A practical email with a named audience and purpose
Task 1 gives a short everyday situation and asks you to write an email. Official 2026 preparation material describes about 27 minutes and a target of 150–200 words. The instructions usually ask you to cover around three things, but the exact prompt in front of you controls what must be included.
The screen provides the background, specific instructions, editing tools, a word counter, and spellcheck. Those tools support proofreading, but they do not decide whether your ideas are relevant, developed, logically ordered, or suitable for the recipient.
Clear meaning for a real reader
CELPIP reports Writing through four public dimensions. Content/Coherence considers the number, quality, organization, and support of ideas. Vocabulary considers range, precision, and suitable word choice. Readability includes paragraphing, transitions, grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation. Task Fulfillment considers purpose, completeness, length, and tone.
Grammar therefore matters as part of readable communication, not as an isolated error count. A response with accurate short sentences can remain underdeveloped. A response with ambitious language can still work well when a few local errors do not block meaning. The practical question is whether the recipient can understand the situation, follow the reasoning, and know what to do next.
Use reader, purpose, points, and action
- Read for role and relationship.Who are you? Who is the recipient? A neighbour, coworker, manager, service provider, or close friend changes your greeting, wording, and level of directness.
- Write one purpose line.Reduce the situation to one sentence: “Explain the schedule problem and ask the coordinator for a workable alternative.”
- Convert instructions into a plan.Give each requested point a note plus one development detail: reason, consequence, example, date, constraint, or proposed solution.
- Draft in functional paragraphs.Open with purpose, develop the requested points in a logical order, state the desired action, and close appropriately. Do not force one paragraph per bullet when two points belong together.
- Revise for the reader.Check point coverage, tone, paragraph logic, reference words, verb time, word form, spelling, punctuation, and the 150–200-word target.
A useful time plan is roughly three minutes to analyze and outline, twenty minutes to draft, and four minutes to revise. Adjust it through practice, but always protect revision time. The final minute should not be the first time you notice a missing request.
Build the email from the recipient's decision
Original practice prompt: You registered for an evening pottery course at a community centre. After accepting payment, the centre moved the class to weekday afternoons, when you work. Write to the program coordinator. Explain why the new time is a problem, propose practical alternatives, and request a response before registration closes for other courses.
Plan: coordinator → semi-formal; purpose → solve paid-course schedule change; details → work until 5:00, no notice before payment; alternatives → restore evening group or transfer/refund; action → reply by Friday.
Model response:
Dear Ms. Ahmed,
I am writing about the beginner pottery course that was recently moved from Tuesday evenings to Tuesday afternoons. I registered and paid because the original 6:30 p.m. time fit my work schedule. Unfortunately, I work until 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, so I cannot attend the revised class.
I understand that schedules sometimes change, and I would still prefer to take the course. Could the centre restore an evening section if enough registered learners are available? Another workable option would be to transfer my registration to the Thursday evening drawing course without an additional fee. If neither option is possible, please let me know how I can receive a refund.
Registration for the other spring courses closes this Friday. I would appreciate a reply before then so that I do not lose the opportunity to choose an alternative program.
Thank you for looking into this matter.
Kind regards,
Jordan Lee
Why it works: The opening names the issue and reason. The alternatives are practical and ordered by preference. The deadline explains urgency without sounding demanding, and the closing matches a service relationship.
What weakens an otherwise fluent email
- Retelling the prompt. Too many words repeat the background instead of explaining consequences or solutions.
- Missing one requested point. The email explains the problem but never asks for an outcome.
- Using the wrong relationship. A service complaint sounds like a message to a close friend, or a friendly request becomes stiff and legalistic.
- Listing without developing. “This is inconvenient, unfair, and stressful” gives labels but no practical detail.
- Burying the action. The recipient reaches the end without knowing whether you want information, a change, an apology, or a refund.
- Editing only spelling. Spellcheck cannot repair missing logic, unclear reference, weak paragraphing, or inappropriate tone.
Choose the opening that establishes purpose and tone
You are emailing a building manager because repair staff entered your apartment on the wrong day.
- Hey, your repair people came whenever they wanted and this is not okay.
- I am writing to clarify yesterday's unexpected maintenance visit and to arrange a confirmed time for the repair.
- There are many important matters in life, and apartment maintenance is one of them.
- I hereby demand that all future access cease immediately under every circumstance.
Reveal the answer
B. It identifies the event and the desired next action in a calm, semi-formal tone. The other openings are hostile, vague, or unnecessarily absolute.
Review purpose before surface errors
- Is the recipient and my relationship to that person clear?
- Does the opening state why I am writing?
- Did I cover every requested point with a useful detail?
- Is the desired action or outcome explicit?
- Does the tone stay appropriate from greeting to closing?
- Do paragraphs and transitions make the sequence easy to follow?
- Did I check verb time, agreement, word form, spelling, and punctuation?
- Is the final response within the 150–200-word target?