FlexiLingoCELPIP Speaking Task 5: Comparing and Persuading (Sample Answers by Band)
Task 5 gives you two options, 60 seconds to plan, and 60 seconds to win someone over. Here's the structure, the language, and three sample answers from CLB 7 to 11.
1What CELPIP Speaking Task 5 is
Task 5 — Comparing and Persuading — is the one task on CELPIP Speaking where you don't just talk; you have to win. The computer shows you two options, asks you to pick one, and then puts you in front of a specific person you have to talk around to your point of view. It's a small piece of theatre: you're not narrating to an examiner, you're convincing your sister, your manager, or your friend.
The task unfolds on two screens. On the first screen — the selection screen — you read the scenario and the two options, and you silently choose the one you prefer. Nobody hears this choice; it's just you deciding which side you'll argue. On the second screen — the speaking screen — you address a named person and persuade them to come around to the option you picked.
Throughout the FlexiLingo team's CELPIP coaching, one scenario keeps surfacing as a clean example, so we'll use it for all three sample answers in this guide: You and your sister are choosing a gift for your parents' 30th wedding anniversary. Option A is a weekend trip to a nearby resort; Option B is a big family dinner party at home. You have chosen Option A — the weekend trip — and your job is to persuade your sister to agree.
Task 5 isn't "describe the option you like." It's "compare both options and talk a real person into your choice." If your answer would make sense with the listener deleted, you haven't done the task.
2Timing & format
Task 5 gives you more preparation time than most CELPIP Speaking tasks — and there's a reason for it. You're not just gathering ideas; you're building an argument, choosing your reasons, and planning how to handle the option you're rejecting. Use every second.
That extra 30 seconds of prep is the whole point of the task design. On a task like Personal Experience you can improvise; on Task 5 the planning is the skill. The candidates who walk in knowing they have a full minute to plan two reasons and one counter-argument are the ones who sound composed when the speaking screen appears.
The selection screen has no timer pressure to speak — but don't waste it. Decide your option in the first few seconds, then mentally start drafting reasons before the formal 60-second prep even begins.
3How Task 5 is scored
Like every CELPIP Speaking task, Task 5 is scored on the same four dimensions: Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability, and Task Fulfillment. What changes is how those dimensions get applied — here they all bend toward one question: did you actually persuade?
Persuasion is the dimension Task 5 adds on top of the usual four. Comparing the options and speaking directly to the named person aren't optional flourishes — they're how the rater knows you understood the task at all.
4The winning structure for Task 5
Sixty seconds is tight, so a reliable structure keeps you from rambling or running out. This five-move shape fits the minute almost exactly and hits every scored element — comparison, commitment, reasons, counter, and a persuasive close.
Plan your counter-argument first, in prep. It's the step weak answers skip, and the one raters reward most. If you only have time to plan one thing carefully, plan how you'll handle the option you're rejecting.
5Comparison & persuasion language
Task 5 has its own toolkit. You need words that compare two things, words that contrast and counter, and words that warm up a listener and ask for buy-in. Here are the five families to have ready — drop them in naturally rather than reciting them.
Commit clearly and personally: "I really think we should go with the weekend trip." / "Honestly, I'd pick the trip." / "My vote is the getaway." The word "should" plus a personal "I think" signals a recommendation, not a neutral report.
Put the two side by side: "Compared to a dinner party, a trip gives them real time to relax." / "A dinner is over in a few hours, whereas a weekend away lasts." Comparatives (more relaxing, less stressful) and contrast words (whereas, while, compared to) are the core of this task.
Make them feel it: "Think about how much they'd love waking up by the lake." / "Imagine how special that would be after thirty years." / "You know how hard Mom works — she deserves a real break." Invitations to imagine and appeals to shared feeling do the emotional lifting.
Grant a point, then turn it: "I know a dinner is easier to organize, but it's also a lot of work for us on the day." / "A party sounds fun, but it's gone in one evening." The pattern is concede + "but" + stronger point — it makes you sound fair, not stubborn.
End warm and confident: "Trust me on this one." / "Come on, let's give them something they'll remember." / "What do you say — the trip?" A soft call to agreement signals you're trying to land the decision, not just trailing off.
6Sample answer at CLB 7
This answer chooses clearly, gives two reasons, and makes a basic counter. The grammar is mostly correct and the message lands — but the vocabulary is plain, the comparison is simple, and the persuasion stays gentle. That's a solid, passing CLB 7.
Hey, I've been thinking about Mom and Dad's anniversary, and I really think we should take them on the weekend trip to the resort. First, thirty years is a big deal, so they deserve something special, and a trip feels more special than a dinner. Second, at a dinner party we would have to cook and clean and host everyone, but on a trip we can all just relax together. I know a dinner at home is easier and cheaper, that's true. But a trip is something they will remember for a long time. Think about how happy they would be, just relaxing by the lake with no work to do. A dinner is over in one night. So I think the trip is the better gift. Let's do the weekend trip — trust me, they will love it.
Why CLB 7: clear choice, two reasons, a basic counter ("a dinner is easier… but"), and direct address to the sister. The vocabulary is functional and slightly repetitive ("special," "relax," "love it"), and the persuasion is sincere but plain — exactly what a strong CLB 7 sounds like.
7Sample answer at CLB 9
Same scenario, noticeably stronger. The comparison is sharper, the counter-argument is handled with more nuance, and the vocabulary has more range. The persuasion starts to feel deliberate rather than just earnest.
Okay, hear me out about Mom and Dad's thirtieth — I'm convinced we should go with the weekend getaway instead of the dinner party. Here's my thinking. Compared to a dinner at home, a trip actually gives them time to switch off; an evening is over before they've even relaxed, whereas a weekend away really lets them unwind. And honestly, after raising us for thirty years, what they need most is a proper break, not another event where Mom ends up in the kitchen. Now, I'll admit the dinner is the easier option — less planning, everyone's already nearby. But that convenience is for us, not for them. The trip is the gift that's genuinely about them. Imagine Dad with his coffee on the balcony, no schedule, no chores. That's the kind of memory thirty years deserves. So let's spoil them a little — I really think the getaway is the right call.
Why CLB 9: a stronger, explicit comparison ("whereas a weekend away really lets them unwind"), a sharper counter that reframes the dinner's convenience as benefiting the wrong people, and richer vocabulary ("switch off," "unwind," "spoil them"). The persuasion is structured and confident, with clear, controlled delivery.
8Sample answer at CLB 11
At CLB 11 the answer doesn't just argue — it persuades the way a real, articulate person does. Logic and emotion are braided together, the counter is graceful, and the address to the sister sounds completely natural. Nothing feels like a memorized template.
Sis, before we settle this — I really think the weekend getaway is the one. Hear me out. A dinner party is lovely, but let's be honest about what it actually is: a few hours of us running around the kitchen while everyone else relaxes, and then it's over. The trip is a different category of gift entirely. It gives Mom and Dad something they almost never get — uninterrupted time, no chores, no guests to host, just the two of them somewhere beautiful. That's not just nicer; it's more thoughtful. And yes, I know the dinner is simpler and we could pull it off this weekend — that's the one real point in its favour. But "simpler for us" isn't the same as "better for them," is it? After thirty years together, they've earned a proper escape, not another evening of being the hosts. Picture them watching the sunset with nothing on their schedule. That's the anniversary they'll still be talking about. Come on — let's give them that. Trust me on this one.
Why CLB 11: persuasive nuance throughout — emotional appeal ("picture them watching the sunset") fused with logic ("simpler for us isn't the same as better for them"), a rhetorical question that pulls the sister in, an effortless concession-and-counter, and completely natural direct address. The vocabulary is precise and idiomatic, and the delivery would carry genuine warmth.
9Common mistakes on Task 5
Most Task 5 answers lose points not on grammar but on the task itself — they describe instead of persuade. Watch for these five traps, because raters notice every one of them.
10How to practice Task 5
Task 5 is a skill you can drill anywhere, with any decision. The goal is to make the five-move structure automatic so that on test day your 60 seconds of prep go entirely into reasons and a counter, not into figuring out what to say.
Practising the counter-argument in isolation pays off fastest. Take a decision, state your choice, then force yourself to argue the strongest point for the option you didn't pick — and rebut it. That one habit lifts more Task 5 answers than anything else.
11How FlexiLingo helps you master CELPIP Speaking
Task 5 rewards reps — repeated, recorded, reviewed practice on realistic prompts with feedback you can act on. FlexiLingo is built to give you exactly that loop, plus the comparison and persuasion vocabulary you need to climb bands.
Practise Task 5 on authentic two-option, persuade-a-person prompts with the real 60-second prep and 60-second speaking timing, so test day feels familiar.
Get immediate feedback on whether you compared both options, countered the other one, addressed the listener, and committed to a choice — the exact things raters look for.
See sample responses at CLB 7, 9, and 11 for the same prompt, so you can hear precisely what moving up a band sounds like and aim your own answer higher.
Build your comparison-and-persuasion toolkit — comparatives, contrast words, and warm appeals — saved with full example sentences, never as bare lists.
The persuasion phrases and vocabulary you save come back for review at the right moment, so they're ready to use under pressure instead of forgotten.
Frequently Asked Questions
Giving an opinion (like in Task 1, Giving Advice, or an Expressing Opinions task) means stating and supporting a view. Task 5 goes further: you have to compare two specific options, commit to one, and persuade a named person to agree with you. The presence of a real listener you're trying to bring on side is the whole difference — your answer should sound like a conversation aimed at changing someone's mind, not a balanced essay read aloud.
Spend the first few seconds locking in your choice — don't agonize, just pick. Then use the bulk of the minute to plan two concrete reasons your option beats the other, and, crucially, one counter-argument: what's the best point for the option you're rejecting, and how will you answer it? Save the last few seconds for a closing line. The candidates who plan a counter in prep almost always outscore those who only plan reasons.
Yes — and it's one of the biggest band-raisers. Task 5 is a comparing task, so ignoring the option you didn't choose makes your answer one-sided and signals you didn't really compare. The strong move is to name the other option, grant it one fair point ("I know the dinner is easier"), and then explain why your choice still wins. That concede-and-counter pattern is what separates a CLB 9+ answer from a CLB 7 one.
A specific person defined in the scenario — never the examiner. It might be a family member, a friend, a coworker, or a neighbour. Speak to them directly: use "you" and "we," open with something like "Hey, about the anniversary…," and keep the tone you'd actually use with that relationship. If you address an abstract audience or narrate in the third person, you've missed the core of the task.
Three things lift you from CLB 7 to 9. First, a sharper comparison — use explicit contrast ("whereas," "compared to") to show why your option beats the other, not just why it's nice. Second, a real counter-argument that reframes the other option's strength rather than ignoring it. Third, more vocabulary range and warmer, more natural persuasion — vary your wording and let some genuine feeling into the delivery. Commit fully to one choice, handle the rejected option gracefully, and speak to the person like you mean it.
Practise CELPIP Speaking Task 5 until persuading is second nature
Use FlexiLingo to run Task 5 on realistic prompts with real timing, get instant feedback on your comparison and persuasion, and study model answers by band.