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Duolingo English Test Read, Then Speak: practice prompt 1

One real-format Read, Then Speak prompt with a model spoken answer and notes on why it scores. You get 20 seconds to prepare, then speak about the prompt for at least 30 seconds and up to 90. Keep going until the time is nearly up.

The prompt

Talk about something you own that would be difficult to replace. Describe it and explain why it matters to you.

20 seconds to prepare, up to 90 seconds to speak.

Hear a strong answer

One way this question can be answered well, spoken at the pace and length the task expects. Listen for where the pauses fall, then try it again in your own words and with your own examples.

The thing I own that would be hardest to replace is my grandmother's cookbook. It isn't valuable. It's a school exercise book, filled with her handwriting, and about half the recipes have corrections in the margin where she changed her mind years later. It matters to me for two reasons. The first is practical: nobody else wrote these down, so if the book goes, the recipes go with it. The second is that her handwriting changes through the book. The early pages are neat and the last ones are shaky, and you can see her whole later life in that. I've thought about photographing every page, and I keep not doing it, which is probably foolish. It sits on the shelf above my cooker and I use it most weeks.

Why this earns score 160

  1. Describes the object and explains why it matters, which are the two things the prompt asks for.
  2. Specific detail (the margins, the changing handwriting) does more for Vocabulary than long words would.
  3. Keeps going for the full time with new information in every sentence rather than repeating the opening.

Questions about this answer

What score is this model answer?

It is written to earn the top of the Duolingo English Test scale, score 160, and the notes under it say why.

How long do I get for this prompt?

20 seconds to prepare and up to 90 seconds to speak.

What should I watch for in my own answer?

Describes the object and explains why it matters, which are the two things the prompt asks for.

Answer it yourself, then see your score

Record your own answer and get a score with your transcript in about a minute. Your first test is free, no sign-up.

Record my answer

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