Would you rather live on campus or off campus during university? Why?
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
Would you rather live on campus or off campus during university? Why?
15 seconds to prepare, up to 45 seconds to speak
A model answer at the right length
106 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.On campus for the first year and off campus afterward, which I think is the arrangement that actually works. In the first year you know nobody, and living where everybody else lives solves that automatically. I met two of my closest friends because we shared a floor. After that the calculation changes. Campus housing is expensive, the rules are designed for eighteen-year-olds, and by the second year I wanted a kitchen and a door that locked properly. So the honest answer depends on the year rather than on the person, and I would tell any first-year student to take the dormitory even if it costs more.
The words that carry it
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- arrangement
three syllables with the stress on the second
- automatically
six syllables with the stress on the fourth
- calculation
four syllables with the stress on the third
- expensive
three syllables with the stress on the second
- dormitory
the American noun for campus housing
- properly
three syllables with the stress on the first
How to build the 45 seconds
- 1Give a split answer with a timeline.
- 2Justify the first half with a concrete result.
- 3Explain why the calculation changes.
- 4Close with the advice you would actually give.
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 106. 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.