Describe a photo you posted online.
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 photo you posted online.
You should say
- what the photo showed
- when you took it
- why you posted it
- and explain how people responded
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.The last photograph I posted, which was about eight months ago, was of a hand-painted sign outside a shop near my office, advertising services in a list that included, without any apparent irony, photocopying, wedding cards and pest control. I took it on a Tuesday morning on the way to work, because I had walked past it for three years and only that day actually read it. Why I posted it is a question I have thought about more than the photograph deserves. It was not to show anybody anything about my life. It was closer to pointing at something in a room. I suspect the honest answer is that noticing something and having nobody to tell is mildly frustrating. How people responded was disproportionate. Eleven people replied, four of whom sent me photographs of similar signs, and one of whom informed me that the shop has been there since nineteen eighty-one and is run by his cousin. The sign is still there, incidentally, and I have checked twice, which is probably more attention than any advertisement has ever received from me. I have not posted anything since, which I only realised while answering this.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- hand-painted
compound adjective, precise and visual
- irony
three syllables with the stress on the first
- photocopying
five syllables, concrete and slightly comic
- deserves
the verb that qualifies the reflection wryly
- frustrating
three syllables with the stress on the second
- disproportionate
a five-syllable adjective used accurately
- informed
the right verb for being told a fact
How a strong answer is built
- 1Describe the photograph concretely, with the joke intact.
- 2Say when and how you came to take it.
- 3Answer why honestly, and think about it out loud.
- 4Report the response with real numbers.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a photo you posted online.” 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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