Personally, I strongly believe that Canadian schools should provide healthier lunch options for students. A nutritious diet plays an essential role in children's physical health, concentration, and overall academic performance. Since students spend a significant portion of their day at school, I think educational institutions have a responsibility to promote healthy eating habits. First of all, healthier lunches can improve students' ability to concentrate in class. Foods that contain excessive amounts of sugar or unhealthy fats may provide a short burst of energy, but students may later feel tired or have difficulty focusing. In contrast, a balanced meal containing vegetables, fruits, protein, and whole grains can provide more consistent energy throughout the day. As a result, students may be better able to participate in lessons and complete their schoolwork. Another important reason is that schools can help students develop lifelong healthy habits. Children and teenagers often develop eating patterns at a young age, and these habits can continue into adulthood. If schools regularly provide nutritious and appealing meals, students may become more familiar with healthy food and be more likely to make better dietary choices in the future. However, I don't think schools should simply remove every type of less healthy food and force students to eat meals they dislike. If the food is unappealing, students may waste it or purchase unhealthy alternatives outside the school. Therefore, schools should offer healthy meals that are also affordable, culturally diverse, and enjoyable. There is also the issue of cost. Providing fresh and nutritious food can be expensive, especially for schools with limited budgets. In my opinion, governments should support schools financially because investing in children's health could reduce healthcare costs in the long term. Overall, I firmly believe that schools should provide healthier lunches. By offering nutritious, affordable, and appealing food, schools can support students' health, improve their ability to learn, and encourage positive eating habits that may benefit them throughout their lives.
Speaking Task 7: Expressing Opinions
Speaking Task 7: Expressing Opinions belongs to the Speaking component of CELPIP. The task gives you 30 seconds to prepare and 90 seconds to speak. Responses are rated on 4 areas: Content / Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability, Task Fulfillment.
- Preparation
- 30 seconds
- Speaking time
- 90 seconds
- Prompts here
- 23 published
Position, support, limit
Our method for this task — study advice, not an official rule.
- 1
Answer the question in your first sentence
Agree or disagree, plainly. Background before your view is time spent not giving it.
- 2
Back each reason with an example
A reason on its own is still just an opinion. A quick example — something you have seen, a group it affects — is what develops it. Two supported reasons usually carry more than three bare ones.
- 3
Admit one limit, then return to your view
"That said, it would only work if…" shows you have considered the other side without giving up your own. Finish by restating your position so the answer has a clear end.
An opinion with a stated limit sounds considered.
Naming where your view stops shows judgement, not doubt.
These entries help you take a clear position on a public question and hold it with solid reasons. You get opinion openers, words for weighing benefits against costs, and linkers that carry a spoken argument from first claim to final verdict.
Choose a side quickly, even if you feel mixed, and stick to it. Build your practice answers from one opener, two reasons each introduced by a different linker, and a closing verdict. Record yourself on topics like city bylaws or school policy, then replace any overused word with one from this list.
- Take a position in the first sentence and hold it for the full ninety seconds.
- Two or three developed reasons with a consequence each — concentration during the school day, and habits that outlast school.
- Qualify your own position once: food nobody eats helps nobody. A qualified argument reads as stronger, not weaker.
- Cost is the obvious objection. Meeting it — spending now against health costs later — is what lifts the answer.
- 1Weighing both sides so evenly that no opinion comes through.
- 2Offering reasons that only repeat the opinion in new words.
- 3Being cut off by the timer before the answer reaches its conclusion.
- Content / Coherence
- How relevant, developed and well organised your ideas are.
- Vocabulary
- How varied and precise your words are while you speak in real time.
- Listenability
- How easily a listener can follow you: sentence control, flow, pace, and how often you pause or fill silence.
- Task Fulfillment
- Whether you answered what the prompt actually asked, and all of it.
One strong response to this prompt, written for our own question bank to show a way through it. It is not a Paragon answer and not an official benchmark; a real response is judged on the four areas listed above.
Try one yourself, under the clock
Reading a good answer is not the same as producing one. Write or record your own answer and get an estimated CLB level on each rating area, with the lines that decided it.
Start with a free account
Practise on questions built like the real test, have your Writing and Speaking marked by AI, and see how far you are from the CLB you need.
Create your free account →- Which task is Expressing Opinions, and how is the Speaking test delivered?
- Paragon lists Expressing Opinions as Speaking Task 7 of eight. The whole test is done on a computer, and you record your answers without an examiner in the room, so your spoken structure has to be easy to follow on its own.
- Should I show both sides of the issue?
- You can mention the other side briefly, and entries like admittedly and even so help you do it. Just make sure your own position stays clear from start to finish. For example, you might grant one point to the opposing view and then explain why your reasons still win.
- What if I don't have strong feelings about the topic?
- Pick the side you can support with the most concrete examples. Paragon suggests drawing on your own experience, and a real memory from your neighbourhood, school or workplace often makes a stronger reason than a general statement.
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