Part 4 shows you an article followed by 4 short reader comments with different opinions. The questions ask you to match positions to speakers. It's the part CELPIP test-takers most often run out of time on and lose the most points.
The position-tagging method
Before answering any question, skim each of the 4 reader comments and give it a one-word tag on your scratch paper:
- Reader 1: 'Pro' or 'Con' on the main article topic
- Reader 2: Agrees with who? Disagrees with who?
- Reader 3: Mixed / neutral?
- Reader 4: Is this an emotional or logical argument?
Common traps
- A reader quotes the article before disagreeing. The surface words sound 'pro' but the stance is 'con'. Look at the main verb.
- A reader agrees on one sub-point but disagrees overall. The overall stance is what the question usually tests.
- Two readers might have the same conclusion but different reasoning, the question may test the reasoning, not the conclusion.
How to read the questions
Each of the 10 questions gives you a statement + 4 reader options. The statement paraphrases a stance. You're matching stances, not words. 'Believes the policy is unnecessary' and 'Thinks the policy doesn't make sense' are the same stance, don't fixate on vocabulary matching.
A concrete worked example
Reader 2: 'While I appreciate the effort to increase transit funding, I can't see how doubling bus fares will actually help low-income riders.'
Surface reading: 'appreciate' sounds pro. Actual stance: con. The word 'while' is a signal word, everything after it is the real opinion. Tag Reader 2 as A-.
Timing
Target: 13 minutes. Spend 3 minutes on position-tagging all 4 readers, then 1 minute per question. If you're at 14 minutes and have questions left, commit best guesses on the remaining, moving on is almost always the right trade.