CELPIP® Reading: the four parts, with samples and strategies

• Four parts, 38 scored questions: 11, 8, 9 and 10 questions, in that order.
• Time: each part has its own clock, 11, 9, 10 and 13 minutes, which adds up to 43 minutes. celpip.ca lists the whole Reading test at 43 to 56 minutes.
• One screen per part: the text is on the left and the questions are on the right. Every answer is chosen from a drop-down menu.
• No going back: when a part’s clock runs out, the test moves on, and you cannot return to that part.
• Notes: you get paper and a pen at the test centre, but you cannot highlight or write on the screen.
• Unscored questions can appear anywhere in Reading and Listening, and they look just like the scored ones.
• The parts get harder from Part 1 to Part 4.

For all four sections of the test, see the CELPIP test format.

What you see: on the left, an email of four or five paragraphs, often from a friend, neighbour or coworker who needs help or has news. On the right, six questions about it, then a short reply to that email with five blanks.

How the questions work: each question and each blank has a drop-down menu with four options. The reply’s blanks can only be completed with information from the first email, so the reply is a second check of how well you understood it.

Time: 11 minutes for 11 questions, about a minute each.

Strategy: read the email once for its purpose: why is this person writing, and what do they want? Answer the six questions, then read the reply one sentence at a time. For each blank, find the matching detail in the email instead of choosing what merely sounds right.

What you see: on the left, a diagram, such as a flyer or a web page, that compares four options, each with a picture and a few facts. On the right, an email from someone choosing among them, with five blanks, then three more questions.

How the questions work: every blank combines the two texts. The email says what the writer needs or cannot do, and the diagram shows which option fits.

Time: 9 minutes for 8 questions.

Strategy: first note what differs among the four options, such as the days, the place and the requirements. Then read the email for the writer’s needs and limits, and cross out every option that breaks one of them.

What you see: on the left, an informative text in four paragraphs labelled A to D. On the right, nine statements. For each statement you choose the paragraph that contains that information, or E if no paragraph does.

How the questions work: each statement says one detail in different words, so it rarely matches the text exactly. A statement can share several words with a paragraph and still say something the paragraph does not; that is when E is right.

Time: 10 minutes for 9 statements.

Strategy: skim the four paragraphs first and give each a two- or three-word label, such as “A: how it started”. Then take each statement, decide which label it belongs to, and check the detail exactly before you choose.

What you see: on the left, an article, often from a news or community website, about an issue on which people disagree. On the right, five questions about it, then a comment from a reader with five blanks.

How the questions work: the questions ask about the main issue, each side’s reasons and what the writer suggests without saying it directly. The comment’s blanks must fit both the article and the reader’s own view.

Time: 13 minutes for 10 questions, the longest clock in Reading. This part also has the longest and most abstract options.

Strategy: as you read, map the views: who holds each one, and why. Words such as “critics”, “supporters”, “however” and “while” signal a change of view. Before you fill the comment’s blanks, decide whether its writer agrees with the article.

These splits are Prepiva’s suggestion, not a rule. When a part’s clock is nearly out, choose an option for every item you have not answered: wrong answers cost nothing.

• Matching words instead of meaning. An option that copies words from the text often changes who did what, or when.
• Reading the Part 3 text word by word before looking at the statements. Label the paragraphs quickly, and read closely only where a statement sends you.
• Ignoring the writer’s limits in Part 2. An option can match the diagram and still break something the email says, such as a day or an age.
• Giving a view to the wrong person in Part 4. Wrong options often state a real view from the article but attach it to the wrong side.
• Leaving items blank. When a part’s clock ends, the part is over, and there is no going back.

A computer scores Reading. Each of the 38 scored questions is right or wrong, and points are not taken off for wrong answers. Your raw score converts to a CELPIP level for Reading, and from level 3 up, a CELPIP level equals the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of the same number.

On Paragon’s approximate chart, for example, about 24 to 28 correct answers is around level 7, and about 31 to 33 is around level 9; neighbouring ranges overlap. See the CELPIP score chart for every level, or the CLB calculator for CLB and CRS points.

On Prepiva, your Reading level is a practice estimate based on your raw score, with cut-offs close to Paragon’s approximate chart.

Prepiva’s free CELPIP mock test has all four Reading parts with their clocks, drop-down answers and no going back, and its report lets you review every question. Practise Reading on its own in the free CELPIP Reading practice test, read more about the free CELPIP practice test, go back to the Listening guide, or go on to the Writing guide.