CELPIP Speaking Task 1, Giving Advice: timings, structure and practice items

Giving Advice is the first thing you do in CELPIP Speaking, so it also sets your pace for the other seven tasks. The situation is short and familiar. The difficulty is not the topic. It is turning 30 seconds of thinking into 90 seconds of organised advice that sounds natural.

What does CELPIP Speaking Task 1 ask you to do?

You read a short situation about a person facing a decision, such as a friend choosing between options or a relative starting something new. You then record advice for that person. You get 30 seconds to prepare and 90 seconds to record. Task 7 is the only other task with a 90-second recording window; the remaining six record for 60 seconds.

Speaking has eight tasks in about 15 minutes. All eight are recorded replies to on-screen prompts, so there is no examiner to react to you. On the official test the screen moves on when the clock ends.

Timings checked 16 October 2026 against the Speaking Pro study pack. The eight-task, 15-minute format is in the CELPIP Guidebook for Test Takers, July 2026.

What do raters look for in a Giving Advice answer?

CELPIP rates Speaking on four dimensions, set out in its performance standards. Here is how each one shows up in this task. The mapping is our reading of the standards, not CELPIP's wording.

• Content/Coherence. CELPIP lists the number and quality of ideas, how they are organised, and examples and supporting details. In Task 1 that means separate suggestions, each with a reason, in an order a listener can follow.
• Vocabulary. Word choice, range and precision. Advice invites phrases such as "it would help if", "one option is to", "the risk is that".
• Listenability. Rhythm, pronunciation and intonation; pauses, interjections and self-correction; grammar and sentence structure. Advice needs conditionals and modals, so check them.
• Task Fulfillment. Relevance, completeness, tone and length. You were asked to advise a particular person, so the advice must fit their situation, sound friendly and respectful, and use the recording time.

For the full criteria, see how CELPIP-General is scored.

How should you use the 30 seconds of preparation?

Thirty seconds is enough to plan, not to write. Aim to leave the preparation screen with keywords, not sentences.

1. Seconds 0 to 8: pin down the person and the problem. Who are they, and what exactly are they deciding? Underline the one detail that makes this case different, such as long working hours or a small budget.
2. Seconds 8 to 22: choose two or three suggestions. Write one keyword for each. Prefer suggestions you can explain in one sentence of reason plus one sentence of result.
3. Seconds 22 to 30: fix your opening line. Say it silently once. A confident first sentence removes the hardest part of the recording.

Do not use the time to find a perfect suggestion. A modest idea with a clear reason is easier to say, and easier to listen to, than a clever one you cannot explain.

How do you structure a 90-second answer?

Use a frame you can run on any situation. This one is ScoreFluent's own technique, with approximate timings.

• Opening, about 10 seconds. Address the person and show you understand the problem in one clause. "Marcus, I'm worried about you, because four hours of sleep a night is not sustainable."
• Three suggestions, about 22 seconds each. Each one follows the same pattern: suggestion, reason, likely result. "First, ask your manager for fewer shifts. That way you keep some income, and you stop making mistakes from tiredness."
• Closing, about 8 seconds. Encourage and offer follow-up. "Try this for two weeks and tell me how it goes."

Signpost with "first", "second" and "finally". Signposts help the listener, and they give you a safe phrase to reach for while you think of the next idea.

Worked example

Situation (from the bank item below): your friend Marcus sleeps about four hours a night since starting a second job, and he is making careless mistakes at both places.

Marcus, I'm worried about you. Four hours of sleep a night is not sustainable, and you've said yourself that you're making mistakes at both jobs. So here's what I'd do.

First, talk to your manager at the second job about fewer shifts, even just for a month. That way you keep the income, but you stop running on empty, and a manager would rather lose a few hours than a careless employee.

Second, protect one fixed sleep window, say eleven to six, and treat it like a shift you can't skip. Your mistakes are probably coming from tiredness, so fixing sleep should fix the mistakes.

Third, write down what you earn and what you actually need. If the second job is covering a short-term goal, you may find you can reach it sooner by cutting one expense instead.

I know you think you can handle it, but the mistakes are a warning. Try these for two weeks and tell me how you feel. I'm happy to help you work out the budget.

This sample was written by ScoreFluent for this guide. It is not an official CELPIP model answer and has not been scored. Notice that every suggestion has a reason, the tone stays friendly, and the answer ends on an offer, not on a trailing "and yeah".

What mistakes make advice answers weaker?

• A list with no reasons. "You should ask for help. You should sleep more. You should save money." Three suggestions with no development give a rater little to credit under Content/Coherence.
• One idea stretched across 90 seconds. If you repeat the same suggestion in new words, you have really given one idea.
• Advice that ignores the details. If the prompt says the person has a small budget or little free time, generic advice does not fit. Use the detail that was given.
• The wrong tone. Advice to a friend can be warm and direct. A lecture, or a string of "you must", sounds unfriendly. CELPIP lists tone under Task Fulfillment.
• Stopping early. CELPIP lists length under Task Fulfillment but does not publish a minimum. Plan to use most of the 90 seconds, and keep a spare reason ready for a thin suggestion.
• A fresh idea in the last five seconds. If the screen cuts you mid-sentence, the answer ends on a fragment. Close deliberately.

What do Task 1 practice items look like?

These are practice items from the ScoreFluent bank. They are not real exam questions. They are listed from easier to harder on the bank's own difficulty rating.

Item 1. Your friend Marcus has been sleeping about four hours a night since he started a second job. He says he can handle it, but he has begun to make careless mistakes at both places.

Task: Advise Marcus about his schedule, and explain why you believe your suggestions are sensible.

Item 2. A friend must choose between two overlapping volunteer shifts.

Task: Give your friend practical advice and explain your reasons.

Item 3. Your cousin Isabelle is a new immigrant who speaks good English but feels shy in group conversations. She would like to make friends in her neighbourhood but does not know where to begin.

Task: Give Isabelle advice on meeting people, and explain how your ideas would help her.

Item 4. Your roommate Kenji wants to adopt a dog, but your lease allows only small pets and you both work long hours. He has his eye on a large shelter dog that is described as very energetic.

Task: Advise Kenji about the idea of adopting this dog, and give reasons for what you suggest.

Item 5. Your sister-in-law Natalie is thinking about going back to school at forty to become a nurse. She worries she is too old, and her family relies on her income.

Task: Advise Natalie on whether and how to go back to school, and explain why you recommend it.

The bank does not include model answers for these items. Item 2 gives very little detail, which is a useful practice activity: decide for yourself what the friend values, say so aloud, and advise on that basis.

How do you practise Task 1?

1. Time yourself properly. Use 30 seconds to prepare and 90 to speak, and stop when the clock stops.
2. Record, then listen once for structure. Count the suggestions and check each has a reason.
3. Listen a second time for delivery. Note filler sounds, long pauses and sentences you restarted. These are listed under Listenability.
4. Redo the same item with a different set of suggestions. Using the same situation twice shows you how much of your answer came from planning and how much from luck.

On ScoreFluent you can record Task 1 against the real timings and get a practice estimate on the four published dimensions. That estimate is provisional: the CELPIP speaking grader has not been calibrated against human-rated CELPIP responses, so treat it as a guide to what to fix and not as a level you will receive. New accounts get 40 free credits, credits never expire, and there is no subscription. Start with 40 free credits →

Next, see how the other tasks differ: Task 6, Dealing with a Difficult Situation also tests tone with a specific listener, and Task 7, Expressing Opinions uses the same 90-second window for a different job. The whole section is covered in CELPIP Speaking, and the exam overview is on the CELPIP-General hub.

Where do these timings and criteria come from?

The task name, the 15-minute Speaking section and the eight-task list come from the CELPIP Guidebook for Test Takers, July 2026. The 30-second and 90-second clocks and the move-on rule come from the Speaking Pro study pack. The four Speaking dimensions are from CELPIP's performance standards. Checked 16 October 2026. Exam details change, so confirm against the official pages before you rely on a number.

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