Getting the tone right in CELPIP Writing Task 1
Formal or friendly? How to read the recipient in a Task 1 email and match your openings, closings, and word choice so the tone fits.
⚡ The short version
- Task 1 is a ~150–200 word email, and who you're writing to decides the tone.
- Read the recipient first: a friend gets warmth, an official gets formality.
- Keep it consistent — mismatched openings, closings, and word choice cost you marks.
In CELPIP Writing Task 1 you write an email of about 150–200 words in roughly 27 minutes. People pour their energy into grammar and forget the thing the grader notices first: whether the tone fits the person you're writing to. Get that wrong and even a clean email reads as off. Get it right and everything else lands better.
Read the recipient before you write
The prompt always tells you who the email is to. That's your single most important clue, and it's worth ten seconds before you start:
- Writing to a friend, neighbour, or family member? Warm and relaxed.
- Writing to a manager, landlord, company, or official? Polite and formal.
Everything else — your greeting, your phrasing, your sign-off — flows from that one read. For how the whole task is marked, see how CELPIP Writing Task 1 is scored.
Match the bookends
Openings and closings are where tone is most visible, so make them agree with each other:
| Friendly | Formal | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | "Hi Sam," | "Dear Mr. Lee," |
| Phrasing | "I wanted to ask…" | "I am writing to request…" |
| Closing | "Thanks! Talk soon," | "Sincerely," |
The mistake to avoid is a mismatch — a breezy "Hey!" opening under a stiff "I am writing to formally request," or a formal complaint that signs off "Cheers." Pick a lane and stay in it from the first word to the last.
Consistency is the real test
Register isn't one word here and there — it's the whole email pulling in the same direction. A formal email keeps contractions and slang out; a friendly one welcomes them. Once you've decided which you're writing, let that decision guide every sentence, not just the greeting.
For ready-made phrases that fit each tone, see CELPIP Writing phrases and structures; and for the tone slips that quietly cost marks, common CELPIP Writing mistakes.
Still cover the points
Tone gets your foot in the door, but Task 1 also gives you specific things to address — explain, request, suggest. Nail the tone and hit every bullet the prompt asks for. When you're ready, practise Writing with AI feedback and see how your tone and coverage score together.
