Describe a video that taught you something.
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 video that taught you something.
You should say
- what the video was about
- where you saw it
- what you learned
- and explain whether you have used it since
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 185 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.About two years ago I watched a video of a chef explaining how to hold a knife, which lasted perhaps four minutes and has changed roughly every meal I have cooked since. I had been chopping vegetables for fifteen years using a grip that, it turns out, gives you no control at all and makes you slower and more likely to cut yourself. What I learned specifically was that the hand holding the food matters more than the hand holding the knife, and that the knuckles of that hand should guide the blade. That is the entire content of the video. The reason it worked, I think, is that it was filmed from directly above, so you could see exactly what the hands were doing rather than the chef's face. Have I used it since? Constantly, and I am considerably faster, and I have cut myself once in two years rather than the previous rate, which I would rather not disclose. I have sent it to perhaps eight people and every one of them has replied within a week to say that it changed something.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- grip
the precise noun for how you hold something
- knuckles
concrete anatomical noun with a silent k
- blade
the exact noun for the cutting part
- guide
the key verb of what was learned
- filmed
past participle with an audible ending
- constantly
adverb answering the last bullet directly
- disclose
a formal verb used wittily in the closing line
How a strong answer is built
- 1Name the video and its disproportionate effect.
- 2Say what you had been doing wrong.
- 3State what you learned in one or two sentences.
- 4Answer the last bullet with evidence.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a video that taught you something.” 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
A free account remembers every take, so you watch a trend instead of a single answer, and it picks tomorrow's question for you.