Task 5 is the only CELPIP Speaking task with a separate choosing step before you prepare. Once you understand the steps, it follows a predictable pattern.
Please note: the sample answers below are my original teaching examples, not official CELPIP responses, and they have not been scored by CELPIP. Use them to study how a persuasive answer is built, not as scripts to memorize.
How Task 5 Works
| Step | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Choose | You see two options with short details (for example, price, distance, opening hours). You choose the one you prefer. You don't speak. | 60 seconds |
| 2. A new option appears | Someone (for example, a friend, a family member or a coworker) suggests a third option instead. | |
| 3. Prepare | You plan how to persuade that person that your choice is better than the new option. | 60 seconds |
| 4. Speak | You talk to that person and compare your choice with the new option. | 60 seconds |
The most important rule: in step 4 you compare your choice with the new option. The option you didn't choose in step 1 is not part of your answer.
There is no "correct" option in step 1. Pick the one you can defend with the clearest details, and do it quickly.
A Simple Plan for Your 60 Seconds
- Talk to the person. Use their name or role: "Sam, I know you like the restaurant, but…"
- State your choice clearly in the first sentence.
- Compare on two points, using the real details from the task: price with price, time with time, distance with distance.
- Explain why each point matters for this person or this situation. A detail alone ("It has Wi-Fi") is not persuasive; the consequence is ("We need Wi-Fi for the online class").
- Admit one good point of the new option, then explain why your choice is still better. This is useful, not compulsory.
- Finish with a clear recommendation or a question: "So shall I book it?"
Useful Phrases
- Comparing: …is cheaper/closer/bigger than…, while the café…, compared with…, for only ten dollars more…
- Admitting a point: I understand that…, but…, It's true that… However…, Although yours is closer…
- Explaining why it matters: What matters most for us is…, That means we wouldn't have to…, In the long run…
- Closing: So I really think… is the better choice., Shall I book it?, What do you think?
Sample Answer 1: Gym Membership
Step 1: You and your partner want to exercise more. Choose one option:
- Community Recreation Centre: $35 per month per person; gym and swimming pool; 10-minute walk; open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- City Fitness Club: $45 per month per person; gym and group classes; 20-minute drive; open 24 hours.
(You choose the Community Recreation Centre.)
Step 2: Your partner suggests buying an exercise bike for home instead: $600, one-time payment; fits in the living room; one person can use it at a time. Persuade your partner that the recreation centre is better.
I know you like the idea of an exercise bike, and you're right that it would be cheaper. Six hundred dollars once is less than what we'd pay the recreation centre in a year. But I really think the recreation centre is the better choice for us.
First, with the bike only one of us can exercise at a time. At the recreation centre we can go together after dinner, and that makes it much easier to keep going.
Second, we'd get much more than one machine. There's a whole gym and a swimming pool, and you've always said you want to swim more. On a bike, I think we would get bored after a few weeks.
It's only a ten-minute walk, so that's extra exercise, and it's open until ten at night. Why don't we try it for one month? If we don't use it, we can still buy the bike.
Why it works: it speaks directly to the partner, compares the recreation centre with the bike (not with the fitness club), and is honest about the bike's real advantage (the price) before explaining why other things matter more. It ends with a practical suggestion.
Sample Answer 2: Travelling to a Wedding
Step 1: You and a friend are going to a wedding in a city 300 km away. Choose one option:
- Train: $85 return per person; 3.5 hours; leaves from the downtown station; free Wi-Fi.
- Rental car: $120 for the weekend plus gas; about 3 hours; you would share the driving.
(You choose the train.)
Step 2: Your friend suggests flying instead: $240 return per person; 1-hour flight; the airports are 45 minutes from the city centre at each end. Persuade your friend that the train is better.
I see why you want to fly. One hour sounds much faster. But if we count the whole trip, the difference is small, and the train is much cheaper.
With the flight, we need forty-five minutes to get to the airport, then we have to arrive early, then there's the one-hour flight, and then another forty-five minutes into the city. That's two and a half hours before we even count the waiting at the airport. The train takes three and a half hours, and it leaves right from downtown.
And the price is a big difference. The train is eighty-five dollars return, and the flight is two hundred and forty. That's a hundred and fifty-five dollars each that we could spend on the wedding gift or a nice dinner.
The train also has free Wi-Fi, so we can work or rest. I really think it makes more sense. Shall I buy the tickets tonight?
Why it works: it uses the numbers from the task correctly (240 − 85 = 155) and turns the flight's main advantage (speed) into a fair comparison of the whole trip. It doesn't invent new facts that contradict the task.
Sample Answer 3: A Weaker and a Stronger Answer
Step 1: Your 9-year-old daughter needs a summer day camp for one week. You and your partner both work until 3 p.m. Choose one option:
- Art camp: $180 per week; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; lunch included; 5-minute walk.
- Science camp: $220 per week; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; bring your own lunch; 15-minute drive.
(You choose the art camp.)
Step 2: Your partner suggests a sports camp instead: $150 per week; 9 a.m. to noon; no lunch; 10-minute walk. Persuade your partner that the art camp is better.
Weaker answer:
I think the art camp is better. The art camp is a five-minute walk. It has lunch. It is nine to three. The science camp is too far and it is expensive. Art is good for children. So the art camp is better, I think.
Problems: it doesn't talk to the partner, it lists details without explaining why they matter, it compares with the science camp (the option already rejected) instead of the sports camp, and it ignores the partner's reason for liking the sports camp.
Stronger answer:
I know the sports camp is thirty dollars cheaper, and she loves being active. But I really think the art camp works better for our family this week.
The biggest problem is the time. The sports camp finishes at noon, and we both work until three. So every day, someone would have to leave work early or we'd have to find a babysitter for three hours. A babysitter would cost a lot more than thirty dollars.
The art camp runs from nine to three, so it ends exactly when we finish work. And lunch is included, so she's looked after for the whole day.
It's also just a five-minute walk, even closer than the sports camp. She can play soccer with us on the weekend. So let's choose the art camp. Should I register her today?
Why it's stronger: it talks to the partner, compares the art camp with the sports camp, explains the consequence of each detail (finishing at noon means someone must leave work), answers the partner's likely reason (price, being active) and ends with a clear next step.
Common Mistakes in Task 5
- Spending the first 60 seconds stuck. There is no right answer in step 1. Choose quickly and use the rest of the minute to notice useful details.
- Comparing with the wrong option. Your answer compares your choice with the new option, not with the one you rejected.
- Reading the details aloud. "It has Wi-Fi. It is $35." is a list, not persuasion. Say why it matters.
- Inventing facts that contradict the task. You can add reasonable consequences ("we'd need a babysitter"), but don't change the prices, times or features you were given.
- Forgetting the listener. You are talking to a specific person. Speak to them, not about them.
- No ending. Finish with a clear recommendation, so your last sentence is not cut off mid-idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I speak during the first 60 seconds? No. The first 60 seconds are only for choosing between the two options.
Does it matter which option I choose? No. Either option can lead to a strong answer. Choose the one you can support with clear details.
Do I need to talk about the option I didn't choose? No. In your answer you compare your choice with the new, third option.
How many words should I say? CELPIP has no word requirement for Speaking. As a rough guide to pace, 60 seconds at a calm speed is about 120–150 words, but this is not a target. What matters is a clear choice, a real comparison and good development.
Do I have to mention a weakness of my choice? No. Admitting one point of the other option can make your answer more persuasive, but it is not a required formula.
Keep Practising
- See answers for all eight tasks in CELPIP Speaking sample answers, and the next task in CELPIP Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation.
- Learn the timing and structure of every task in the CELPIP Speaking task-by-task guide.
- Practise speaking out loud with instant feedback in the live AI speaking practice.
- If you want a teacher to listen to your answers, see CELPIP preparation with Masha.