Read and Understand the Question
Before you start writing your CELPIP Request Email, you need to identify two things:
1. Who you are writing to.
Who you are writing to dictates your level of formality. If you’re writing to a friend or family member, your response will be informal, otherwise it should be formal.
If you’re requesting something from someone you don’t know, your tone should be formal. That means using full sentences, a formal salutation, and no contractions.
If you’re requesting something from someone you know, your tone should be informal. That means using partial sentences, an informal salutation, and lots of contractions.
In an informal email, you must use contractions. Write ‘it’s’ not ‘it is’, write ‘won’t’ not ‘will not’.
Use the informal form of words. Write ‘kids’ not ‘children’, write ‘happy’ not ‘delighted’.
2. What you are writing about.
Make sure that you have understood and internalized the question. It often helps to imagine yourself in the situation and express yourself in much the same way that you would in your own language.
How long should my response be?
As part of familiarizing yourself with the request email in CELPIP Writing Task 1, you need to know how long your response should be and how much time you have to write about it.
You have about 30 minutes to complete your response, and you should write about 150 words.
Try to keep your word count around 150 because being able to express yourself efficiently is part of the test. In other words, you should be able to say everything you need to say in within that word limit. The examiner won’t penalize you if you need a few more words, but if you write a lot more, your examiner will question your ability to write efficiently and your score will drop.
“…When I started class with Angela, I was so confused. I understand much better now…”
To get an idea of your score, please paste your essay into the comments box below.
If you would like detailed feedback, please submit your response to our writing correction service.
CELPIP Request Email
When you prepare your response to either of the CELPIP Writing Tasks, your focus should be on writing well, expressing yourself efficiently, and ticking the examiners boxes.
Your examiner will be looking at your organization, cohesion, vocabulary, punctuation, sentence variety, grammar, and tenses.
Below, you’ll find some tips for your CELPIP Writing tips for a request email, but if you need more help please talk to me about tutoring.
A Typical Request Email Question
The Request question asks you to write a formal or informal email asking someone for something. You may write to a friend, family member, co-worker, boss, or some other authority figure. Your request may be for time, company, money, or some other form of help.
You need to complete your response within 27 minutes and write about 150 words.
A typical request email question looks like this:
You are organizing a group trip to a museum.
In about 150 words, write an email asking for information about:
the exhibits
opening times
prices and discounts.
How to Organize your Response
Your response should have three parts.
- 1 – Identify the purpose of your email
- 2 – A description of what you’re trying to achieve
- 3 – Some information about who you are
- 4 – A closing
How to Start your Response
Your request email should start with your salutation. Our request, based on the question above, is formal and addressed to a person that we don’t know, so we’ll start with Dear Sir.
Make sure both words are capitalized and there is a comma (,) before you move onto the next line. It should look like this:
Dear Sir,
If you were writing a request letter and knew the person’s name, you would write ‘Dear Mr. Smith,’. Here too, all of your words should be capitalized and followed by a comma (,) before you move on to the next line.
How to Start Part 1
Now that you’ve chosen and properly punctuated your salutation, it’s time to tell your reader the purpose of your email.
Start a new line and say, “I’m writing to request some information about…”
Don’t start your email by telling readers who you are. Typically, we expect readers to look at the signature at the bottom of the email if they want to know who the email is from.
Your statement of purpose might look like this:
I am writing to ask for some help organizing a trip to your museum.
In this sample we’ll continue with a description of the information we need. For example:
I am writing to ask for some help organizing a trip to your museum. Any information, tips and suggestions that might help make the day a success would be really great. I particularly need to know about times, rates and discounts.
How to Start Part 2
Now that you’ve identified the purpose of your email, it’s time to describe what you’re trying to achieve. Here, we’ll share a little about our concerns and try to get the museum to entice us with advanced information about upcoming exhibits. Hopefully, he’ll also let us know about a few other things going on in the area.
We’ll leave a line space and then we’ll say:
Although I have been to your museum, I am a little concerned that it will not fill the whole day. With this in mind, it would be useful to know about any upcoming exhibits, their size, and when they will start and finish. Can you recommend any other attractions that might help to make the day a success? The nearer the better.
How to Start Part 3
Okay, so our reader knows we’re looking for information, and he knows what type of information we need. Next we want to tell him a little bit about our group in the hope that he’ll offer a generous discount.
We’ll leave a line space and then we might say something like this:
My group is made up of foreign students, all under 18. I am wondering if you offer any additional discounts for students. If so, how much is the discount and how many students would need to be in the group to quality for it?
How to Conclude your Request Email
Part 4 beings our request to an end by letting the museum representative know that we’re expecting a response.
We’ll simply say:
I look forward to your reply.
…And on the next line, we’ll sign our full name:
Yours Sincerely,
Joe Piegan
Your final response might sound like this:
This video provides you with more tips for How to prepare a CELPIP
For more CELPIP Email Writing Samples, topics, and step-by-step instructions, please check these pages:
You have borrowed money from your bank. You agreed to repay a fixed amount every month. However, it will be difficult to pay any money back this month.
State the amount of money you borrowed and the repayment schedule.
Explain why you borrowed the money.
Explain the reason you cannot pay any money this month and why you will be able to pay next month.
To whom it may concern,
My name is Sam, and I am writing this letter to express my apology of not meeting the prerequisite requirement for this month payment cycle. Recently, I have borrowed $7,000 to purchase a car and singed an EMI bond to pay this amount out with next 10 months.
After completing my post-graduation, I got a job offer in one private tech company. As per their initial commitment, I was supposed to join from the last week but due to some internal HR policy changes, the joining date got delayed for one month. As my office is in downtown Toronto and I need to commute for almost 3 hours daily if I avail public transport, I had decided to go for pre-owned car which would save massive amount of travel time.
As my company will be paying me on by-weekly basis, so I have agreed to schedule my payment on 16th of every month. Unfortunately, I am not able to meet this criterion for this month due to the delay, but it would not be an issue starting from next month.
I appreciate your understanding in advance!
Yours Sincerely,
Sam Darnold
Score 8
Problem – overcrowded, people not cleaning dished on time, shared room with bunk bed and its basement
Expected – suitable for single person, double size bed with great natural light
solving – help find a different place or give the full refund.
Dear Student Coordinator,
My name is Braden, I’m a transfer student from France attending Human Resource Program at Thompson University for the summer of 2020. My accommodation was registered with international accommodation committee for on campus stay hoping a comfortable stay.
Upon arriving, I realized it’s a basement unit with no natural light to the room and the room consists of bunk beds making it inconvenient to access frequently. Moreover, the room will be shared by four people causing it overcrowded and unhygienic given that we will be sharing the washroom as well. Based on the website description and pictures of room, I expected a room for two people in an apartment with lots of natural light, and a double bed.
Given the situation, I kindly request to guide me in finding a place more suitable based on my requirements. If not, I expect to receive a full refund of $5000 deposit that was paid upon registration. Please let me know your thoughts or if you have further questions.
Regards,
Braden
Score 7
Describe the problems your son is having.
Suggest some solutions to the problems.
Make an appointment with the teacher to discuss the problems and your solutions.
Dear Miss Amanda,
My name is Shivani, I’m mother of Lucas Lim who is in grade six at Fraser Height Elementary School. I’m writing to bring it to your attention racism; my son is facing on his appearance by Brian Lenord.
Lucas used to be excited for school and meeting up with his friend in the colony. However, in the last couple of months I have observed a sudden behavior change where he’d be in his room whole day and request us not to send him to the school. He would get scared to speak up with other kids and sometimes even have anxiety attacks. I would be in blind if he had not opened about these incidents.
I would request a strong action taken that would prevent such inappropriate behavior by schoolmates. Some suggestion would be to have ground rule, like suspension or perhaps failing the students who are found participating in such behavior. I would also recommend the school to have therapy counselling for the children who are facing similar problems.
Lastly, I would like to meet with you and headmaster to discuss the problem and come to a suitable solution and I expect a prompt response from you.
Regards,
Beth
Score 7
Other than signing off with wrong name, can you please point out where I can improve? thanks
Hi Shivani,
If you’d like feedback on your writing, please submit to my paid writing correction service. https://ottawa-english.com/english-writing-correction-service/
Thanks,
Angela
You recently made an online purchase and the product was not the same as the description on the website.
Write an email to the website support department in about 150-200 words.
– What you purchased and when.
– Exactly how it is different from the website description.
– How you would like the company to fix the problem.
Dear Amazon,
I am writing an email to request the refund process for the item that I purchased on March 10th. As a reason for this request, the item was not the same as the description on the website.
I bought a premium white wooden nightstand last Friday, and I got it delivered today March 14th around 10 am. On the website, it is described as a single-size of white colour with a pattern of wood grain on a round nightstand, however, what I have received is a white colour with no wood grain pattern on it.
In addition, on the size chart, the nightstand option should be 15*15*20 inches, but the actual size is 16.5*16.5*24 inches. Due to the wrong size chart, it doesn’t fit in the space that I made for this nightstand.
I was excited about getting a lovely nightstand for my new house, but when I received it, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
As a regular customer on Amazon, it would be good to get a refund with store credit so I could search for the other nightstand that would fit perfectly.
Please let me know how the refund process will go through.
Best Regards,
Amanda Smith
Score 7
You are studying a short course in another country. Your accommodation was arranged by the course provider. There is a major problem with the accommodation. Write a letter to the course provider. In your letter:
Say what the problem is.
Describe the accommodation you thought you were getting.
Ask the provider to solve the problem.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter to highlight the problem I am facing with the current accommodation which is causing a lot of trouble these days.
There is no connecting public transport available while coming from the university square which costs me more to commute through private services. There are sometimes when nothing is available and I have to wait for long hours to come back home. Since I am not financially strong enough it is next to impossible for me to bear the load of monthly expenses.
As I have applied for the accommodation well in advance, I thought of getting near to the university campus but it turns out the opposite. I have been looking for better options but nothings seems to be suitable right now. It would be highly appreciated if you could look into this matter at the highest priority as soon as possible. This will not only save time but also helps me in adding some money for the fees.
I hope to hear back from you soon.
Sincerely,
Harsh Sharma
Score 7
You are experiencing financial problems and want to ask your landlord if you can pay your rent late.
150 to 200 words, write an email to your landlord explaining:
– why you are writing to him
– why you cannot pay the rent
– when you will pay the rent
Dear Mr. Richardson,
I am writing to ask to postpone the date of the rental payment. I have financial difficulties and I wouldn’t request it if I were in a difficult situation.
I have been working as a chef in a restaurant. Due to the pandemic, my workplace has been closed for 4 months, so that I couldn’t get my salary for the last 4 months. I had some savings in my bank account, but I ran out of them last month.
The government made a statement this morning that they were going to allow to reopen all restaurants from the beginning of next month. Furthermore, our employer said that he would pay our salaries by next month. Hence, I will be able to deposit the rent for the current month by the end of next month.
I will be grateful if you accept my excuses.
Yours Sincerely,
Duygu Sen
Score 8
i am waiting to my score
I’m afraid you’ve reached your limit for free evaluations. If you would like more feedback on your writing, please submit your essays to my writing correction service: https://ottawa-english.com/english-writing-correction-service/
You recently made reservations for dinner at a very famous and expensive restaurant in town. However, the meal and the service were terrible. The restaurant manager was not available to solve the problem, so you left without a resolution.
-State what problems you had with the food you ordered.
-Complain about the service.
-Describe how you want the restaurant to resolve the problem to your satisfaction.
Dear Sir/ Madam
I am writing this email to talk about the issues my friends and I faced in your new restaurant. We were so excited to try the new location of Mink on Robson. We reserved a table for 6 on 8th January 2023 for 6 PM through your online website ww.minfoodres.com.
We waited over an hour to get the ordered food and to the surprise the restaurant was not busy. My friend ordered a pineapple fried rice with no seafood because she is allergic to seafood. Once, we were served the food was cold and my friend got the fried rice with the seafood. I found a hair in my food. We raised our issues to the server but the server did not try to solve our problems. We talked to the manager of the restaurant about the issues we were faced and the manger then asked the kitchen to remake the food which resulted in waiting for another half an hour to get the food. To add, we requested a discount on the bill for the issuer we faced and the manager denied that.
We are very unhappy about the service and food we got at your restaurant. Since, we all know mistakes can happen, we would like to give another try at your restaurant. We reserved a table on this Friday and I am requesting you to give us a discount on our meal which we got denied last time.
I hope to hear back from you soon.
Regards,
Maria John
Score 8
Dear Sir/ Madam,
I am writing this email to enquire about the summer vacation packages you can offer for a couple.
We are looking for a 5-day trip to Montreal and would love to visit most of the historical monuments and national parks of the city. We enjoy nature, sight-seeing and exploring the cultural heritage of any place we visit. In addition to this, we want to stay in a hotel which is connected by public transportation so that we can explore the city by ourselves whenever the time allows.
I would like to highlight that we are flexible with dates however, we have a fixed budget of 4000 Cads. While sharing the travel plans, please include available payment options with the detailed breakdown of expenses as well. This will help us better in planning our miscellaneous budget beforehand and avoiding any last-minute hassle during the trip.
Please consider our budget and interests while preparing the itineraries and we will choose the trip which suits us the best. I hope to hear from you soon!
Regards,
Roman
Score 10
You saw an accident and asked to write a report for the police describing the scene.
Explain when and where you saw the accident
Describe the road condition, what you saw, and how many people and vehicles were involved.
Explain who you feel was responsible and why
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to inform you of a ghastly motor accident that occurred just a moment ago as your prompt attention would be needed to salvage the lives of those involved.
I was heading to Lagos this morning through the Lagos-Ibadan expressway when I witnessed an accident. This unfortunate incident could have been averted if the vehicles involved had exercised a little patience.
The collision happened due to a bad section of the road which is just after a sharp bend. Three vehicles were involved in the mishap, leaving five people badly injured. Thankfully, no life was lost but the vehicles are damaged.
Being an eyewitness to the accident, I think the black SUV should be held responsible for this, because he came from behind the white salon, who used the break on approaching the bad section, to hit the oncoming yellow bus.
I hope this will guide your decision as you hasten to the scene.
Yours Truly,
Akinwumi Dare.
Score 10
Definitely I would second the Brampton city council idea of developing a facility for Athletics, since it would encourage young kids towards choosing Athletic as a career option. I do want to state that building baseball ground is not a bad idea either but we already have 6 ground in the city itself.
The plan of constructing an athletic complex is quite unique and welcoming. Since I remember that people used to go too far off places for practice and which eventually resulted in wastage of time and money too. Further it would invite other people from neighboring areas to come in and aid to increase funds for future development.
Even though Athletic is Canada’s major bet at the Olympics with almost 7 gold medals in the recently held Tokyo Olympics but when it comes to Facilities that are available to the athletes, it’s only the school ground tracks and walking paths throughout the city.
I would request the authorities to bring this noble plan on paper as soon as possible for the good of the society.
Score 7
Watch your punctuation and subjunctive. For subjunctives, check out this video: https://youtu.be/EW0batkU33k
Definitely I would second the Brampton city council idea of developing a facility for Athletics, since it would encourage young kids towards choosing Athletic as a career option. I do want to state that building baseball ground is not a bad idea either but we already have 6 ground in the city itself.
The plan of constructing an athletic complex is quite unique and welcoming. Since I remember that people used to go too far off places for practice and which eventually resulted in wastage of time and money too. Further it would invite other people from neighboring areas to come in and aid to increase funds for future development.
Even though Athletic is Canada’s major bet at the Olympics with almost 7 gold medals in the recently held Tokyo Olympics but when it comes to Facilities that are available to the athletes, it’s only the school ground tracks and walking paths throughout the city.
I would request the authorities to bring this noble plan on paper as soon as possible for the good of the society.
Score 7
Watch your punctuation and subjunctive. For subjunctives, check out this video: https://youtu.be/EW0batkU33k
Dear ABC Publishing house,
I am writing this email to bring to your notice about my recent bad encounter, while using your online portal to order a book for my son.
So basically, I happen to order the 3rd edition of frank’s mathematic for grade 7 online, but to my attention, the book that I received turned out to be older edition which is no longer accepted in the school curriculum. Since it doesn’t have trigonometry lesson’s which got added to the latest edition.
Since my son’s exam is scheduled for April the 13th 2022. He definitely need sufficient time to prepare as well, that’s why I am worried whether he would be able to catch up the syllabus in time and get good grades.
Looking forward for the tentative date for delivery. It would be of great help if I receive the latest edition at the earliest.
Thanking you,
Sparsh Kapoor
Score 7
Watch your punctuation.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to claim the cost of an Apple iPad that I have lost when I was holidaying in Europe. I have purchased travel insurance from your company three weeks back. My policy number is 789456123.
My Apple iPad was the latest 2021 Model in the colour, Tan Grey, & its cover has my name engraving. I got it on the Black Friday sale last year. It was in very good shape without any scratches or dents. Even its battery life was 92 % when I checked last time. I don’t exactly know where I lost it. But I think it occurred when I was travelling back to Canada. I might have lost it in the cab or at the airport.
I have tried inquiring at the lost & found department of the airport & the hotel where I stayed. However, there was no luck. Therefore, I request you to please refund the cost price of my gizmo as soon as possible as I use it for studies & work. I can send you a copy of the police complaint or receipt of the product or any other documents as deemed necessary for the claim to you.
Looking forward to your reply.
Regards,
Diksha Thakur
Score 8. Watch your tenses
Dear Director,
My name is Diksha, I am currently teaching science to Grade 8 students at a local high school. I have visited your coveted park a few days ago with my colleagues. We were planning a school trip to your zoo, so we were here for the pre-assessment of our plans.
Unfortunately, we witnessed the horrific incident during our visit where a man was attacked by the tiger. He was trying to click a selfie & in order to do so, he climbed on the cage fencing where he lost the balance on the railing & accidentally fell into the cage. As soon as he fell, a tiger jumped on him & in a matter of seconds, there was a pool of blood. It was so scary that we were thanking God that our students were not accompanying us this time.
Therefore, I strongly want to highlight the safety hazards in the park. There were many folks that were climbing because the length of the fence is so short that it is not even appropriate for young kids. Also, the authorities were very late in reaching the scene.
I hope you will address these hazards as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Diksha Thakur
Score 9 Lovely
Watch your articles and write the word and not &.
You saw an accident and asked to write a report for the police describing the scene.
Explain when and where you saw the accident
Describe the road condition, what you saw, and how many people and vehicles were involved.
Explain who you feel was responsible and why
To Whom It May Concern,
The purpose of my writing today is to inform you; about an accident at the intersection of Scott Road and 96 Avenue.
Early morning around six a.m, while waiting for my bus to Scott road station, I observed a collision between a car and a bike at the left-hand side of the bike lane towards the Newton. At the junction, a black GMC terrain was about to take a turn from the right side and missed the bike lane. As a result, it straight away hit the cyclist who was waiting to cross the road.
Early morning it was dark and snowing too. Due to the extreme weather condition, visibility on the road was close to none. In addition, all the cars were below the speed limit, whereas this GMC was speeding and missed its turn. Fortunately, there was only one person- the driver was in the car. Although the driver lost his control and landed on the pathway and hit the cyclist; however, it was not visible from a distance how badly the cyclist was hurt.
It was imminent that the car was way more its speed limit in this snowy condition and at fault. Easily It could have been a fatal hit-and-run case, but thankfully did not end it that way.
I look forward to your decision on this.
Yours Sincerely,
Mary Kom
score 7
I personally feel that option B we should keep the printers in the office is more suitable for our office considering multifarious reasons. In the following paragraphs,I would elucidate to justify my choice.
No doubt, many companies are adapting paperless features and more digitalization of storing documents online, but it wasn’t possible to eliminate all printing and scanning completely. I strongly believe, “Paper is portable and cheap and readily available. It takes very little time or effort to install a printer and a filing cabinet in the office. On the other hand purchasing and implementing digital document creation tools and storage solutions can be both costly and time-consuming. Even Though “It is easier to read long documents on paper than on-screen. Paper is universally accepted as valid for contracts and other legal documents, and the signatures are familiar and accepted to a greater degree than any sort of digital signature.” Moreover, what seems more convincing to me is new technology and digital devices that are hard to learn for our old employees who have been working with printers and papers.
Additional printers and paper are part of corporate work culture and have no risk involved. How can one forget about such as many viruses and hackers hacking data from data . However, another option seems unrealistic since paper is cheaper and convenient for employees.
Considering all the assertion, I am of the opinion that paper is better than a paperless office.
Score 7
Indisputably, this topic opens a thought-provoking discussion since the present trend in society shows a callous and neglected attitude towards older parents.
I want to opine that children are responsible for their ageing parents, as this seems a more suitable and convincing option for our social structure. I will elucidate and justify my choice in the subsequent paragraphs.
To begin with, we must remember the selfless contribution of our parents throughout their entire life. Because of their unconditional love and sacrifice, we as children always have a comfortable living. Therefore, a parent could never imagine giving their child to a foster home, no matter how challenging the circumstances. Likewise, a child should never send their parents to an old age home, as this would aggravate separation anxiety, which will be detrimental to their health. Paying back the emotional debt is impossible; however, when it comes to essential responsibilities of life, we must focus on providing maximum emotional and physical comfort and support to our parents.
On the contrary, others may voice their opinion in favour of sending them to the old home, since life becomes busier with work and taking care of parents seems a significant burden on their shoulders. Nevertheless, this logic sounds selfish and worthless.
Considering the above assertions, I agree that children should be responsible for their parents and sending them to the care home cannot be a viable option.
Score 8. Make sure you identify your main points in the introduction.
You have seen an advertisement in an English newspaper for a job working in the City Museum shop during the holidays.
You decide to apply for the job. Write a letter to the director of the Museum. In your letter:
-Introduce yourself
-Explain what experience and special skills you have
-Explain why you are interested in the job
Dear Mr. Director,
My name is Soma; I am reaching out to you regarding the job opening in your esteemed organization for the coming holidays.
I am a fresh university graduate in modern history, specializing in record keeping and planning. I possess outstanding communication skills along with exceptional time management and organizational competency. I was nominated to represent my school in a multivarious countywide event due to my analytical and presentation skills. Furthermore, recently, on the national level, my project on restructuring the museum’s photo collection department has been awarded for further research.
Since my childhood, I have been fascinated by the museum’s artifacts, massive structure and was curious about the operational procedures of the facility. These played a significant role in aspiring to become a future historian. It will be my privilege to be part of such a prestigious organization.
I am optimistic, considering my expertise, and skills you will provide me with a chance to render my service. I look forward to hearing from you soon, and an open line of communication will be greatly appreciated.
Yours Sincerely,
Soma Sarkar
Score 8. Watch your parallel.
YOu are studying overseas. You need to return to your country before the end of the semester for a family event. Write a letter to your supervisor. In your letter
-Request time off
-Explain why you need to leave early
-Reassure him/ her that your studies will not suffer
Dear Mr. Smith,
I am reaching out to let you know that I must take a short break near the end of this semester due to some unprecedented personal exigency.
Last night, I was shocked to know the unexpected and sudden deterioration of my grandfather’s health. Unfortunately, doctors are not optimistic about his recovery soon, which is detrimental for my family. Given the situation, which could be devastating afterwards, my family has decided to go for a get-together, especially for all grandchildren living abroad. Furthermore, I feel it is my duty and obligation to stand beside my family in this crisis and support them in every way I can. That is why I am putting forward this early request to avoid any further delay to the approval.
Considering my 100% attendance and previous semesters’ striking result, you will approve this as a small favour. Additionally, I assure you there will not be any disruption in my study since I am carrying the books and simultaneously will be in constant touch with my teammates for the final project. Apart from that, all online quizzes will be submitted on time as well.
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated on this matter. Furthermore, an open line of commination from your side will be helpful.
Yours Sincerely,
Tami
Score 8. Watch your sentence variety