CELPIP Writing Task 2 · survey response

Survey: outdoor classroom or new laptops for an elementary school

The parent council at an elementary school in Halifax raised $25,000 through fundraising events this year. The council is surveying parents and staff to decide how the money should be spent.

Which project should the parent council fund with this year's fundraising money?

Option A: Outdoor classroom. Build a covered outdoor learning area with benches, garden beds and a small weather station that all classes can book.

Option B: Class set of laptops. Buy 30 laptops on a charging cart so that an entire class can use computers at the same time.

Choose the option you prefer and explain why. Write about 150–200 words.

Your response

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Write at least 50 words first.

Tips for this prompt

Explain how your choice would change a typical school day for students or teachers.
Compare how long each option will last and what upkeep it needs, since families worked hard to raise the money.
Use a respectful, community-minded tone, because your readers are other parents and school staff.

Sample responses

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

Sample at about CLB 7169 words · chooses A: Outdoor classroom

I think the parent council should build the outdoor classroom. My son is in grade 3 and he loves to be outside, I think many children are same.

Today children spend too much time in front of screen. They use tablet and phone at home every day, so at school they need something different. In the outdoor classroom they can learn about plants in the garden beds and see how the weather change with the weather station. This kind of learning is more interesting and children remember it better.

Also, the outdoor classroom is for all classes in the school. Every teacher can book it and use it for different subjects, for example science, art or reading. But the laptops is only thirty and it is only for one class in the same time.

Laptops are good for learning computer skills too. But I think the school already has some computer. The outdoor classroom is something new that our school don't have.

That is why I choose option A.

Why about CLB 7: The choice is clear and the main idea (less screen time) is easy to follow, but the reasons are general. Errors such as "are same", "in front of screen", "the laptops is only thirty", "in the same time" and "our school don't have" are frequent.

Sample at about CLB 9174 words · chooses B: Class set of laptops

I think the parent council should use the money to buy the class set of laptops. Nowadays computers are a very important part of education, and students need to learn how to use them from a young age.

At our school, there are not enough computers for the students. My daughter is in Grade 5, and she told me that her class has to share a few old computers with other classes. Because of this, the students often have to wait for their turn, and sometimes they cannot finish their projects at school. With 30 laptops, every student in the class would have their own computer to work on at the same time.

Also, some students do not have a computer at home, so the laptops would give them a chance to practise their computer skills at school.

The outdoor classroom is a nice idea, but because of the long winters here, it would not be used very much during the school year.

For these reasons, I believe the laptops are the better option.

Why about CLB 9: Relevant reasons supported by the writer's family situation. The second reason and the comparison are only one sentence each, and "computers" repeats; a comma is missing after "Nowadays".

Sample at about CLB 11188 words · chooses B: Class set of laptops

I would spend the fundraising money on thirty laptops. My Grade Four daughter enjoys writing stories, and her class's shared, older computer set sometimes turns a straightforward project into a waiting exercise.

For a recent report on local animals, she waited for a machine before completing some of the work at home. A full class set would allow the teacher to demonstrate how to compare sources, organize notes and revise a paragraph while every child practised the same steps. It would also give students without home computers a fairer chance to develop those skills during school hours.

A charging cart makes the proposal especially practical: the equipment could move between classrooms without requiring a entire class to relocate. Before purchasing the set, the council should confirm booking arrangements, storage and repair responsibilities. Those details matter if the laptops are to support lessons rather than sit unused.

The covered outdoor area would offer appealing opportunities to observe plants and weather. However, I would first remove the equipment bottleneck affecting everyday writing and research. A reliably managed laptop set could support several subjects and benefit different classes throughout the year.

Why about CLB 11: The response explains what students would do with the equipment and addresses practical management without overstating results. "A entire class" should be "an entire class".

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