If a school could only fund one, should it be history or science? Explain your reasoning.
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
If a school could only fund one, should it be history or science? Explain your reasoning.
15 seconds to prepare, up to 45 seconds to speak
A model answer at the right length
109 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.I would fund science, reluctantly, and the reason is access rather than importance. History can be read. A motivated student with a library card can learn a great deal of history alone, and people do. Science, past a certain level, cannot be self-taught in the same way, because it needs equipment, a laboratory and somebody who can tell you why your result is wrong. If the school is the only place a student will ever encounter that, then removing it closes a door permanently. I want to be clear that I am not saying history matters less. I am saying the school is less replaceable for one of them.
The words that carry it
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- reluctantly
four syllables with the stress on the second
- motivated
four syllables with the stress on the first
- laboratory
four syllables in American English, stress on the first
- encounter
three syllables with the stress on the second
- permanently
four syllables with the stress on the first
- replaceable
four syllables, the key adjective of the argument
How to build the 45 seconds
- 1Choose and signal that it was a close call.
- 2Give the criterion you are actually using.
- 3Apply it to each subject in turn.
- 4Rule out the misreading of your answer.
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 109. 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.