CELPIP Speaking Task 2 asks you to tell a story based on pictures. The key is controlling your narrative so it has a clear beginning, middle, and end within 60 seconds -- without running out of things to say or losing the thread.
Examples
Weak
Avoid"So there is a person and they are doing something and then something happens and it is a problem and then at the end it gets better."
Stronger
Better"In the first image, a young woman is rushing out of her apartment with her work bag, looking anxious. By the second image, she has missed the bus and is standing alone at the stop. In the final scene, a colleague is pulling over to offer her a ride, and she looks relieved."
How It Works
Image-by-image structure
Narrate one image per sentence block
"In the first picture... In the second... In the final image..."
Character and emotion
Name the person and their emotional state
"A middle-aged man looks frustrated as he waits in a long queue."
Cause and consequence
Link images with cause and consequence language
"Because the alarm did not go off, she arrived 20 minutes late to the interview."
Story arc
Tension in the middle image; resolution in the final image
"The problem is resolved when the manager agrees to reschedule."
Common Mistakes
Describing not narrating
AvoidThere is a table. There is a chair. There is a window.
BetterA man sits alone at a table, staring out the window, clearly waiting for someone who has not arrived.
Fix: Combine objects into a scene with a character whose situation gives the story meaning.
Losing the thread
AvoidSo in the first picture... and then... I am not sure what happens next...
BetterBy the second image, the conflict has escalated and the outcome is unclear.
Fix: Prepare a fallback phrase for uncertain images: "By this point in the story..." anchors you without claiming certainty.
No resolution
AvoidAnd that is the end of the story.
BetterThe story ends with the two colleagues shaking hands, suggesting the disagreement has been resolved.
Fix: Interpret the final image as a resolution even if it is ambiguous. Examiners reward narrative closure.
Practice Lab
Self-mark each task. Retry until every answer is correct.
Score: 0/3
1. Quick pick
Which option best demonstrates this skill?
2. Build it
Put the sentence in the correct order.
Tap a chunk to move it between the bank and answer area.
3. Sort it
Sort each item into the correct category.
Name a character and describe their emotional state in each image.
List the objects in each image without connecting them.
Use cause-and-consequence language to link images.
End the story with "and that is all I see" when the final image is unclear.
Why It Matters
CELPIP Speaking Task 2 is a narrative task, not a description task. Candidates who list objects score below CLB 8 on Coherence and Cohesion because there is no discernible story structure. A three-part arc -- scene, conflict, resolution -- fulfils the task requirement and gives the examiner the cohesive structure they are looking for even when the image sequence is ambiguous.
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