Speaking Task 4 — Making Predictions
CELPIP Speaking Task 4 sample answers — bands 10, 11, 12
30s prep · 60s speak
The prompt
Look at the picture and describe what you think will happen next. You have 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak.
Try this exact task freeBand 10
Makes a prediction for each part of the scene and supports most of them with something visible. Future forms are used correctly, though the sentence patterns repeat and the vocabulary is simple.
Transcript
In this picture there is a farmers market, and I think it is going to continue as a normal busy morning. The man in the apron is giving a paper bag to the woman in the denim jacket, so I think she will take the bag, put the apple inside, and pay him if she has not paid already. After that she will probably walk down the path and look at the other stalls. The little boy is holding carrots, and his mother is beside him. I think she is going to take the carrots and buy them, because he is too small to pay. Maybe he will want something else as well, like the strawberries. The old man with the two bags looks like he has finished shopping, so he will probably go home. The dog will wait until its owner finishes looking at her phone, and then they will walk away together.
Why this is a band 10
Opens with an overall prediction before the specific ones, which frames the whole answer.
A sequence of predicted actions rather than a single one — Task 4 rewards going one step further.
Justifies the prediction with a reason from the picture, which is exactly what the task asks for.
Evidence first, prediction second — the right order for making a guess sound reasonable.
Appropriate hedging with maybe, though the answer leans on I think and probably throughout.
Band 11
Confident, well-reasoned predictions built from specific visual evidence, with natural hedging and a touch of humour that stays appropriate to the task.
Transcript
I would expect the next minute or two to be fairly ordinary, but there are a few things about to happen. The exchange in the foreground is nearly finished — the vendor has the bag half handed over, so she will take it, drop that last apple in, and move on down the row. Judging by how full the bag looks, I doubt she is buying much more. The more interesting one is the toddler. He has hold of a bunch of carrots that nobody has paid for yet, and his mother has crouched down to his level, which usually means a negotiation is coming. Either she buys them or those carrots are going back on the pile, possibly loudly. Behind them, the man with two full bags is heading for the exit, and the retriever will be up on its feet the moment its owner puts her phone away.
Why this is a band 11
Reads the exact stage of the action, which makes the prediction that follows precise rather than generic.
Evidence and prediction in one sentence, with a hedge that fits the uncertainty.
Interprets body language rather than describing it, and the word choice is dry and natural.
A two-word afterthought that lands well aloud and shows control of timing.
Ties two background figures together into a single conditional prediction.
Band 12
Predictions ranked by how uncertain they are, each grounded in a specific visual cue, with idiomatic phrasing and a deliberate structure that puts the genuinely open question at the centre.
Transcript
Most of what happens next is mundane, but one thing in this frame is unresolved. The foreground exchange is essentially over — the bag is already crossing between them, so she takes it, adds the apple she is still holding, and is gone within seconds. Nothing hangs on that. The toddler is the open question. He has taken possession of a bunch of carrots that has not been paid for, and his mother has come down to his eye level rather than reaching for them, which suggests she has decided to handle this by persuasion. My guess is she buys the carrots — it is the cheaper resolution in every sense — and he carries them the rest of the way like a trophy. Everything else resolves itself: the man with two full bags is on his way out, and the dog gets up the instant the phone goes back in the pocket.
Why this is a band 12
Sets up a structure — settled predictions versus the uncertain one — instead of walking the picture left to right.
A four-word sentence that closes one thread and clears the way for the next, with a natural pause built in.
Reads a subtle piece of body language and uses the contrast to support the prediction.
Precise, slightly formal phrasing used for gentle comic effect.
A double meaning delivered in passing, which is the kind of control that marks the top band.
Closes with a confident, specific prediction rather than a vague summary of the scene.
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Every writing and speaking attempt on CelpipRise is scored on the four official criteria, with notes like the ones above — on your words, not a model's.