Hey, I'm down at the waterfront right now, and I've just seen the most extraordinary boat. I immediately thought of you because I know you enjoy seeing unusual and creative designs. This boat is enormous, but the strangest thing is that it has been designed to look exactly like a giant fish. Its body is covered with large, colourful scales in shades of blue, green, and gold. On the side, there's a huge round eye, which makes the boat look surprisingly realistic. The front of the boat is particularly unusual because it looks like a fish's open mouth. It is wide and curved, and it appears that people can actually enter the boat through that opening. Along the sides, there are several large windows, while the top has a row of enormous fins. Despite its strange appearance, it seems to be a fully functional boat. It is surrounded by ordinary yachts and sailboats, which makes it stand out even more. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it before. Would you like to come down to the waterfront and have a closer look with me?
Speaking Task 8: Describing an Unusual Situation
Speaking Task 8: Describing an Unusual Situation belongs to the Speaking component of CELPIP. The task gives you 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak. Responses are rated on 4 areas: Content / Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability, Task Fulfillment.
- Preparation
- 30 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Prompts here
- 23 published
Normal, odd, why
Our method for this task — study advice, not an official rule.
- 1
Describe what is ordinary first
The listener cannot see the picture. Start with the setting as they would expect it — a street, a kitchen, a shop — so the strange part has something to stand out against.
- 2
Point precisely at what does not belong
Size, shape, colour, position: say exactly what is odd about it. This is the part the listener most needs, so give it full sentences rather than a passing mention.
- 3
Guess at the reason, and mark it as a guess
"Maybe it's an advertisement", "it might be for a festival". Speculating belongs in this task, and stronger answers make clear which parts are seen and which are guessed. If the prompt asks you to invite or persuade the listener, finish with that.
Show the normal so the strange can stand out.
Without the ordinary setting, the unusual detail has nothing to contrast with.
Use this list to describe something strange so clearly that a listener who cannot see it could picture it. It covers shape, size, position and pattern words, plus careful phrases for guessing what an odd thing is or how it got there.
Describe in a fixed order: overall impression, size and shape, colour and pattern, position, then your guess. Practise with odd objects around your home or photos from your own phone, choosing one or two entries for each stage. The goal is a picture someone could draw from your words alone.
- It is a phone call. Open as one and finish with the question the task asks you to ask.
- Give the whole idea first — a boat built to look like a giant fish — because no detail makes sense before it.
- Colour and size are named in the task; say them rather than assuming they are obvious.
- The ordinary yachts moored beside it are worth a sentence: they are what make it look strange.
- 1Leading with the odd object and leaving the rest of the description without a frame.
- 2Presenting a guess as if it were a fact.
- 3Describing for the whole time and never offering an explanation.
- 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.
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Create your free account →- What does Describing an Unusual Situation involve?
- That is Paragon's official name for Speaking Task 8, the last of the eight speaking tasks. For example, you might be asked to describe a strange object or scene to someone who cannot see it. {brand}'s practice prompts use situations like that, which is why this list stresses precise shape, size and position words.
- Is it okay to guess what the strange thing is?
- Yes, as long as you mark your guesses clearly. Phrases like from what I can see, must have been and my best guess is show the listener which parts you can see and which parts you are inferring.
- How can I avoid repeating the word strange?
- Paragon advises using synonyms and paraphrase rather than repeating the prompt's wording. This list gives you bizarre, peculiar, out of place and baffling, each with a slightly different shade of meaning, so you can vary your description naturally.
- ·The Upside-Down House
- ·The Broken Head
- ·The Imagination Garden
- ·The Octopus Food Truck
- ·A Space-Themed Birthday Party
- ·An Unusual Cake
- ·An Unusual Piece of Furniture
- ·An Unusual House in the Neighbourhood
- ·An Unusual Playground in the Neighbourhood Park
- ·An Unusual Farm Outside the City
- ·An Unusual Hotel Lobby
- ·An Unusual Fitness Centre
- ·An Unusual Grocery Store
- ·An Unusual Library
- ·An Unusual Restaurant
- ·An Unusual Hotel Room
- ·An Unusual Museum Exhibition
- ·A Newly Opened Amusement Park
- ·An Unusual Television in an Electronics Store
- ·A Business Meeting Among Inflatable Animals
- ·A Strange Drawing at the Art Gallery
- ·An Unusual Car Parked Outside a Store