Reading skill and its tasks

The CELPIP Reading section takes 55 minutes and contains 38 questions across four parts. All questions are multiple-choice. The texts are drawn from realistic Canadian contexts — emails from a landlord, signs at a recreation center, a newspaper column, or a blog post about a local issue.

Part 1: Reading Correspondence (11 questions)

You read a short personal message — an email or a note — and then a reply to it that has blanks in it. The first six questions ask about the original message; the last five are blanks inside the reply, each completed from a dropdown.

• Format — Personal email or note + a reply with 5 dropdown blanks
• What it tests — Purpose, tone, factual details, and the writer's implied meaning
• Watch out for — The options are usually all grammatically correct. What decides the answer is context and tone, not grammar.

Part 2: Reading to Apply a Diagram (8 questions)

You read a diagram with organized data — a schedule, map, brochure, or flyer — alongside a related email. Five blanks in the email must be completed using information from the diagram, and three further questions ask about the tone and intent of the email.

• Format — Diagram + email with 5 blanks, plus 3 questions on tone and intent
• What it tests — Locating an exact fact in the diagram and carrying it correctly into the text
• Watch out for — Distractors usually come from a neighbouring row, column, or a similar date. Confirm you are reading the right intersection.

Part 3: Reading for Information (9 questions)

You read an informational text split into four labelled paragraphs — A, B, C and D. Then you read nine statements and decide which paragraph contains that information. A fifth option, E, means the statement is not given in any paragraph.

• Format — Passage with paragraphs A–D + 9 statements, each matched to A, B, C, D or E
• What it tests — Main idea, supporting detail, inference, and recognizing paraphrase
• Watch out for — The correct answer restates the text in different words. Options that copy the wording literally are usually the trap.

Part 4: Reading for Viewpoints (10 questions)

You read an article where one or more people express opinions on a topic, followed by a reader comment responding to it. Five questions ask about the article; the other five are blanks inside the comment that you complete coherently.

• Format — Opinion article + reader comment with 5 blanks
• What it tests — Identifying viewpoints, attitude and nuance, and distinguishing fact from opinion
• Watch out for — In the comment, the blanks are decided by tone and coherence with the opinion expressed — not by grammar.