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.
1. The cloze paragraph retells the passage — match each sentence to the original viewpoint 2. Blanks may test: connector words ("however," "therefore"), or key vocabulary 3. If a blank is between two contrasting ideas, it's probably a contrast word ("however," "nevertheless") 4. 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.