CELPIP Speaking Task 3: Describing a Scene

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 Sample Answer: Visitors Viewing Ancient Pottery

This picture shows visitors moving through a bright museum gallery with clay pots and bowls displayed on white platforms. The tricky part is describing objects with no obvious names, so you need shape words like round, narrow-necked and shallow to make the pottery clear.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

A detailed illustration

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 practice picture: Visitors Viewing Ancient Pottery

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 museum gallery: clay pots and bowls on low white platforms in front, visitors standing and looking at the exhibits, a statue on a pillar, and tall windows at the back.

Plan (60 sec)

Overview: "This is a bright museum gallery with old pottery on display and lots of visitors."
Foreground: two white platforms with clay pots: a big round pot, a vase with a narrow neck, small jars and bowls.
Left: a woman in a beige cardigan and red dress, a man in a teal shirt, an older woman with grey hair in pink.
Centre back: a statue on a tall white pillar, with people walking around it.
Right: a man in a grey T-shirt, a man in a black hoodie, a woman in a grey jacket, looking at carvings on the wall.
Setting: spotlights on the ceiling, white walls, big windows at the end.

Useful vocabulary

exhibit, artifacts, pottery, clay
display platform, sculpture, gallery, spotlights

Phrases

"On display in the front,..."
"Some visitors are..."
"At the far end of the room,..."

Avoid

Guessing the pots' age or country; describe their shape and size.
Describing only objects; include visitors and what they're doing.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

This is a bright, modern museum gallery, and the main exhibit seems to be ancient pottery. In the foreground, there are two long, low white platforms with clay pieces arranged on them: a large, round pot sitting on a base, a vase with a narrow neck and a wide body, and a scattering of small jars and shallow bowls. Behind the display, visitors are wandering around in small groups. On the left, a woman in a beige cardigan and a red dress is chatting with someone, while a man in a teal shirt and an older woman with grey hair look on. In the middle at the far end, there's a statue standing on a tall white pillar, with people moving around it. Over on the right, a man in a grey T-shirt and another in a black hoodie are studying carvings mounted on the wall. The room is lit by rows of spotlights, and tall windows at the back let in daylight.

163 words

Why it scores high

Vocabulary: Shape words such as "a narrow neck and a wide body" and "shallow bowls," plus "a scattering of small jars," make unfamiliar objects easy to picture.
Content/Coherence: Visitors are given distinct actions, "chatting," "look on," "studying carvings," so the people are as clear as the exhibits.
Listenability: "In the foreground," "Behind the display," "In the middle at the far end" and "Over on the right" create a smooth, logical tour.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

This picture shows a museum gallery with a display of old pottery. In the front, there are two low white platforms with clay pots on them. There's a large round pot, a vase with a narrow top, and several small bowls and jars. Behind the display, lots of visitors are standing around and looking at the exhibits. On the left, there's a woman in a beige cardigan and a red dress, and next to her, a man in a teal shirt. In the centre at the back, there's a statue on a tall white pillar. On the right, a few people are looking at carvings on the wall. The ceiling has rows of small spotlights.

115 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: The answer moves from the pottery in front to the visitors, the statue, the right side and the ceiling in a clear order.
Vocabulary: Accurate terms like "gallery," "exhibits," "clay pots" and "a vase with a narrow top" suit the museum setting.
Task Fulfillment: The visitors mostly "are standing around"; one or two specific actions, like chatting or studying the wall, would bring the people to life.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

This picture is in a museum. In the front there is a white table with many old pots. One pot is very big and round, and other is like a vase. There is also small bowl. Behind, many people is standing and looking the things. On the left a woman have red dress and a man have green shirt. In the middle there is a statue. On the right some people is looking the wall. The room is very bright and quiet.

82 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: "many people is standing," "looking the things," "a woman have" and "small bowl" show agreement, preposition and plural errors.
Content/Coherence: "white table" misreads the display platform, and the windows, spotlights and wall carvings are left out.
Listenability: Most sentences are short and start with "There is," "One" or "On the," so the answer sounds like a checklist.

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