I finally got the results I wanted and thought I’d share my experience because Reddit helped me a lot while preparing.

First attempt:
Listening: 9
Reading: 8
Speaking: 11
Writing: 9

I was honestly pretty upset with the results. My first attempt felt like it went really well, especially Speaking, so seeing those scores was disappointing.

For my second attempt, I stopped trying to memorize everything and focused more on what actually matters in the test. I practiced the strategies and formats instead of trying to prepare for every possible question.

Second attempt:
Listening: 10
Reading: 10
Writing: 12
Speaking: 9

So I was happy with most of the improvement, but the Speaking 9 confused me because I was very confident about my speaking. I had already scored 11 in Speaking on my first attempt, so I decided to request a re evaluation.

And it came back as 11 again.

So if you’re genuinely confident about a particular section and feel that your score doesn’t reflect your performance, don’t be afraid to request a re evaluation. Obviously there is no guarantee, but in my case it went from 9 → 11.

My final result:

Listening: 10Reading: 10Writing: 12Speaking: 11Overall: CLB 11

I’m still honestly shocked about the Writing 12.

I have never considered Writing to be one of my strengths and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten close to a score like that in anything similar. But I understood the format, what CELPIP was looking for and how to structure my response, and I focused on executing that.

The funny part is that I was actually extremely stressed after the test because of Writing.

In the Task 2 survey response, I started my introduction and left the first paragraph incomplete. I only realized it when I had around 10 seconds left on the timer. At that point I thought I’d completely screwed up the task and wouldn’t even come close to CLB 9.

But I had developed the rest of my essay properly and my conclusion was strong, so apparently that one mistake didn’t destroy my score. I got 12, which I’m still trying to believe.

What helped me the most

Honestly, watch a lot of YouTube videos.

The two resources that helped me the most were:

CELPIP 9 Coach Carson
Teacher Mike

They have a lot of strategies that are useful specifically for test taking, not just general English improvement.

That distinction made a big difference for me.

You don’t need to memorize every possible question or use ridiculously complicated vocabulary. Understand what the test is asking for, understand the scoring criteria and practice applying the right structure under time pressure.

And don’t be afraid of Writing. I went from thinking Writing was one of my weakest areas to getting a 12.

If you’re preparing right now, believe in yourself and keep practicing strategically.

Reddit helped me a lot during my preparation, so I wanted to give something back. If anyone has questions about my preparation, strategies or the re evaluation process, feel free to ask. I’ll try to help.

I’m honestly pretty disappointed with my results because I was so confident going into the test.

I got L11, R8, W9, S11. I was expecting to get 10s across all four, especially because I felt really good about my Listening and Reading. I also felt that my Writing went really well and I was confident in the quality of my responses.

Now I’m not sure where I went wrong in L, R and W.

I’m planning to take the test again next week and I really need to improve to 10+ in Listening, Reading and Writing.

For anyone who consistently scores 10+:

• What specifically helped you improve your Reading from 8 to 10+?
• How did you approach the Listening sections?
• What does a Level 10 Writing response actually need that a Level 9 response might be missing?
• Are there any specific strategies, resources or practice methods you would recommend?
• If you used a particular template or structure for Writing, what worked for you?

I’m looking for practical advice from people who have actually scored 10+ rather than generic CELPIP tips.

Any advice would be really appreciated because I’m retaking it next week and want to make sure I’m actually fixing what went wrong this time.