CELPIP Tips: Reading Part 1 – Reading Correspondence
The CELPIP Reading Test is composed of 4 parts and allows for an allotted time of 55-60 minutes. Today we’ll look at the first part which requires test-takers to read and respond to a letter, email or other form of correspondence.
Reading Part 1 - example passage
Hi Mea,
I’m sorry for taking so long to reply to your email. As you know, I’ve been very busy this summer with Marco’s university graduation and my family’s visit from Chile. The graduation ceremony was great! Too bad you guys couldn’t make it, but we understand it’s a bit of a drive from Calgary. You were truly missed. My Mum remembers you well from when we were kids. After the celebrations, we took the family sightseeing here in Vancouver. They loved it! They left yesterday for Victoria, and will catch a plane back home from there in three days.
Just when we thought things would slow down, Marco broke the news that he had accepted a job offer in Tokyo. He leaves at the end of the month! He was invited to work at a top engineering firm that specializes in rebuilding cities after large disasters. Needless to say Marco is very excited about it. The firm has been really active in the reconstruction efforts following the 2011 earthquake in Japan, and it’s a great first step into his career, not to mention the opportunity to experience a new culture, and learn a new language. He’s a little apprehensive about communicating in Japanese but the firm has a translator and a tutor to help him.
Marco is over the moon, but Jack and I are having a tougher time with it. We think he’s so young to be so far away, but we know it’s for the best. Just the other day Jack and I were talking about that trip all of us took to Disneyland when the kids were little, do you remember that? It’s been 20 years! Time flies, doesn’t it? Well, get prepared, Cindy is next!
In any event, we are planning a farewell party for friends next weekend, and Marco cannot imagine not having you, Jason and Cindy there. The party will be at his apartment. He really does not want to leave without saying goodbye to you all. We hope you can make it, after all we haven’t seen you since last Christmas. Let me know so I can get the rooms ready.
We’ll be in touch,
Love,
Maria
Now let’s look at some of the questions and answers!
You will have 11 minutes to complete Part 1.
For the computer-based test, you’ll see a written passage on the left of the screen (in this case it’s an email) and the questions will be on the right side of the screen.
Both parts have their own scroll bar that you can use to scroll up and down.
The first step is to read the passage carefully, it is a good idea to read it twice but be mindful of the time. You could scan over the passage quickly and then read it again more carefully.
Remember to make note of important points such as who, what, where, when, where, and why.
For “where,” this passage mentions multiple cities and countries including Chile, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, and Japan. It’s helpful to make note of who or what is connected to each place.
From the passage, try to establish the relationship between Mea and Maria. There are a lot of hints that they are long-time friends.
There are also different events mentioned such as Marco’s graduation, farewell party, a trip to Disneyland and Christmas. Pay attention to the verb tenses to see if these events already occured or if they will happen in the future.
The questions are fill in the blank / multiple choice. For the first part, you will choose answers according to the passage and for the second part, you will select an answer to fill in the blanks in the second passage which is a response to the main passage.
For Question #4, “Marco’s employers are…,” look at the options and then refer to the second paragraph of the passage for specific details.
Using the process of elimination technique is another good technique to narrow down your answer.
For example, from Marco’s mother’s email to her friend, we do not see any negative information about Marco’s employers, so it seems likely that the correct answer is the third one.
In the passage, it says, “The firm has been really active in the reconstruction efforts following the 2011 earthquake in Japan, and it’s a great first step into his career.” This summarizes the third choice, “specialists in town reconstruction” and also confirms that positive tone.
In the next set of questions, you’ll be required to choose the right answer which fills in the blanks in Mea’s response to Maria’s email.
From the main passage, we can see that Mea’s family is from Calgary.
Most of the following questions are about Marco’s farewell party that will be taking place in the near future and that Mea and her family will be attending.
After working on the first set of questions and reading through Maria’s email carefully while identifying the who, what, when, where, and why, you should be able to answer the second set of questions with more ease!