Describe a magazine or newspaper you read.
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 magazine or newspaper you read.
You should say
- what it is
- how often you read it
- what sections you read
- and explain why you read that one
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 208 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.I read a weekly magazine that covers economics and international affairs, which I have subscribed to for about five years, largely because a former manager left a copy on a desk and I read it out of boredom. I read it most weeks, though rarely all of it. What I actually read is the middle section, which is regional reporting, and the obituary at the back, which is one page about somebody who has died and is consistently the best-written thing in the issue. I skip almost all of the finance. Why I read that one rather than a newspaper is the pace. A daily paper gives you events, and I found I was reading a great deal and understanding very little, because you never get the sentence that explains why any of it is happening. A weekly is late by design, and being late means somebody has had five days to work out what the story actually was. It arrives on a Friday and sits unopened until Sunday, and the week I do not get to it at all is reliably the week I most needed to. I have thought about cancelling it twice and renewed it five times, which is the whole argument in one sentence.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- subscribed
the precise verb, stressed on the second syllable
- boredom
abstract noun, honest about how it started
- regional
three syllables with the stress on the first
- obituary
five syllables with the stress on the second
- issue
the exact noun for one edition
- pace
the key noun of the argument
- design
used in the phrase by design
How a strong answer is built
- 1Name the publication and how you came to it.
- 2Say how much of it you actually read.
- 3Name the sections, including what you skip.
- 4Explain the choice with an argument about pace.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a magazine or newspaper you read.” 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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