CELPIP Writing Task 1 · semi-formal email

Email to a coworker who will cover your work during your vacation

You work in the office of a small landscaping company and are leaving for a two-week vacation next Friday. A coworker from another team has kindly agreed to handle some of your duties while you are away. Write an email to this coworker.

Write an email of about 150–200 words in which you do the following:

Thank your coworker for helping you
Explain the most important tasks they will need to handle
Tell them what to do if any problems come up while you are away

Your response

27:00

0 words · target 150–200

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Write at least 50 words first.

Tips for this prompt

Organize the tasks clearly, for example by day of the week or by priority, so your coworker can find information quickly.
Give specific names, deadlines, and file locations rather than general descriptions like 'the usual reports'.
Keep the tone warm and appreciative but still professional, since this is a workplace email.

Sample responses

Try the task first, then compare. Levels are our estimates, not official CELPIP scores.

Sample at about CLB 7169 words

Hi Jordan,

Thank you so much for helping me when I am on vacation. I know you are busy with your own team so I am very appreciate it.

I will leave next Friday for two weeks. There are some important works you need to do. Every Monday please check the new orders from customers and put them in the calendar for the crews. Also you need answer the phone and emails from customers, most of them ask about price or time. The price list is in my desk in the blue folder. Please send the invoices to accounting before end of month.

If there is any problem, you can ask to Mike, he is our manager and he knows everything. If it is very urgent you can call me, but please don't call me for small thing because I will be with my family. I will check my emails sometimes.

I will buy you a coffee when I come back. Thank you again for your help!

Best, Alex

Why about CLB 7: The thanks, the main tasks and a contact person are all included, but the instructions are general and a little crowded together. Errors such as "I am very appreciate it", "important works", "you need answer", "ask to Mike" and "before end of month" are frequent.

Sample at about CLB 9174 words

Hi Jordan,

Thank you so much for agreeing to help me out while I am on vacation. I know that you already have a lot of work with your own team, so I really appreciate it.

I wanted to let you know about the most important tasks while I am away. Firstly, every Monday morning you will need to enter the new bookings from our website into the crew calendar, so the crews know where they need to go that week. Secondly, please reply to the customer emails in the shared inbox. Most of them are just questions about our prices or when we can come, and you can find most of the answers in the price list on my desk. And finally, the supplier invoices need to be sent to accounting before the end of the month.

If you have any problem, please feel free to ask anyone in the office. I am sure they will be happy to help you.

Thanks again, and I will see you when I get back!

Alex

Why about CLB 9: The thanks and the main tasks are clear, though the "Firstly ... Secondly ... And finally" list is mechanical. The last point is vague: it names no contact person and does not say when to call the writer; "any problem" should be "any problems".

Sample at about CLB 11193 words

Hi Jordan,

Thank you for taking on my office duties while I am away for two weeks from next Friday. I know your teams workload is already substantial, so I have kept the handover focused on what cannot wait. Could we walk through the files together on Thursday?

On Monday mornings, new online bookings need to go into the crew calendar before the crews plan their visits. Wednesday's job is to send customer reminders; the template is in the shared Customer Reminders folder. Finally, please take the supplier invoices from the blue folder on my desk to Linda in accounting by October 25, so payment processing stays on track.

For booking-system problems, contact Mike, who set it up. Teresa can deal with urgent complaints and refund requests; routine messages can wait for my return. I will check email once during the holiday, but please call only if an emergency needs my personal attention.

I will leave a checklist on my desk, with the folder locations beside each task. If anything conflicts with your own deadlines, let me know on Thursday and we can adjust the coverage.

Lunch is on me afterwards!

Cheers, Alex

Why about CLB 11: The email explains deadlines and their purpose, provides escalation contacts and checks for workload conflicts. The apostrophe is missing in "your team's workload".

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