Four parts on one screen each, answered from drop-down lists. Nothing here is academic: correspondence, a diagram, four short information paragraphs and one opinion piece.
Time
43-56 minutes
Questions
38 scored questions
Parts
4
Marked by
Computer
Everything in CELPIP Reading is ordinary written English: a letter, a diagram, a set of short factual paragraphs, an opinion piece. There is no academic passage anywhere in the test.
| Part | Task | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading Correspondence | 11 questions, asked as 6 then 5 | 11 minutes |
| 2 | Reading to Apply a Diagram | 8 questions, asked as 5 then 3 | 9 minutes |
| 3 | Reading for Information | 9 questions | 10 minutes |
| 4 | Reading for Viewpoints | 10 questions | 13 minutes |
Each part puts its text and all of its questions on a single screen, and every answer is chosen from a drop-down list rather than typed. Difficulty rises from Part 1 to Part 4.
A letter or email, then a short reply to complete. The second set of questions is answered from the first text.
A diagram, schedule or form beside a short message. You read across the two, not down one.
Four short paragraphs, each on the same topic from a different angle, and statements to match back to them.
An opinion piece plus a comment on it. The last part of the Reading test and the most demanding.
Time is the real test here: 38 questions in about 43 minutes of scored time means roughly a minute each, including the reading.
Computer-scored, one point per correct answer, no penalty for a wrong one.
The level you get is reported on its own, from 1 to 12, and for levels 3 and above it is the same number as your Canadian Language Benchmark. See the reading scoring page for the detail.
Worked examples with answers and explanations are on the CELPIP reading samples page.
Written by Kirill O'Nayd
English test expert and educator at TestSucceed, where he builds the CELPIP practice tasks and mock tests and has spent years taking apart how Canada's immigration English tests award their points. See all TestSucceed preparation materials.