In the CELPIP Reading test, there are four different parts that are used to test the English reading ability of the test taker. Around 40 questions are asked to the test taker in the reading section and the time allotted for it is 55-60 minutes.
| Number of Questions | Component Sections |
|---|---|
| 1 | Practice Task |
| 11 | Reading Correspondence |
| 8 | Reading to Apply a Diagram |
| 9 | Reading for Information |
| 10 | Reading for Viewpoints |
A formal or an informal letter is shown to the test taker in this part in the form of a passage. It can be an invite to a party from a friend, a formal meeting reminder from a colleague etc. The test taker has to read the passage thoroughly and answer the questions having blanks with drop-down lists.
There are two sets of questions in this part. In the first one, the test taker has to answer according to the information given in the passage. In the second part, the response of the letter is given with blanks having drop-down lists. The test taker has to select the right option from the lists. As many as 11 questions are asked in this part of the CELPIP Reading Test.
There are different diagrams in this task in the form of flow charts, table, or illustration of something with pictures on one side of the screen. On the other side, a mail with blanks having drop-down lists has been given with information related to the diagrams. The test taker has to analyse the information given in the diagrams and select the options accordingly. In this task, there are eight questions.
In this task of CELPIP Reading test, there will be a few paragraphs listed as A, B, C, D etc. In the questions, the test taker has to match the given information with the paragraphs. Sometimes, there are statements that does not refer to any paragraph. As many as 9 such questions would be asked to the test taker in this part.
This task is one of the difficult tasks in CELPIP Reading. A detailed and informative article about some issue related to science, technology, politics etc. would be shown on the screen. Questions would be asked to the candidate in accordance to the given information. These will have blanks with drop-down lists. The article may contain some technical vocabulary. Hence serious reading is required to score good in this task.
Like, Reading Correspondence task, this also has two different segments. The second segment of this task include a comment on the viewpoint stated in the previous part. This comment will either support the viewpoint or oppose it. There will be blanks with drop-down lists having the correct answers. Both the segments of this task will collectively have 10 questions.
Just like the Listening section, do not hesitate to make guesses. You will have to answer multiple-choice questions in the Reading section. Try to eliminate the wrong answers and then make a calculative guess. In the Reading section, you have an advantage that you can see the paragraph on your screen. Therefore, read the paragraph again if you get confused about a question.
The unscored questions can be a boon or a bane for you. As a test taker, you do not know which question is an unscored item. That is why it is suggested to provide answers to all the questions in the CELPIP Reading.
Just like the Writing tasks, Reading is also usually neglected by most of the people preparing for the CELPIP test. This is one of the easiest modules in CELPIP and one can take advantage of it. You need a little focus and practice to score well in this module.
Answer all the questions. There is no negative marking in the CELPIP Reading tasks. This is an obvious yet great way of improving your CELPIP Reading score.