Every CELPIP Reading question is one of three kinds. Each kind needs a different way of reading: wide, narrow, or careful.
If you know the kind before you start reading, you know where to look and how much to read.
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CELPIP names three kinds of Reading question: General Meaning, Specific Information and Inference. How to tell them apart from the question itself, and how to read differently for each one.
Every CELPIP Reading question is one of three kinds. Each kind needs a different way of reading: wide, narrow, or careful.
If you know the kind before you start reading, you know where to look and how much to read.
These names and descriptions come from CELPIP's 2026 Reading study pack.
| Type | CELPIP's description | In plain words |
|---|---|---|
| General Meaning | "a big picture question that asks you to put together ideas from a larger section of text" | what is the whole text, or a whole part of it, about? |
| Specific Information | "a close up question that asks you to locate one piece of information, such as a date, name, place, or fact, from one sentence" | find one fact, in one sentence |
| Inference | "a question that asks you to use information from the text to draw a conclusion about something that is not stated directly" | understand what is meant, not only what is written |
One more line from the same pack matters for all three: "You should never expect the correct answer choice, or any answer choice, to be written in the very same words that appear in the text."
So you cannot tell the type by asking "are these words in the text?" They usually are not, for any type. Look at the question instead.
This is our method. Read the question, not the text, and look for these signs.
| If the question asks... | Common words in the question | It is... |
|---|---|---|
| why the text was written, what it is mainly about, the best title | mainly, main purpose, primarily, best describes, overall | General Meaning |
| for one name, date, place, price or fact | where, when, who, how much, how many, which paragraph | Specific Information |
| what someone thinks, feels, means or would agree with | probably, likely, suggests, implies, attitude, would agree | Inference |
If a question names one person and asks how they feel, it is Inference, even though it names a person. The question is about meaning, not a fact.
Think about the whole text, or the whole part the question names. The right option covers all of it.
The trap: an option that is true but describes only one paragraph, or only one person. If it would fit only one part of the text, it is too small.
Find the one sentence that holds the fact, and read the sentence before it too. Then check that the option belongs to the same line: the same shop, the same person, the same date.
The trap: a real word or number from the text that belongs to a different line.
Find who said it and how strongly they said it. Then choose the option that matches both.
Strength works in both directions. If the person says might or seems, a very strong option is wrong. If the person says a serious mistake or deliberately, a soft, careful option is just as wrong.
The trap: the right idea from the wrong person, or the right person at the wrong strength.
Lesson 11 lists all seven traps, grouped by these three types.
Do not expect one part to have only one type. Here are real question stems from the free practice sets used in the Part 1 to Part 4 videos.
| Part | General Meaning | Specific Information | Inference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek is writing to Kevin mainly to ... | The water damage to the trailer occurred at ... | Kevin probably needs the trailer back soon because he ... |
| 3 | each of the 9 statements asks where a fact is | some statements are matched to a paragraph by one small step of meaning | |
| 4 | The article primarily addresses the ... | What best characterizes Daniela Vega's attitude toward the film industry? |
In Part 2, the 5 blanks are mostly Specific Information (a fact from the diagram), and the free set's questions after the email include one about the main purpose of the email, which is General Meaning.
🎥 The 3 kinds of question, and the traps inside each one (11:25)
CELPIP's three question types, then the wrong options built for each one, shown on the free practice sets from the Part 1 to Part 4 videos.
Jump to: 0:58 don't expect the same words · 1:38 the 3 kinds of question · 2:13 find a fact: trap 1 · 4:41 the big picture: trap 3 · 5:34 inference: the hardest traps
1. Name the type (5 min). Take a practice set and, before reading the text, read only the questions. Write G, S or I next to each number on your paper. Then check: did the type tell you where to look?
2. Read the right width (10 min). For the same set, answer the S questions by finding one sentence, the G questions by thinking about the whole text, and the I questions by finding who said it and how strongly.
3. Review by type. After checking your answers, count your mistakes by type. If most are Inference, read Lesson 8 and Lesson 11 again.
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