Lesson 1, Test Format & Baseline
Start here. By the end you’ll know exactly what both tasks demand, and you’ll have one email written cold that becomes the benchmark for everything after.
The test at a glance
| Task 1 | Task 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Writing an Email | Responding to Survey Questions |
| Time | ~27 minutes | ~26 minutes |
| Length | 150–200 words | 150–200 words |
| What it asks | Write an email covering three bullet points | Choose one of two options and defend it |
Total ~53 minutes. Both tasks carry equal weight, so neither can be treated as the easy one.
Four scored criteria
Content/Coherence · Vocabulary · Readability · Task Fulfillment: equally weighted.
Note that third one. In Speaking the equivalent dimension is Listenability; in Writing it’s Readability, covering grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. Mechanics are scored directly here, and nothing is forgiven: a missing article sits on the page for the rater to see.
Every draft on Celpora is auto-scored against these four criteria. The Writing practice tool returns a level from 3 to 12 on Content, Vocabulary, Readability, and Task Fulfillment, plus the exact sentences a Readability marker would flag. Same rubric as this lesson, one minute after you submit.
The one advantage Writing gives you
You can edit.
This is the single most important structural difference from Speaking, and most candidates waste it. They write until the timer runs down, adding words to reach 200, and never re-read what they’ve written.
Three minutes of systematic proofreading recovers more marks than any vocabulary list will earn you. Lesson 16 is built entirely around this, and it’s the cheapest score improvement in the course.
Where your 27 minutes should actually go
| Phase | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | ~4 min | Map bullets to paragraphs, decide register, note two points per bullet |
| Write | ~20 min | Straight through, no agonising |
| Proofread | ~3 min | Four systematic passes |
Practice to this shape until it’s automatic. Candidates who don’t plan spend the writing phase making structural decisions, and candidates who don’t reserve proofreading time lose marks they’d already earned.
Word count discipline
| Words | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Under 150 | Penalized: too short to develop the task |
| 150–170 | Safe but tight |
| 175–190 | Target zone |
| 190–200 | Fine, but near the edge |
| Over 200 | Risky. Don’t gamble. |
Aim for 180 on both tasks. You’ll hear people say slightly over 200 is tolerated. Maybe, but there is no upside to finding out. Staying at 180 costs you nothing and removes the risk entirely.
Three things about the real interface
1. There is no spellcheck. No red underlines, no autocorrect. If you practice in Word or Google Docs, you’re building a false habit, your errors get silently fixed and you never learn which ones you make.
Practice in a plain text box. The Celpora writing practice replicates the real interface deliberately.
2. You’re typing, not writing by hand. If your typing is slow, that’s a fixable bottleneck worth addressing early, 180 words in 20 minutes is comfortable at 25 words per minute and stressful at 12.
3. You can move between the two tasks, but the total time is fixed. Overrunning Task 1 steals directly from Task 2.
Your diagnostic: write this now
Do this before reading another lesson. Unaided, under real timing.
Rules: real timing · no spellcheck · no dictionary · no restarting · don’t look at any other lesson first.
What to record on playback
Don’t fix anything yet, just measure:
- Word count: under or over?
- Did you cover all three bullets? Actually check, bullet by bullet.
- How many sentences have more than one clause?
- How many “-ly” adverbs?
- Did you re-read it before finishing, or write until time ran out?
- Register: is it consistently formal?
Write these numbers down. In Lesson 18 you’ll rewrite this exact question and compare.
How this course is built
Lessons 2–5, foundations. Scoring, planning, grammar, vocabulary. Don’t skip these to reach the task lessons; they’re what makes the task lessons work.
Lesson 6, the email spine. Structure and register, taught once. Everything in Lessons 7–12 assumes it.
Lessons 7–12, the six email types. Complaints, apologies, requests, suggestions, social, workplace, each with formal and informal models.
Lessons 13–15, Task 2. Choosing, structuring, templates, and the upgrades that reach Level 11.
Lessons 16–18, polish and test. Proofreading, error repair, and a full mock against your baseline.
Realistic study plans
| If you have… | Do this |
|---|---|
| 1 week | Lessons 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 16. Write daily. |
| 3 weeks | Full sequence, one lesson per weekday, writing every practice under timing. |
| 6+ weeks | Full sequence, then a second pass rewriting every practice with the Lesson 16 proofreading system. |
The non-negotiable: write something under real timing every day. Reading about writing does not transfer.
Before you move on
- I know both tasks, their timings, and the 150–200 word limit
- I know the four criteria, and that Readability covers mechanics
- I understand the 4 / 20 / 3 time split
- I know there’s no spellcheck, and I’ll practice without one
- I’ve written my diagnostic under real timing
- I’ve recorded my six baseline numbers
