trip went.

14 You booked a fifteen-minute parent-teacher interview about your son and did not go to it. Your shift was moved at the last minute and you forgot to cancel the appointment. The teacher waited for you and has sent a note home asking what happened.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your son's teacher, Mr. Whitfield.

• Apologize for missing the interview and explain why you were not there.
• Say what you would still like to discuss about your son.
• Offer two times you could meet instead, and say how he can reach you.

15 Three families have moved into your apartment building since November and none of them has met the other tenants. You have booked the common room for a Saturday afternoon potluck to welcome them. You are writing first to the neighbours you already know.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your neighbour, Mrs. Okonkwo.

• Invite her to the potluck and give the date, the time and the place.
• Explain who the afternoon is for and what will happen there.
• Ask her to bring one dish and to answer you by a date you choose.

16 Your citizenship ceremony has been scheduled for a Friday morning next month, and the hall has room for two guests. Your cousin lives two provinces away and has followed the whole process with you. You would like her to be there and to stay for the dinner afterwards.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your cousin, Amina.

• Tell her the news and invite her to the ceremony.
• Give the date, the place, and what the day will look like.
• Explain where she can stay, and ask her to confirm by a certain date.

17 A friend has asked to borrow your car for a two-week road trip through the mountains in August. The car is eleven years old, your insurance does not cover other drivers, and you need it to get to work. You do not want the friendship to suffer over it.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your friend, Marc.

• Thank him for asking and say clearly that you cannot lend him the car.
• Give your honest reasons without making him feel blamed.
• Suggest another way you could help him with the trip.

18 The chair of the parent council at your daughter's school has asked you to take the treasurer's position for the coming year. The role takes about six hours a month and two evening meetings. You are already studying three evenings a week and cannot take it on.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the chair of the parent council, Ms. Fontaine.

• Thank her for thinking of you and turn the position down.
• Explain briefly and politely why you cannot take it this year.
• Offer a smaller task you could still do for the council.

19 An employment counsellor at a newcomer services centre spent four sessions with you on your resume and on interview practice. You started your first job in Canada three weeks ago and it is going well. The centre asks the people it helps to send feedback about its programs.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the employment counsellor, Ms. Haddad.

• Tell her what work you found and when you started.
• Describe which parts of her help made the difference.
• Offer something in return, and say how the centre can reach you.

20 When your family arrived in Canada you stayed with your aunt for two months. She gave you a room, lent you the money for your first month of rent, and drove your children to school until you learned the routes. You moved into your own apartment last week.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your aunt, Farida.

• Thank her for the two months and name what helped the most.
• Tell her how the family is settling into the new apartment.
• Say how you plan to pay the money back, and invite her over.

21 A water and sewer bill for the whole year has arrived from the city, and it is much larger than usual because of a leak, now repaired. Paying it all by the end of the month would leave you short of rent. The city does allow payment arrangements.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the revenue office of your city.

• Give your account details and the amount you have been billed.
• Explain why you cannot pay the whole bill by the due date.
• Propose a payment plan with dates, and ask for written confirmation.

22 Your road test for a full driving licence is booked for a Tuesday morning in three weeks. Your employer has just sent you on a training course out of town for that entire week. The licensing office changes a booking only if it is asked in writing.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the driver licensing office.

• Give your booking details and the date you cannot attend.
• Explain why you have to ask for a different date.
• Offer two dates that would work, and ask what the change will cost.

23 From April your son will be collected from school by his uncle on three afternoons a week instead of taking the bus home. Your work telephone number has changed as well. The school office keeps a card of the adults allowed to collect each child.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to the school office administrator, Ms. Pruden.

• Say what is changing and from which date.
• Give the name of the adult who will collect your son, and on which days.
• Give your new telephone numbers and ask what else the office needs.

24 A close friend moved to another province last summer and has written to ask how your first winter in the city went. Much has happened since she left: a new job, a smaller apartment, and your daughter's first skating lessons. She asks whether you might visit in the spring.

Write an email of about 150-200 words to your friend, Leyla.

• Tell her your news since she left the city.
• Answer her question about how the winter went for your family.
• Ask about her life there, and respond to her idea of a spring visit.