Tracing the Stages of a Public Consultation
About this practice test
An explanatory article tracing a riverside redevelopment consultation from early scoping and listening sessions through surveys, workshops, revisions and post-construction review.
What you’ll practice
Finding detail
Locate specific information and evidence.
Interpreting ideas
Connect main points and inferences.
Evaluating arguments
Assess claims, evidence, and limitations.
What to expect:
12 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Fill in the blank (text)
How to approach this practice
Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.
Tracing the Stages of a Public Consultation
In Brindleford, the council planned to reshape the riverside district into homes, flood defences, and public space. Participation officer Mina understood that a consultation which begins only after the main decisions are already fixed becomes little more than theatre. She therefore designed a staged process, because people need different chances to respond as detail gradually increases. Early stages are meant to identify what should be protected, what trade-offs are acceptable, and where disagreement may need to be acknowledged, rather than simply asking whether a finished drawing looks attractive. The council opened with a scoping note, not a glossy brochure: a plain document containing a map, a budget range, and three central dilemmas. It was posted online and also placed in the library, clinic, and bus station. Mina then arranged three listening sessions in a church hall, a youth club, and a market café. Residents were invited to identify places they used regularly, explain fears about noise or rents, and say which improvements they would accept only if certain limits were kept in place. The aim was not to gather applause, but to establish the issues that mattered most before the project moved further. The next stage used an online survey. To avoid hearing only from people who were already angry or unusually engaged, the council sent postcards to every household within 800 metres of the site. Paper forms were available in the libraries and at the leisure centre, and volunteers helped older visitors complete the questions without steering their answers. Respondents were asked to rank priorities: flood safety, affordable housing, green space, parking, and views of the river. About 2,400 replies came in, which sounded impressive until the team compared them with the number of households nearby. After that, analysts spent two weeks turning comments into themes. They grouped repeated concerns about traffic, shade, and access for wheelchairs, and they put aside one-off remarks that could not be checked against any wider pattern. A response table was published alongside the raw figures, so readers could see not only how many people spoke but also how each major point was handled. Mina insisted on this because a consultation that counts voices but never answers them can create resentment. The fourth stage was a public workshop. Architects pinned large plans on the wall and showed two design options for the riverside edge. One kept the promenade close to the water; the other pulled buildings back and made room for trees and seating. The point was not to invite people to choose a winner as if they were voting in a contest. Instead, the team explained which compromises had already been absorbed and where further change would still be possible. The draft proposal was then revised once more before final comment. This version included a redline appendix showing what had changed since the workshop and what had not. Some suggestions were easy to adopt, such as moving a playground away from the busiest road. Others were harder. A few were described as impossible, costly, or inconsistent with safety rules, and the report did not pretend otherwise. That candour mattered, because hidden limits later invite cynicism. At the final committee meeting, the chair made a point Mina had underlined from the outset: consultation can clarify disagreement rather than erase it. The council approved the scheme with modifications. The cycle lane became wider, the market stalls kept their place beside the square, and extra tree cover was added where shade would be most useful in summer. Nobody claimed the outcome pleased everyone, but the process had moved the debate from vague mistrust to specific choices. Even after construction began, the council treated the consultation as unfinished. Three months later, it published a learning log and surveyed users again to see whether promises had been met in practice. The log recorded which features worked well, which caused confusion, and which would need adjustment after the first winter. Mina said the exercise would be measured not by applause on approval day, but by whether residents could see how their words travelled through the stages.
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Question 1 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The council first published a ___ that set out three central dilemmas.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- scoping note
Scoping note is correct because the passage says the council began with that document. The shorter answer note is also supported by the sentence itself, while later documents such as the survey or report belong to different stages.
The council opened with a scoping note, not a glossy brochure: a plain document containing a map, a budget range, and three central dilemmas
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Question 2 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Before the survey, Mina held three ___ in different community spaces.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- listening sessions
Listening sessions is correct because the passage says Mina arranged three listening sessions in different venues. The shorter answer sessions is also valid. A survey or workshop would be a different method and comes later in the process.
Mina then arranged three listening sessions in a church hall, a youth club, and a market café
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Question 3 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. To reach nearby households, postcards were sent to those within ___ of the site.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- 800 metres
800 metres is correct because that is the exact distance given in the passage. A vague word like nearby would not match the precise figure the text provides.
the council sent postcards to every household within 800 metres of the site
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Question 4 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The paper forms were available in the ___ and at the leisure centre.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- libraries
Libraries is correct because the passage states that paper forms were available there and at the leisure centre. The clinic and bus station are mentioned earlier, but they are not the places asked for here.
Paper forms were available in the libraries and at the leisure centre
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Question 5 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The consultation received about ___, which the team compared with the number of households nearby.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- 2,400 / 2,400 replies / 2400 / 2400 replies
Both 2,400 and 2,400 replies are acceptable because the passage gives the figure as 'About 2,400 replies came in' and the blank can be completed with the number alone or the full noun phrase. 'Local population' would be wrong because the text compares the replies with households nearby, not with population.
About 2,400 replies came in, which sounded impressive until the team compared them with the number of households nearby
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Question 6 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The analysts grouped repeated concerns into ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- themes
Themes is correct because the text says the analysts turned comments into themes. Concerns are part of the comments, not the category they were sorted into.
After that, analysts spent two weeks turning comments into themes
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Question 7 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The published ___ showed how each major point was handled.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- response table
Response table is correct because the passage says it was published alongside the raw figures and showed how each major point was handled. The shorter answer table is also supported. A report is mentioned elsewhere, but that is not the document described here.
A response table was published alongside the raw figures, so readers could see not only how many people spoke but also how each major point was handled
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Question 8 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. At the workshop, planners presented two ___ for the riverside edge.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- design options
Design options is correct because the passage explicitly says the architects showed two design options. The shorter answer options is also valid. Plans or designs alone would miss the idea that the workshop involved a choice between alternatives.
Architects pinned large plans on the wall and showed two design options for the riverside edge
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Question 9 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The report said some ideas were inconsistent with ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- safety rules
Safety rules is correct because the passage says some suggestions were inconsistent with safety rules. Budget limits or policy might sound plausible, but they are not the wording used in the text.
A few were described as impossible, costly, or inconsistent with safety rules, and the report did not pretend otherwise
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Question 10 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The chair argued consultation can clarify ___ rather than erase it.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- disagreement
Disagreement is correct because the chair says consultation can clarify disagreement rather than erase it. Consensus would be the opposite meaning, so it cannot fit the sentence.
consultation can clarify disagreement rather than erase it
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Question 11 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The cycle lane became ___.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- wider
Wider is correct because the passage says the cycle lane became wider after the modifications were approved. Longer or safer may sound plausible, but the text specifically changes its width.
The cycle lane became wider, the market stalls kept their place beside the square, and extra tree cover was added where shade would be most useful in summer
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Question 12 · Fill in the blank (text)
Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. Complete the sentence with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage. The council later published a ___ to track what had worked in practice.
Return to the passage, recording or visualCheck answers and explanations
- Blank 1
- learning log
Learning log is correct because the passage says the council published one after construction began. The shorter answer log is also supported. A report or review is related, but the text names this specific follow-up record.
Three months later, it published a learning log and surveyed users again to see whether promises had been met in practice
What to review next
Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.
Before you practise: a worked example
Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.
The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?
The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.
This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.