CELPIP Speaking Task 3: Describing a Scene

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 Sample Answer: Pastry Cases at a Neighbourhood Bakery

This picture shows customers looking at glass cases full of pastries while a worker arranges more on the counter of a busy bakery. The tricky part is that the display takes up most of the picture, so you need varied food words before moving on to the people behind it.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

A detailed illustration

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 practice picture: Pastry Cases at a Neighbourhood Bakery

Describe some things that are happening in the picture below as well as you can. The person with whom you are speaking cannot see the picture.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Describe a bakery: glass display cases full of pastries, a man behind the counter, customers looking at the treats and lining up, and wooden shelves of bread at the back.

Plan (60 sec)

Overview: "This is a warm, busy bakery with big glass cases full of pastries."
Foreground: the cases have glass shelves with rows of twisted, golden pastries on white plates, some dusted with sugar.
Right: a young man in a dark grey T-shirt behind the counter is arranging pastries on top of the case.
Middle: a woman with long blonde hair and a woman with dark hair tied back look at the display; a man in a grey T-shirt stands behind them.
Left: a man in a dark jacket and jeans and a woman in a pink sweater are walking or waiting.
Background: wooden shelves with loaves of bread, a window, a wooden floor.

Useful vocabulary

display case, pastries, loaves, counter
golden-brown, dusted with icing sugar, line up, baker

Phrases

"Behind the counter,..."
"Inside the glass case,..."
"A few customers are..."

Avoid

Naming pastries you can't be sure of; say "twisted pastries" or "danish-style pastries."
Forgetting the worker; he's the clearest person in the picture.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

This is a cozy bakery, and the first thing you notice is a pair of long glass display cases packed with pastries. Each glass shelf is lined with golden-brown, twisted pastries on white plates, and some of them are dusted with icing sugar. On the right, a young man in a dark grey T-shirt, probably the baker or a server, is leaning over the counter, carefully arranging a tray of pastries on top of the case. In the middle, two women are studying the display, one with long blonde hair and the other with her dark hair pulled back, and a man in a grey T-shirt is standing just behind them. Over on the left, a man in a dark jacket and jeans seems to be waiting his turn, while a woman in a pink sweater walks past. At the back, there are wooden shelves stocked with loaves of bread, and the warm lighting and wooden floor make the whole place feel inviting.

163 words

Why it scores high

Vocabulary: Precise words like "golden-brown, twisted pastries," "icing sugar," "studying the display" and "waiting his turn" sound natural and specific.
Content/Coherence: The hedge "probably the baker or a server" interprets the worker's role carefully, and the answer covers every part of the shop.
Listenability: "the first thing you notice," "On the right," "Over on the left" and "At the back" guide the listener smoothly from front to back.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

This picture shows a busy bakery with large glass display cases. The cases are full of golden pastries on white plates, and some of them are dusted with sugar. On the right, a young man in a dark grey T-shirt is standing behind the counter, and he's arranging some pastries on top of the case. In the middle, a few customers are looking at the display, including a woman with long blonde hair and another woman with her dark hair tied back. On the left, a man in a dark jacket and jeans is standing and waiting, and a woman in a pink sweater is walking by. In the background, there are wooden shelves with loaves of bread.

118 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: The answer covers the cases, the worker, the customers, the left side and the shelves in a logical order.
Vocabulary: Phrases such as "dusted with sugar," "arranging some pastries" and "loaves of bread" are accurate bakery language.
Task Fulfillment: The pastries are only "golden"; one more detail about their twisted shape would help the listener picture the main feature.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

This picture is a bakery. In the front there is a big glass box with many pastry. The pastry is brown and some have white sugar on top. Behind the counter one man with grey t-shirt is working, he is putting the pastry. Some customer is standing and looking the pastry. One woman have blonde hair. On the left one man with dark jacket is waiting. Behind there is shelf with breads. The bakery look warm and nice.

78 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: "many pastry," "some customer is," "looking the pastry" and "glass box" show plural, preposition and word-choice errors.
Content/Coherence: "he is putting the pastry" is incomplete, and the second woman and the woman in pink are missing from the description.
Listenability: A comma splice, "is working, he is putting," and the repeated word "pastry" make the answer sound choppy and repetitive.

The CLBs are estimates of the level each sample was written at, not official CELPIP scores. How we estimate CLB