Speaking Task 6 — Dealing with a Difficult Situation
CELPIP Speaking Task 6 sample answers — bands 10, 11, 12
60s prep · 60s speak
The prompt
Your upstairs neighbour plays loud music late at night, and it is affecting your sleep. Your roommate is frustrated and wants to report the neighbour to the building manager right away, but you know the neighbour is friendly and may not realize how loud it is. Choose ONE: EITHER Talk to your neighbour. Explain why the late-night music has to stop. OR Talk to your roommate. Explain why you should not report the neighbour to the building manager yet.
Try this exact task freeBand 10
Handles a delicate conversation politely and clearly, explaining the impact, offering an assumption of good faith, and proposing a specific solution. Simple but accurate language throughout.
Transcript
Hi Marco, do you have a minute? I want to talk about something small, and I hope it is okay. It is about the music at night. I live directly below you, and on weeknights it is still playing at around one in the morning. I can hear the bass through the floor, and honestly I have not slept properly for about two weeks. I start work at seven, so those hours really matter to me. I am not angry, and I am not asking you to stop having friends over. I just did not think you knew, because these floors are very thin and it probably sounds much quieter in your apartment than in mine. Could we agree on something like turning it down after eleven on weeknights? Weekends I really do not mind. I would much rather sort this out between us than involve the building manager.
Why this is a band 10
States the problem with a specific time, which is much harder to dismiss than a general complaint.
Explains the impact on the speaker, which is what makes the request reasonable.
Removes the two things the neighbour would most fear, keeping the conversation friendly.
Gives the neighbour a face-saving explanation, which is exactly the approach the situation calls for.
A concrete, modest proposal phrased as a question rather than a demand.
Band 11
Confident and warm, with precise identification of the real problem, an explicit assumption of good faith, and a proposal that gives the neighbour room to keep doing what they enjoy.
Transcript
Hey, have you got two minutes? Nothing serious, but I need to raise something before it turns into a thing. I am the apartment right underneath you, and the music on weeknights is carrying straight through the floor. Not the volume so much as the bass — it is still going at half past midnight, one o'clock, and my alarm is at six. I genuinely do not think you know. These floors are terrible, and what sounds like background music up there is basically in the room with me down here. That is why I am knocking on your door rather than doing anything else about it. What would actually solve it is keeping the bass down after eleven on weeknights. Weekends do not bother me at all — have people over, I will not hear a thing I mind. Does that seem fair?
Why this is a band 11
Casual, disarming phrasing that signals this is a conversation, not a complaint.
Diagnoses the problem precisely, which makes the eventual request specific and easy to act on.
Explains the acoustics vividly, giving the neighbour a reason they had not considered.
Hints at the alternative without threatening, which is a delicate move handled well.
Makes the concession explicit, so the request reads as narrow rather than restrictive.
Band 12
A model of a difficult conversation: candid, technically precise about the cause, deliberately generous about intent, and closing with a request narrow enough to be accepted on the spot.
Transcript
Have you got a second? This is a small thing and I would rather say it badly in person than let it fester. I am directly below you. The music on weeknights comes through the floor — not the melody, just the bass, which is the part that travels — and it has been running past midnight most of this week. I am up at six, so by Thursday I am not really functioning. And I want to say plainly: I do not think you have any idea. Up there it is background. Down here it is in the room. That is a building problem as much as anything you are doing, which is precisely why I came to you rather than to the manager. So the ask is narrow. Bass down after eleven, weeknights only. Weekends are yours entirely — I will not hear anything I mind, and if I do, I will come and tell you myself.
Why this is a band 12
Signals goodwill and slight discomfort at once, which is exactly how this conversation really opens.
Explains the physics in an aside, making the complaint feel factual rather than personal.
Grants the neighbour innocence explicitly, which is the strategy the situation demands.
Two short parallel sentences that land the contrast cleanly when spoken.
Shifts blame away from the person while keeping the request intact.
Commits to handling any future issue directly, quietly ruling out the manager without ever threatening it.
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