This lesson is not about reading. It is about the screen, the clock and your paper: the things that cost points when they surprise you.
Read it once before your first full practice test, and nothing on test day will be new.
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What the CELPIP Reading screen looks like and how it behaves: one screen per part, four fixed clocks, no going back, answers you can change inside a part, and notes on paper only.
This lesson is not about reading. It is about the screen, the clock and your paper: the things that cost points when they surprise you.
Read it once before your first full practice test, and nothing on test day will be new.
At the test centre you work at a computer. CELPIP's test-day page says: "Your workstation will have a standard QWERTY English keyboard."
You also get paper for notes. In CELPIP's words: "You will be provided with a pen and notepaper, which must be returned at the end of the test."
If something is wrong with your computer, or you need more paper, do not try to fix it yourself. CELPIP's advice: "If you need anything during the test, such as extra notepaper or a washroom break, raise your hand."
CELPIP's 2026 Reading study pack describes it like this: "All text and questions for each Reading part appear on the same screen."
So for each part there is one page, with the text and all of its questions together. You scroll to see everything.
| Part | What is on the page | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Reading Correspondence | a message, 6 questions about it, then a reply with 5 blanks | 11 |
| 2 Reading to Apply a Diagram | a diagram, an email with 5 blanks, then 3 questions | 8 |
| 3 Reading for Information | four paragraphs, A to D, and 9 statements | 9 |
| 4 Reading for Viewpoints | an article, 5 questions about it, then a reader's comment with 5 blanks | 10 |
In Parts 1, 2 and 4, each question has four options. In Part 3, each statement has five choices: paragraph A, B, C or D, or E if the information is not in the text. On screen, E is usually written as Not given in any of the above paragraphs.
These rules are CELPIP's.
| Part | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 11 minutes |
| 2 | 9 minutes |
| 3 | 10 minutes |
| 4 | 13 minutes |
What this means in practice: time does not move between parts, so use each part's full clock. And because you can change answers inside a part, you can answer a hard question with your best guess, move on, and come back to it later. Lesson 9 shows how.
🎥 The rules of the clock, then a full practice test (12:30)
The clock rules in one minute, then all four parts the way they appear on test day, each with every option visible.
Jump to: 0:54 the rules of the clock · 1:27 Part 1 · 3:35 Part 2 · 5:47 Part 3 · 7:46 Part 4
You cannot mark the screen. CELPIP's study pack says: "You will not be able to make notes, highlight, etc. on the computer screen."
So your paper does the job of a highlighter. Keep it short: the text stays on the screen, so you only write what is easy to mix up or forget.
| Part | What to write | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | pairs: two dates, two places, two people, each with a label | Lesson 5 |
| 2 | the clue from the email and the fact from the diagram, and any sum | Lesson 6 |
| 3 | one word for each paragraph, A to D | Lesson 7 |
| 4 | one line for each person: what, why, and how strongly | Lesson 8 |
Also write the number of any question you answered with a guess, so you can find it again if there is time.
This routine is ours. It costs about half a minute and prevents the mistakes below.
Then start the part's own plan from its lesson.
These are the mistakes that have nothing to do with your English. Each one is easy to avoid.
| Mistake | What happens | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Not scrolling to the end | the reply or comment with 5 blanks is never seen | scroll to the bottom before you start |
| Leaving a question empty | an empty answer is always worth zero | in the last minute, answer every question |
| Staying too long on one question | two or three easy questions are left with no time | best guess, write the number on paper, move on |
| Trying to mark the screen | time lost looking for a highlighter that does not exist | your notes go on paper |
| Planning to save time for later | finished early, but the extra minutes do not move to the next part | use each part's full clock |
1. Practise the screen. Do one practice set for each part on a computer, not on paper or a phone, with the real clock. Get used to scrolling and choosing from the options.
2. Practise the paper. In every practice set, write notes on real paper, not on your screen or phone, the way you will on test day.
3. Practise the move between parts. Do a full test once, all four parts in a row, so you feel each clock end and the next part begin.
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