A colorful image appears on the screen. It is a brochure for a travel package, or perhaps a flyer for a furniture sale. It is packed with bold headers, tiny footnotes, discount codes, and confusing prices.
Your instinct is to start reading from the top. First, you carefully study the prices. Next, you try to memorize the dates, and finally, you read every single word of the fine print.
Three minutes later, you look at the questions and realize you have forgotten everything.
This is the classic trap of CELPIP Reading Task 2 (Applying a Diagram). The test designers intentionally overload the image with useless information to waste your time.
To hit CLB 9, you need to stop reading and start hunting. Below is the Email First strategy, a method that allows you to ignore 80% of the diagram and find the answers in seconds.
The Trap: The Information Overload
First, you must understand the design of this task. The diagram usually contains four different options (e.g., four different hotels). However, the questions will usually only ask about one or two of them.
Consequently, if you spend five minutes reading about Hotel A, but the questions are all about Hotel B, you have just wasted valuable exam time.
Therefore, reading the diagram first is a strategic error. It is like reading the entire phone book just to find one number.
The Solution: The Email First Strategy
Next, flip your process. On the right side of the screen, there is an email from a friend or colleague asking for advice. This email contains your Shopping List.
Do not look at the flyer. Read the email first.
As you read, identify the specific constraints the person has.
- Budget: I can only spend $500.
- Date: I am only free on weekends.
- Location: I need to be near the airport.
Now you have a mission. You are no longer reading a random flyer; you are hunting for a weekend trip under $500 near the airport.
The Scanning Technique (Hunt, Don’t Read)
Furthermore, once you have your Shopping List, go back to the diagram. Do not read the sentences. Scan for the specific data types.
- If the email mentions Money, your eyes should only look for $ symbols.
- If the email mentions Dates, your eyes should only look for Months and Numbers.
- If the email mentions Safety, your eyes should only look for Asterisks (*) and fine print.
This selective attention allows you to answer questions in seconds because you are ignoring everything that does not match your list.
The “Not Mentioned” Trap
Admittedly, there is one tricky part. Sometimes the email asks for a detail that is not in the main description but is hidden in the footnotes.
For example, the email might ask: Is breakfast included?
You scan the main hotel description and see nothing about food. Do not assume the answer is No. Look at the bottom of the flyer. There is often a tiny code or footnote that says Includes continental breakfast.
The test loves to hide the most important answers in the smallest text. Always check the footer.
Why You Need Scavenger Hunt Drills
Ultimately, this task is not about reading comprehension; it is about data extraction. You need to train your eyes to ignore distractions.
Unfortunately, reading normal articles does not help with this. You need messy, cluttered diagrams to practice effectively.
This is where Exam Hero helps you win.
- Visual Clutter Training: We provide realistic, messy flyers that force you to practice ignoring useless information.
- Constraint Drills: We give you a specific goal (e.g., Find the cheapest option with a pool) and time how fast you can find it.
- Fine Print Hunter: Our AI specifically quizzes you on the footnotes, training you to always check the bottom of the page.
Leave a Reply