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Reading · R1

CELPIP-style Reading: a repair appointment email

Identify an appointment window, a confirmation deadline and an exception without mixing them up.

By MockMaple · Updated

Try the prompt

Read this fictional appointment email. Answer using only the information in the message.

  • This is a short teaching exercise, not a complete official-format Reading part.
  • The appointment time and the reply deadline serve different purposes.

Plan your approach

  1. Identify the purpose of the message.
  2. Separate the proposed visit from actions the reader must take.
  3. Check conditions before assuming what happens next.

Read the source

Subject: Please confirm your appliance repair visit Dear Taylor, We can offer a visit on Thursday between 10 a.m. and noon to inspect the washing machine you reported. Please reply by Tuesday at 4 p.m. to confirm that this window is suitable. If we do not hear from you, we will release the appointment to another customer; the technician will not arrive automatically. Please clear the area around the machine before the visit. You do not need to move the appliance yourself. The technician will inspect it first and explain whether a replacement part is required. We cannot confirm that the repair will be completed on the same day. If Thursday is unsuitable, let us know two alternative weekday mornings. We will check availability and contact you with a new proposal. Providing alternatives does not reserve those times. Thank you, Service Scheduling Team

Why these choices work

A response or interpretation to improve

The repair is guaranteed to finish on Tuesday, and suggesting two alternatives automatically books both times.

Keep the two times separate

Tuesday at four is the confirmation deadline. Thursday between ten and noon is the proposed visit; neither is a guaranteed completion deadline.

Read negative and conditional statements

The technician will not arrive without confirmation. Alternatives are requests to check availability, not reservations.

Vocabulary in context

release an appointment

Make a reserved or held appointment available to someone else.

We will release the appointment if you do not confirm.

Choose the right alternative: Reschedule moves an appointment; release removes the hold on that slot.

Usage note: The object matters: release a report means publish it, not cancel it.

Explore vocabulary, synonyms and idioms

Check your understanding

Choose an answer to see the evidence and an explanation for every option. These checks are not a proficiency score.

1. What must Taylor do by Tuesday at four?
2. What is guaranteed about Thursday?
3. What happens when Taylor proposes other mornings?
All answers and explanations

What must Taylor do by Tuesday at four?

Answer: Confirm the proposed window

Evidence: Please reply by Tuesday at 4 p.m. to confirm that this window is suitable.

  • Complete the repair: The technician has not yet inspected the machine.
  • Confirm the proposed window: The reply deadline is explicit.
  • Move the washing machine: The message says Taylor need not move it.

What is guaranteed about Thursday?

Answer: No same-day completion is guaranteed

Evidence: We cannot confirm that the repair will be completed on the same day.

  • A replacement part will be installed: A part may or may not be required.
  • The whole repair will finish: The message explicitly withholds that promise.
  • No same-day completion is guaranteed: Inspection comes first and completion remains uncertain.

What happens when Taylor proposes other mornings?

Answer: The team checks availability

Evidence: We will check availability and contact you with a new proposal.

  • The team checks availability: The team will check and make a new proposal.
  • Both mornings become reserved: Providing alternatives does not reserve them.
  • The Thursday visit proceeds regardless: Thursday still requires confirmation.

Try a new situation

Write a three-line summary separating the appointment window, confirmation deadline and unresolved question. Then create a similar message about a bicycle repair.

Use your own notes or voice recorder, then check your work:

  • Did you label each date by its purpose?
  • Did you preserve the conditions attached to the appointment?
  • Can you point to evidence for each answer?
Apply this in free practice

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