Four parts with four presentations
Reading follows Listening in the CELPIP-General test. The current official total is 43–56 minutes. There is an unscored practice task, then four scored parts containing 38 questions. Unscored test-development content may also appear. It looks like scored content, so there is no useful reason to treat it differently.
| Part | Source and question structure | Questions | Approx. scored time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Correspondence: 6 questions about the message, then 5 blanks in a response | 11 | 11 min |
| 2 | Diagram: 5 blanks in an email using the visual, then 3 questions | 8 | 9 min |
| 3 | Information: 9 statements matched to Paragraph A–D or Not stated | 9 | 10 min |
| 4 | Viewpoints: 5 article questions, then 5 blanks in a reader comment | 10 | 13 min |
All source text, questions, and controls for a part appear on the same part-level screen, with scrolling where needed. You can change answers until that part’s time ends. The test then advances, and you cannot return to an earlier part.
Finding the right evidence and reading its relationship
Reading questions cover the main purpose, concrete details, and inferences. They also test whether you can connect a pronoun to its referent, recognize a paraphrase, infer a word from context, and follow how two texts relate to each other.
A correct answer may replace the passage wording with a different expression. “Walk-ins are accepted until 2:30” can support “No advance booking is needed before mid-afternoon.” The words are different, but the condition and time agree.
- Main meaning: the writer’s purpose, the text’s central topic, or the overall position.
- Specific information: a person, time, condition, reason, feature, action, or exception.
- Inference: a conclusion that follows from the text without being stated in the same words.
- Text relationship: how an email uses a diagram, how a response answers a message, or how a comment reacts to an article.
Give each part its own reading route
Part 1: Correspondence
Begin with sender, recipient, relationship, and purpose. Mark dates, sequence, requests, and any change from an earlier plan. The last five questions complete a short response to the main message, so each choice must fit both the local sentence and the response writer’s relationship to the original email.
Part 2: Apply a Diagram
Identify what the visual organizes: time, place, price, eligibility, features, or a route. Then turn the email writer’s needs into filters. A choice that satisfies three of four conditions is still wrong. Keep the email and diagram connected while answering the final questions.
Part 3: Reading for Information
Write a two- or three-word topic beside each of Paragraphs A–D. Use the statement to choose the likely paragraph, then verify every element. Select Not stated only when no paragraph fully supports the claim. A related subject, a partial match, or the opposite fact is not enough.
Part 4: Reading for Viewpoints
Make a small position map: person, claim, reason, and tone. Distinguish the article writer’s framing from the people quoted in it. In the reader comment, watch how pronouns, transitions, and evaluative words reveal agreement, disagreement, or a qualified position.
Use the FRAME method
- Frame the source.Identify the text type, writer, audience, purpose, layout, and any second text or visual before reading closely.
- Read the claim.Turn the question into a short evidence target: who, what, when, why, condition, tone, or relationship.
- Anchor keywords.Scan for names, dates, unusual nouns, headings, or a likely paraphrase. Keywords locate evidence; they do not prove the answer.
- Match the full meaning.Read the surrounding sentence or visual entry. Check subject, action, time, degree, reason, and any exception.
- Eliminate and move.Reject partial truths, reversals, unsupported additions, and facts attached to the wrong person. Select an answer and protect the time left for the part.
Adjust the method by part
For correspondence, mark the relationship, purpose, timeline, and requested action. For a diagram, convert the request into filters before comparing entries. For Part 3, match the entire statement to one paragraph; a shared topic is not enough. For viewpoints, track who believes what, why, and how the reader comment agrees or disagrees.
Unknown vocabulary is usually a local problem. Read the sentence before and after it. Decide whether the missing idea is positive or negative, a person or action, a cause or result. If the word is not needed for the question, leave it and continue.
Translate the request into filters
- Repair Café: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Registration required. Bring one small household appliance. Microwaves are not accepted.
- Bicycle Safety Check: 1:00–3:00 p.m. Walk-ins accepted until 2:30 p.m. Helmets and lights can be checked.
- Phone Basics: 2:00–3:30 p.m. Registration required. Devices are provided for the lesson.
Situation: Nisha finishes work at 1:00 p.m. She wants someone to check the lights on her bicycle and has not registered.
What should Nisha do?
- Register for the Repair Café and arrive at noon.
- Bring her bicycle to the library before 2:30 p.m.
- Join Phone Basics and ask about bicycle lights.
- Wait until 3:00 p.m. so registration is no longer required.
Evidence path: The request produces three filters: bicycle lights, after 1:00, and no registration. Only the Bicycle Safety Check satisfies all three. Its walk-in deadline makes B the complete match.
Why a nearby answer is still wrong
- Reading every word at the same speed. The learner spends the part clock before knowing what evidence the questions require.
- Stopping at a keyword. The same noun appears in an option, but the person, time, condition, or purpose does not match.
- Accepting partial support. Half of a statement is in the passage, while the remaining claim is added or contradicted.
- Using personal knowledge. The option may be true outside the test, but the passage gives a different answer or none at all.
- Overusing Not stated. A paraphrase looks unfamiliar, so the learner misses evidence that is present in different words.
- Ignoring the second text. A blank is answered from grammar alone even though the response, comment, or diagram controls the meaning.
Supported, contradicted, or not stated?
Text: During September, the permit office will open on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Saturday service is intended for residents who cannot visit during regular business hours. Photo services will remain unavailable on Saturdays.
Statement: The permit office will keep the same weekday hours in September.
- Supported by the text
- Contradicted by the text
- Not stated in the text
Reveal the answer
C. The text refers to regular business hours but never says whether weekday hours will stay the same. A reasonable assumption is not passage evidence.
Check the evidence behind the score
- Before answering, did I identify the text type, writer, audience, and purpose?
- Could I point to the exact sentence, visual entry, or text relationship supporting my choice?
- Did the evidence match the full claim, including time, degree, reason, and exceptions?
- Did I recognize a paraphrase instead of waiting for repeated wording?
- Did I keep outside knowledge out of the decision?
- Did I leave enough time to answer every question in the part?