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CELPIP Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation

CELPIP Speaking Task 6 Sample Answer: Apologizing for Deleting a Coworker's Email

By David

In a rush to clear your inbox, you accidentally deleted an important email from your coworker containing project details before reading it fully. They've followed up, confused. You need to own up to rebuild credibility.

Preparation
60 seconds
Speaking
60 seconds
Choice
Speak to person A or person B

The question

In a rush to clear your inbox, you accidentally deleted an important email from your coworker containing project details before reading it fully. They've followed up, confused. You need to own up to rebuild credibility.

Choice:

Either

Talk to your coworker and explain the deletion error, apologizing and asking them to resend with added context.

OR

Talk to your coworker and explain your inbox overload, committing to better email management and offering to review the details in a meeting.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

I must start with a sincere apology for deleting your email containing the critical project specifications—it was an unfortunate error during a frenzied inbox purge aimed at efficiency, but clearly, it backfired by overlooking its importance. I can imagine the frustration this has sparked, especially with timelines in play, and I take full accountability for disrupting our workflow. If you'd kindly forward it once more, perhaps with any updates, I'll dive in immediately and provide feedback by end of day. Moreover, this has prompted me to adopt stricter protocols, like dedicated folders for team communications, ensuring heightened vigilance moving forward—your collaboration is essential, and I value restoring our seamless coordination.

110 words

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

I owe you an apology—I inadvertently deleted your recent email with the project updates while hastily archiving messages to manage my overflowing inbox. I realize this has caused confusion and delayed our progress, and I'm sorry for the oversight. Please resend it at your earliest convenience, and I'll prioritize reviewing it thoroughly. To prevent future mishaps, I'll implement a better system for flagging important mails. Thanks for your patience; let's keep the momentum going.

74 words

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Hi, sorry I deleted your email by mistake. I was cleaning my inbox fast. Can you send it again? I need the info. Won't happen next time.

27 words

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

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