Describe a course you took.
A strong long turn names the subject in the first sentence, spends most of the two minutes on the last bullet — the why — and arrives at a prepared final line rather than trailing off.
The question, as the examiner gives it
Describe a course you took.
You should say
- what the course was
- where and when you took it
- what it involved
- and explain whether it was worth doing
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 195 words at a natural pace — roughly what 120 seconds holds.
Answer it yourself first
Record your own answer first. A model you have read three times comes out with a flattened rhythm, and examiners are trained to hear exactly that. Read it afterwards for the vocabulary and the shape, not to memorise the sentences.Two years ago I took an evening course in statistics at a local college, one evening a week for twelve weeks, which I had been meaning to do for about five years. It involved a two-hour session, roughly half lecture and half working through problems, plus homework that took considerably longer than the two hours suggested. There were about eighteen of us, mostly people in their thirties and forties doing it for work reasons, which made the atmosphere quite different from a university class. Nobody was there under duress. Whether it was worth doing, yes, although not for the reason I expected. I use perhaps a fifth of the actual content. What I use constantly is a kind of scepticism. I now know what questions to ask when somebody shows me a number, and specifically how easy it is to produce a chart that is technically accurate and completely misleading. That was not on the syllabus and it was the most valuable part. I would take another one, and the thing stopping me is not time or money, it is that I would have to be a beginner again in a room full of strangers.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- statistics
three syllables with the stress on the second
- lecture
the exact noun for that half of the session
- atmosphere
three syllables with the stress on the first
- duress
a formal noun used in a natural idiom
- scepticism
British spelling, four syllables
- misleading
the key adjective of the closing point
- syllabus
three syllables with the stress on the first
How a strong answer is built
- 1Name the course, the format and when.
- 2Describe what it actually involved, with real numbers.
- 3Say something about who else was there.
- 4Answer the last bullet, and make the value unexpected.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a course you took.” be?
You get 60 seconds to make notes and then speak for up to two minutes without interruption. Aim to still be talking at ninety seconds: finishing at forty is the commonest way to lose marks on this part.
Should I memorise the model answer?
No. Record your own version first, then read the model for the shape and the vocabulary. A memorised answer changes rhythm and pace noticeably, and examiners are trained to hear it — it usually costs more than the better wording gains.
Does sayit score this answer?
It scores what a microphone can observe: an estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.
What the band on your result means
An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.One question a day until your test
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