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CELPIP Reading Part 4: Viewpoints

Keep track of who agrees and why

Compare people’s opinions, then choose words for a reader’s comment that fit the reader’s own view.

Guide 4 of 4 in the Reading path · Reviewed

Know the task

Part 4 has ten questions: five about an article presenting viewpoints and five blanks in a reader's response.

See the official CELPIP test format

A useful approach

  1. 1

    Write the suggested change and each view

    First write the proposed rule: deliveries only before 9 a.m. Then make a note for Rao and one for Hayes. Give each person’s view and reason. The article reports both views; they do not belong to the same person.

  2. 2

    Find what they agree and disagree about

    Rao and Hayes both accept that vans can cause delays. They disagree about requiring deliveries before nine. Keep words such as “only” and “before” in your notes because they define the rule being discussed.

  3. 3

    Read the reader’s comment separately

    Check which ideas the reader accepts and which they question. This reader wants clearer access but prefers trying a loading space before changing every supplier’s route. Do not assume they agree with every point made by either person.

  4. 4

    Read the comment with your chosen words

    Read the sentences before and after the blank. Check that your words explain “However” and lead into the suggestion to try a loading space. The grammar must work, and the meaning must fit the reader’s view.

See it in an example

A neighbourhood article debates whether deliveries to a busy shopping street should be restricted to early morning.

Article and reader comment · Select a passage to see its explanation.

Rao’s rule and reason

Rao wants deliveries before nine so parked vans do not block the street during busy shopping hours. She is describing this street, not every street in the city.

Check your understanding

Which point do both Rao and Hayes accept?

A common mistake

Thinking that someone who rejects a solution also denies the problem.

Less useful: Hayes disagrees with the proposal, so he thinks vans cause no delays.

More specific: Hayes accepts the delays but favours a loading space because an early-only window is difficult for his suppliers.

Hayes agrees that vans cause delays. He disagrees with the early-only rule because of his suppliers’ routes. A correct summary needs to keep both his agreement and his objection.

Useful language in context

a dedicated space

An area kept for one particular use.

The building has a dedicated space for bicycle parking.

worth trying

Good enough to test, though success is not certain.

A later opening time is worth trying for one month.

impractical

Difficult to do successfully in the situation.

A meeting at six is impractical for staff whose shifts end at seven.

Try it yourself

  1. Read the article again. Write one problem that Rao and Hayes both recognize, and find the words that show each person agrees.
  2. Write the rule Rao wants and the reason Hayes gives against it.
  3. Summarize the reader’s view in one sentence. Check that trying a loading space is still a suggestion, not something that has already happened.
Practise this part free