CELPIP Speaking Task 3: Describing a Scene

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 Sample Answer: Crowded Concourse Under Departure Boards

This picture shows a crowded station hall where travellers, including several families, wait beneath large departure screens. The tricky part is choosing a handful of clear people from a dense crowd and placing each one so the listener can follow.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

A detailed illustration

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 practice picture: Crowded Concourse Under Departure Boards

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 crowded station hall: travellers standing and waiting under departure boards, a man in a suit in the middle, families with children, someone sitting on a bench, and sunlight making long shadows.

Plan (60 sec)

Overview: "This is a busy station hall with big screens showing departures, and it's full of people."
Centre: a man in a navy suit and tie stands holding something small, maybe a phone, looking to the side.
Left: a girl with a ponytail and a crossbody bag stands with a little boy in a blue jacket and red T-shirt.
Front left: a girl in a grey T-shirt sits on a wooden bench with her legs crossed.
Right: a woman in a black jacket walks with a black bag; a boy in a blue hoodie and a little girl in a pink jacket stand nearby.
Setting: screens hanging from the ceiling, big windows, sunlight and long shadows on the floor.

Useful vocabulary

station hall / concourse, departure board, commuters, travellers
crowd, bench, hoodie, shadows

Phrases

"Hanging from the ceiling,..."
"Standing in the middle,..."
"In the bottom left corner,..."

Avoid

Saying only "many people waiting"; pick four or five people and describe them.
Forgetting the children; there are several in the crowd.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

This is a packed station hall, and it looks like most people are waiting for their departures, because a lot of them are standing still and looking around. Overhead, there's a row of large screens displaying departure times. Right in the centre, a man in a navy suit and tie is standing on his own, holding something small, maybe his phone, and glancing off to the side. Over on the left, a girl with a ponytail and a crossbody bag is waiting next to a little boy in a blue jacket and a red T-shirt. In the bottom left corner, a girl in a grey T-shirt is sitting on a wooden bench with her legs crossed. On the right, a woman in a black jacket and a checked shirt is striding past with a black bag, while a boy in a blue hoodie and a little girl in a pink jacket stand close to the adults. Bright sunlight is pouring in through the windows, casting long shadows across the tiled floor.

171 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: Supporting the main idea with evidence, "because a lot of them are standing still and looking around," shows careful observation from the start.
Vocabulary: Phrases like "glancing off to the side," "striding past" and "casting long shadows across the tiled floor" are precise and natural.
Listenability: "Overhead," "Right in the centre," "Over on the left" and "while" connect the people smoothly into one clear picture.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

This picture shows a crowded station hall with lots of people waiting. Above them, there are several large screens showing departure information. In the middle, a man in a navy suit and tie is standing and holding something small in his hands, maybe a phone. On the left, a girl with a ponytail and a crossbody bag is standing next to a little boy in a blue jacket. In the bottom left corner, a girl in a grey T-shirt is sitting on a wooden bench. On the right, a woman in a black jacket is walking with a black bag, and a little girl in a pink jacket is standing beside her mother. Sunlight is coming in and making long shadows on the floor.

124 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: The answer covers the screens, the man in the centre, both sides and the lighting in a clear, logical order.
Vocabulary: "maybe a phone" fairly hedges an unclear detail, and "crossbody bag" and "departure information" are precise word choices.
Task Fulfillment: The opening says people are "waiting" but gives no visible reason; pointing out that most are standing still would support the idea.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

This picture is a train station and it is very crowded. On the top there is many screens with the times. In the middle a man in dark suit is standing, he hold something in his hand. On the left a girl with long hair and a small boy is standing. The boy have blue jacket. In the front a girl is sitting on the bench. On the right a woman with black jacket is walking with a bag. The sun is coming and make shadow on the floor.

89 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: "he hold something," "The boy have," "there is many screens" and "make shadow" show repeated verb and plural errors.
Content/Coherence: "The sun is coming" is unclear, and the girl on the bench and the man in the suit get almost no description.
Listenability: A comma splice, "is standing, he hold something," and the steady "On the left... In the front... On the right" pattern sound mechanical.

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