CELPIP Writing Task 2: Responding to Survey Questions

CELPIP Writing Task 2 Sample Answer: Company volunteer day survey

Employees choose between a personal paid volunteer day and one company-wide volunteer event. The challenge is explaining why your choice better serves the community, not just which one you would enjoy more.

Time

26 minutes

Length

150–200 words

Structure

Choose Option A or B and support it

The question

Volunteer Day Survey

Your company wants to encourage employees to volunteer in the community. One option is to give each employee one paid day off per year to volunteer for any organization they choose. The other option is to organize one company-wide volunteer event, such as cleaning up a park, where everyone works together. Your manager is asking employees to complete a survey.

Choose the option that you prefer. Why do you prefer your choice? Explain the reasons for your choice. Write about 150-200 words.

Option A: I would prefer one paid day to volunteer on my own.

Option B: I would prefer a company-wide volunteer event.

Explain the reasons for your choice. Write about 150-200 words.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Choose between one paid day to volunteer on your own (A) or a company-wide volunteer event like a park cleanup (B).

Plan (26 min)

State your choice. Option A is easier to argue: personal choice makes volunteering meaningful.
Reason 1: people can help causes they care about, e.g., a food bank, animal shelter or child's school. Example: your own favourite charity.
Reason 2: it's flexible; staff pick a day that suits their schedule, and the office keeps running instead of closing for everyone.
Optional nod: a group event builds team spirit, but not everyone can do physical work outdoors.
Conclusion: restate your choice and main benefit.

Useful vocabulary

volunteer, paid day off, charity, non-profit organization
give back to the community, flexibility, team building, food bank

Phrases

I would prefer a paid day to volunteer on my own because...
For example, I would use it to...
While a group event could build team spirit, ...

Avoid

Choosing both options.
Only saying "it's better" without a personal example.

Excellent answer: around CLB 11–12

I would prefer Option A, a paid day off each year to volunteer with an organization of my choice. My main reason is that meaningful volunteering depends on personal connection. Our employees care about very different causes: animal shelters, youth sports, seniors' homes, environmental groups. When people give their time to something they genuinely believe in, they bring more energy and often keep volunteering long after that day. I would spend mine at the food bank that supported my family when we first arrived in Canada, and that would mean far more to me than a task assigned by the company. An individual day also offers flexibility. A single company-wide event would inevitably exclude colleagues who are travelling, working different shifts or caring for children. It would also limit us to activities a large group can do together. Admittedly, a park cleanup would build team spirit and give the company visible recognition in the community, and I can see its appeal. However, team building can happen in other ways, while the purpose here is to serve the community as effectively as possible. For these reasons, an individual volunteer day is the better choice.

193 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: 'meaningful volunteering depends on personal connection' and people who 'keep volunteering long after that day' build a strong central idea.
Vocabulary: 'inevitably exclude colleagues' and 'visible recognition in the community' show precise vocabulary used with confidence.
Task Fulfillment: 'team building can happen in other ways, while the purpose here is to serve the community' cleverly reframes the survey's actual goal.

Good answer: around CLB 7–8

I would prefer Option A, one paid day off per year to volunteer for any organization I choose. The main reason is that employees have different interests and skills. Some people care deeply about animals, while others want to support seniors, children or the environment. If each of us can choose our own organization, we will feel more motivated and do more meaningful work. Personally, I would volunteer at the local food bank, because it helped me a lot when I first arrived in Canada. Another advantage is flexibility. Organizing a single event means choosing one date, and some employees might not be able to attend because of family responsibilities, vacations or health problems. With an individual day, everyone can pick a time that works for them and for the organization they are helping. I understand that a company-wide event, such as cleaning up a park, would be good for team building. However, not everyone enjoys physical work outdoors, and the company already has other social activities. For these reasons, I believe an individual volunteer day would benefit both employees and the community more.

184 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: 'family responsibilities, vacations or health problems' gives realistic reasons why a single event would exclude some employees.
Task Fulfillment: the response accepts that a park cleanup 'would be good for team building' before explaining why Option A is still better.
Vocabulary: wording is clear and correct, but 'feel more motivated and do more meaningful work' is a fairly general phrase.

Basic answer: around CLB 4–5

I prefer Option A. I want one paid day to volunteer on my own. First, every person like different things. Some people like animals, some people like to help old people or children. If I have my own day, I can choose the organization I really care about. For me, I want to help at the food bank in my area, because when I come to Canada, the food bank help my family. Second, it is more easy for the time. Not everybody can come on the same day for a big event. With one day off, we can choose the day that is good for us. The company event is fun and good for teamwork, but some people don't like to clean the park. They will go but they not be happy. So I think Option A is better for employees and for community.

145 words

What holds it back

Readability: 'every person like different things', 'the food bank help my family' and 'they not be happy' contain several basic grammar errors.
Vocabulary: 'it is more easy for the time' is an unclear way to express flexibility, a key reason in the argument.
Content/Coherence: the food bank story is personal and effective, but the reason against Option B, that people 'don't like to clean the park', feels thin.

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