What Is Part 4?
Part 4 is the hardest reading section. You get a long passage presenting viewpoints on a topic - often two or more perspectives. You have 13 minutes for 10 questions: 5 multiple-choice comprehension and 5 cloze.
Questions test your ability to identify different viewpoints, understand argument structure, and fill in cloze blanks in a viewpoint-based summary.
This part is challenging because you must track multiple opinions on the same topic. But with the right framework, it becomes systematic.
The Who-What-Why Framework
As you read the passage, fill in this mental template for each viewpoint:
- WHO holds this view? (Named person, group, "some experts")
- WHAT do they believe? (Their position in one sentence)
- WHY do they believe it? (Their main reason or evidence)
After reading, you should be able to say:
- "Person A thinks X because of Y"
- "Person B thinks the opposite because of Z"
If you can summarize this, you can answer most viewpoint questions. Don't worry about every detail - the Who-What-Why framework gives you enough structure.
Signal Words Are Your Best Friend
Viewpoint passages use signal words that tell you whose opinion you're reading:
Agreement: "similarly," "in addition," "also believes," "supports"
Disagreement: "however," "on the contrary," "despite," "argues against"
Attribution: "according to," "X states that," "in X's view"
When you see these words, you know a viewpoint is being stated, supported, or contrasted. They're like road signs - they tell you which direction the argument is going.
Cloze in a Viewpoint Context
Part 4 cloze is a summary of the viewpoints. The blanks test whether you understood who said what.
- The cloze paragraph retells the passage - match each sentence to the original viewpoint
- Blanks may test: connector words ("however," "therefore"), or key vocabulary
- If a blank is between two contrasting ideas, it's probably a contrast word ("however," "nevertheless")
- If a blank follows "According to X,..." the answer should match X's actual opinion from the passage
Time Management for Part 4
With 13 minutes and the complexity of this passage:
- 4–5 minutes: Read the passage, build your Who-What-Why summary
- 4–5 minutes: Answer 5 comprehension questions
- 3 minutes: Complete 5 cloze
- Remaining: Quick review
If the passage seems very long, focus on identifying viewpoints rather than understanding every sentence. Most questions target the viewpoints, not minor details.
Never leave a question blank - even a guess has a 25% chance of being correct.