Part 2 Mastery: Reading to Apply a Diagram

Part 2 gives you two texts that belong together: a diagram full of facts, and an email from someone who is using it.

Neither one is enough on its own. Almost every answer needs something from each.

What Part 2 looks like

• A diagram. CELPIP's study pack lists three kinds: "a transit, course, or event schedule; a brochure or flyer for an event or attraction; a guide to a typical community activity." It is short, in point form, often with pictures, and its tone is "informative, helpful, not personal."
• An email. In CELPIP's words, "a short email from one community member to another about the diagram content, with blanks to fill in."
• 5 blanks in the email. For each one you choose from four options.
• Then 3 more questions about what you have read.
• 8 questions in total, 9 minutes. Each correct answer is 1 point, and a wrong answer does not lose points. Answer every question.

There is no reply in Part 2. That is Part 1. Here the blanks are inside the email itself, and the email comes first.

On test day you cannot mark the screen. If you want to note a fact, write it on the paper you are given.

CELPIP's own 9-minute plan

CELPIP's Reading study pack gives these steps for Part 2.

Two things to notice. You look at both texts in the first minute, not only the diagram. And the 5 blanks get the most time, because each one needs two texts.

The one move: a clue in the email, a fact in the diagram

CELPIP's plan says to "Look for clues in the text and diagram". This is how we turn that into one move you can repeat. The move is ours.

1. Read the sentence before the blank and the sentence after it. What does the writer need here? A price, a place, a reason?
2. Find that clue in the email. A name, an age, a day, a problem.
3. Take the clue to the diagram and find the fact that matches it.
4. Choose the option that matches the fact, not the option that only sounds right.

Every blank is the same move. What changes is the kind of fact you look for, and that is where the traps are.

🎥 CELPIP Reading Part 2: one real practice set and the five traps (16:20)

A real Part 2 practice set solved blank by blank: the clue in the email, the fact in the picture, and the trap each blank is built on.

Jump to: 0:42 the format · 1:53 the one move · 2:22 your first minute · 2:59 you cannot mark the screen · 3:45 trap 1, a rule · 5:10 trap 2, a place · 6:37 trap 3, a price · 8:56 trap 4, a need · 10:19 trap 5, a missing thing · 11:50 the note at the bottom · 12:14 the last 3 questions

The example on this page

We wrote this example for the page. It is shorter than a real Part 2 set, but it works the same way.

The diagram: Winter Skating in Maple Ridge

The email

Hi Priya,

Thanks for asking about skating! I've been to all of these places with my kids, so here's what I know.

Your Mina is only 5, so she can't join the skate school yet, because [1]. But she can still skate with you at Iceplex. Just bring her helmet.

Since you don't have a car, Lakeside Pond is the easiest to reach. It's right [2].

If the four of you go to Iceplex together, get the family pass. Paying for two adults and two kids separately costs more, so the pass saves you [3].

Your husband has never skated and wants someone to show him the basics, so [4] would be perfect for him.

I wanted to call Lakeside Pond to ask if the ice is ready, but [5]. You'll have to check the city website.

See you on the ice,
Sara

The five traps

The names are ours. Each one is a different kind of fact, and each one is shown on a blank from the example.

Trap 1: a rule

[1] the lessons are only on Saturdays · the lessons are for ages 6 and up · skates are not included · helmets are required for children

Clue in the email: Mina is only 5. Fact in the diagram: Ages 6 and up.

Look at the wrong options. Every one of them is a real fact from the diagram, and none of them explains why a 5-year-old cannot join. The helmet rule is the most tempting, because Mina is under 10. But the helmet rule is at Iceplex public skating, and the email already says Just bring her helmet.

Rules in a diagram often use words like must, only, required, at least, or an age like 16+ or under 12. When you see one, check it against the people in the email.

Trap 2: a place

[2] across from the public library · on Harbour Road · beside the bus loop · inside Lakeside Park

Clue: you don't have a car. Fact: north entrance, beside the bus loop.

Across from the public library is a real place from the diagram, but it belongs to City Hall Rink. Inside Lakeside Park is true, but it does not answer the need in the sentence. The clue is about getting there without a car, so the answer is the bus.

Trap 3: a price

[3] $2 · $4 · $6 · $18

Clue: two adults and two kids separately. Fact: $6 + $6 + $4 + $4 = $20, and the family pass is $18. The pass saves $2.

In the free Part 2 practice set on our platform, the price blank is the one most people miss: only about a third choose the right answer. The problem is almost never the English. It is the maths. Here, $6 comes from paying the adult price for all four people, and $18 is the price of the pass, not the saving.

Before you choose, write the sum on your paper. It takes ten seconds.

Trap 4: a need

[4] a public skate at City Hall Rink · a beginner lesson at the skate school · a family pass at Iceplex · an evening at Lakeside Pond

Clue: has never skated and wants someone to show him the basics. Fact: Beginner group lesson.

All four options are places he could skate. Only one gives him what the email says he needs: someone to teach him. When the email describes a person's wish or problem, find the one place in the diagram that solves exactly that.

Trap 5: a missing thing

[5] the pond was closed that day · there's no phone number for the pond · the phone line was busy · they only answer emails

Clue: I wanted to call Lakeside Pond. Fact: City Hall Rink and Iceplex both list a phone number. Lakeside Pond does not. It only says Updates on the city website.

Sometimes the answer is something the diagram does not have. The wrong options here all sound possible, but you cannot find any of them in the diagram. If you cannot point to it, drop it.

Read the note at the bottom

Most diagrams end with a short note. It is easy to skip, and it often changes an answer.

In the example, the note says Outdoor rinks may close without notice in warm weather. That is why Sara wants to call Lakeside Pond before Priya goes. A question could ask about it directly.

Read the note in your first 30 seconds on the diagram, not at the end.

The last 3 questions

After the blanks come 3 more questions. By now you have read both texts closely, so the information is usually already in your head. What changes is the wording.

CELPIP's plan says: "Watch for paraphrase." The question uses different words for the same idea.

What does Sara say about the Iceplex family pass?
it includes skate rental · it is only for families with young children · it costs less than paying for each person · it must be bought online

The email says saves you. The correct option says costs less than paying for each person. Same idea, new words.

A question can also ask why the writer wrote the email. For that, think about the whole email, not one sentence. Sara is helping Priya choose where to take her family skating. An option about only one place, or only one person, is too small.

Words that change a fact

Look for these in the diagram and in the options. One small word can make a true-looking option wrong.

Practice

1. Clue and fact (10 min). Take a Part 2 practice set. For each blank, write two things on your paper before you look at the options: the clue from the email, and the fact from the diagram.

2. Name the trap (5 min). After you check your answers, write which of the five traps each blank was: rule, place, price, need or missing thing. After a few sets, you will see which one you miss most.

3. The full 9 minutes. Do a complete set with the timer on, using CELPIP's plan above. Check how long the 5 blanks really took you.

• Practise CELPIP Reading Part 2 with real timed sets

Related:

• Lesson 1: Orientation & Success Targets for the number of correct answers to aim for
• Lesson 5: Reading Correspondence, where the blanks are in a reply
• Lesson 9: Pacing & Time Control.