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CELPIP Speaking Task 5: Comparing and Persuading

CELPIP Speaking Task 5 Sample Answer: Help with Housework

By David

The speaker must convince his wife that hiring a neighbour's student daughter is better than buying a robot vacuum. The tricky part is handling the student's lack of experience and exam absences.

Choosing time
60 seconds
Preparation
60 seconds
Speaking
60 seconds

The question

You and your wife, Bridget, both work full-time, and you have three children, aged 9, 12 and 15. The house is always messy, and you spend most of every Sunday cleaning, so the family has very little time together. You want to find a way to keep the house cleaner. You found two suitable options. Using the pictures and information, choose the option that you prefer. In the next section, you will need to persuade Bridget that your choice is the better choice.

If you do not choose an option, the computer will choose one for you. You do not need to speak for this part.

Cleaning Service Every Two WeeksCleaning Service Every Two Weeks
  • $160 per visit for two cleaners for 3 hours
  • cleans the kitchen, bathrooms and floors
  • you must tidy up before they arrive, and they do not work on weekends
Neighbour’s University-Student DaughterNeighbour’s University-Student Daughter
  • $20 an hour for 4 hours every Saturday morning
  • does laundry, vacuuming and dishes, and is very flexible
  • has no cleaning experience and will be away during exam periods
Robot Vacuum and MopRobot Vacuum and Mop
  • $850, one-time cost
  • cleans the floors every day by itself and is controlled by a phone app
  • cannot clean stairs, counters or bathrooms, and gets stuck on toys and cords
Bridget suggests buying the robot vacuum and mop. Persuade Bridget that the option you chose is more suitable by comparing the two.

How to plan your answer

What they want

  • Pick a way to keep the house cleaner (you both work full-time; kids aged 9, 12, 15; Sundays lost to cleaning), then persuade Bridget it beats her idea: a robot vacuum and mop ($850).
  • The cleaning service ($160 every two weeks) is easier to argue: it does the hard jobs the robot can't.

Plan (60 sec)

  1. Acknowledge: "Bridget, the robot is a one-time cost, I agree."
  2. Coverage: the robot only does floors; it can't clean bathrooms, counters or stairs.
  3. Problems: it gets stuck on toys and cords; with three kids, that's every day.
  4. Quality: two professional cleaners, three hours, do the kitchen, bathrooms and floors.
  5. Sundays: they come on weekdays, so our weekends are free for family.
  6. Close: "The kids can do a quick tidy-up before they come; that's a good habit."

Useful vocabulary

  • cleaning service, professional, deep clean, every two weeks
  • tidy up, get stuck, family time, worth it

Phrases

  • "I see your point, but..."
  • "Compared to the robot,..."
  • "Most importantly,..."

Avoid

  • Only describing your option; compare it with the robot.
  • Ignoring your downside: the ongoing cost.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Bridget, I understand why the robot vacuum appeals to you. You pay once and it runs by itself every day. But I really think hiring the neighbour's daughter would make a much bigger difference. The robot only does the floors. It can't touch the stairs, the counters or the bathrooms, and with three kids, it would spend half its time stuck on Lego and charger cords. We'd still lose our Sundays. She, on the other hand, would come every Saturday morning and take care of the laundry, the vacuuming and the dishes, which are the jobs that eat up most of our weekend. Yes, it's about $80 a week, but she's flexible, and the kids can help her during her exam periods. What we're really paying for is getting our Sundays back as a family.

135 words

Why it scores high

  • Vocabulary: "stuck on Lego and charger cords" and "the jobs that eat up most of our weekend" are vivid, precise choices.
  • Task Fulfillment: the exam periods are answered with "the kids can help her", and the real benefit is named, "getting our Sundays back as a family".
  • Content/Coherence: the speaker first shows understanding, "I understand why the robot vacuum appeals to you", then builds a clear, convincing argument.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Bridget, I know the robot vacuum sounds easy, but I think the neighbour's daughter is a better choice for us. She can come every Saturday morning for four hours, and she'll do the laundry, vacuuming and dishes. Then our Sundays will be free for the family. The robot only cleans the floors. It can't do the stairs, the counters or the bathrooms, so we'd still spend most of Sunday cleaning. Also, with three kids, there are always toys and cords on the floor, and the robot gets stuck on those. It's $80 a week, but she's flexible, and she can learn quickly.

102 words

What works, and what's missing

  • Content/Coherence: the speaker contrasts what the student does with the robot's limits, "the stairs, the counters or the bathrooms", in a clear order.
  • Task Fulfillment: the toys and cords point is well chosen, but "she can learn quickly" is a weak answer to her lack of experience.
  • Vocabulary: "our Sundays will be free for the family" is clear, but the language stays simple where stronger persuasion would help.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Bridget, I think the neighbour's daughter is better than robot vacuum. She come every Saturday morning, so we don't need clean on Sunday. We can have family time. She do laundry, vacuuming and dishes. Robot only clean floor. It can't clean bathroom or counter. Also, our kids have many toys on floor. Robot get stuck. It is $80 every week, but I think it is worth it.

67 words

What holds it back

  • Task Fulfillment: the main comparison, "Robot only clean floor. It can't clean bathroom or counter", is clear, but the student's weaknesses are not answered.
  • Listenability: "She come every Saturday", "we don't need clean on Sunday" and "Robot get stuck" contain errors in nearly every sentence.
  • Vocabulary: "I think it is worth it" is a general phrase, and the reasons are listed without strong persuasive words.

These are original CELPass examples written at each level. The CLBs are our estimates, not official CELPIP scores. How we estimate CLB

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