Do you prefer cooking at home or eating in restaurants? Explain.
A strong Task 1 answer states the choice immediately, gives two supports or one support with an example, and lands its last word around forty seconds. Fifteen seconds of preparation is enough for the plan, not for the wording.
The prompt and the clock
Do you prefer cooking at home or eating in restaurants? Explain.
15 seconds to prepare, up to 45 seconds to speak
A model answer at the right length
107 words — what 45 seconds actually holds.
Answer it yourself first
Record yours first. A memorised TOEFL answer is audible in the rhythm, and raters mark delivery, which is exactly what memorisation damages. Read this afterwards for the shape and the vocabulary.Cooking at home for most of the week, and restaurants for things I cannot make. The practical reasons are obvious, cost and knowing what is in it, so I will not spend the time on them. The less obvious reason is that cooking is the only part of my day that is physical and finite. It is either done or not done, and after eight hours of work where nothing is ever finished, I find that genuinely restorative. Where restaurants win is anything requiring equipment or eight hours of preparation. I am never going to make proper stock on a Tuesday, and a restaurant already has some.
The words that carry it
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- practical
three syllables with the stress on the first
- finite
a precise adjective that lifts the register
- restorative
four syllables with the stress on the second
- equipment
three syllables with the stress on the second
- preparation
four syllables with the stress on the third
- stock
the exact culinary noun, short and concrete
How to build the 45 seconds
- 1Give a split answer with the condition.
- 2Set aside the obvious reasons briefly.
- 3Give the reason that is actually yours.
- 4Say where the other option genuinely wins.
Sounds to watch
Straight answers
How long should this answer be?
Forty-five seconds, which is roughly 110 to 130 words at a natural pace. The model below is 107. If your version runs past fifty seconds the recording cuts off, and raters hear an answer that stops mid-sentence.
Does it matter which side I take?
No. Raters mark delivery, language use and topic development, never which opinion you chose. Pick one in the first second and spend the preparation time on two supports rather than on deciding.
What does sayit score here?
An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar. The transcript is shown in full, so you can judge your own wording and development yourself.
What the score on your result means
An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.Drill it until the clock stops mattering
A free account keeps every take, so you can watch your pace settle and your filler count fall across a fortnight.