One issue, several positions, and two question stages
Part 4 is the final Reading part. Official preparation material gives about thirteen minutes for ten questions. The main text is an article containing two or more opinions about a community issue. Questions 1–5 ask about its claims, reasons, relationships, implications, and attitudes.
A second text then presents a short reader comment with five ordered blanks. Questions 6–10 complete that comment. The comment reacts to the article, so each choice has to fit the local sentence and the writer's position across the whole response.
Who believes what, why they believe it, and how ideas connect
Reading for Viewpoints tests more than finding facts. You need to distinguish a reporter's background information from a named person's opinion, connect a claim to its supporting reason, infer attitude from wording, and recognize agreement, disagreement, or partial agreement.
The reader-comment stage adds reference and cohesion. Pronouns must point to the right idea or person. Connectors must match the relationship between clauses. A phrase such as even so signals concession; for that reason signals a result. The completed comment must sound like one person maintaining a consistent viewpoint.
Map voice, position, reason, and tone
- Name the issue neutrally.Write a short question such as “Should the street close on Saturdays?” This keeps the topic separate from any person's answer.
- Give every voice a row.Record PERSON, POSITION, REASON, and TONE. Add a qualification when someone supports only part of the proposal.
- Answer from relationships.For each article question, identify whether it asks for a claim, reason, contrast, reference, implication, or attitude before scanning.
- Read the whole comment first.Decide whether the reader agrees, disagrees, or combines views. Mark pronouns and connectors before choosing blank answers.
- Test meaning in context.Insert each option, reread the sentence before and after it, and reject choices that break stance, reference, chronology, or logic.
A compact map might read: Chen — support — safer market — confident; Roy — oppose — deliveries — frustrated; Malik — trial only — collect data — cautious. That is enough to answer without repeatedly rereading the full article.
Carry the article map into the reader comment
This original mini-article is not an official CELPIP passage.
Saturday Street Pilot
Merchant Lena Chen wants Pine Street closed to cars on Saturday mornings. She says wider walking space would make the farmers' market safer and encourage visitors to stay longer. Hardware-store owner Marc Roy disagrees because his weekend customers often collect heavy purchases by car. Councillor Amina Malik supports a six-week trial, provided that one loading lane remains open and the city measures sales and traffic.
Question: How does Malik's position differ from Chen's?
- Malik opposes any restriction on cars.
- Malik supports a temporary, measured version.
- Malik wants the market moved from Pine Street.
- Malik is concerned only about heavy purchases.
Evidence path: Chen supports the closure directly. Malik supports it only as a trial with conditions and measurement, so B captures the qualification.
Reader comment: I understand Roy's concern about customers with heavy goods. Even so, Malik's trial seems reasonable because it keeps a loading lane open and _____ the city to test the effect before making a permanent decision.
- allows
- prevents
- warns
- blames
Evidence path: The comment concedes Roy's concern but supports Malik. Only allows preserves that logic and accurately describes the purpose of a trial.
Where viewpoint answers go wrong
- Assigning a view to the reporter. Background information is mistaken for a named person's opinion.
- Recording only support or oppose. A conditional or partial position is flattened into a simple yes or no.
- Matching the right topic to the wrong speaker. Two people discuss deliveries, but only one gives the reason in the question.
- Ignoring tone. Cautious support becomes enthusiasm, or practical concern becomes complete rejection.
- Filling blanks locally. A word fits one sentence but contradicts the reader's established stance.
- Skipping reference checks. This proposal, they, or that concern is linked to the closest noun instead of the intended idea.
Identify partial agreement
Viewpoint: Noura agrees that the library needs more study space, but she wants movable dividers rather than permanent walls because community events still require one large room.
Which statement is best supported?
- Noura rejects the need for additional study space.
- Noura supports permanent walls throughout the library.
- Noura supports a flexible version of the proposal.
- Noura wants community events moved elsewhere.
Reveal the answer
C. She accepts the goal but changes the method. The words agrees ... but mark partial agreement, and her reason is the need to preserve a large event space.
Check the voice and the relationship
- Did I state the issue as a neutral question?
- Did I map every named voice to a position, reason, and tone?
- Did I preserve conditions and partial agreement?
- Did I identify whether the question asks for claim, reason, contrast, reference, inference, or attitude?
- Did I read the full reader comment before choosing any blank?
- Does each inserted choice preserve the same writer's stance?
- Do pronouns, connectors, and cause-result relationships still make sense?