If a city has spare land, should it build parks or housing?
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 city has spare land, should it build parks or housing?
15 seconds to prepare, up to 45 seconds to speak
A model answer at the right length
108 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.Housing, in most cities I know, and I say that as somebody who uses parks constantly. The reason is that the shortage is not symmetrical. In a city where rent takes half of an average income, the housing shortage is causing measurable harm right now, and a park, however valuable, does not house anybody. What I would insist on is that the housing includes public space inside the development rather than treating the two as alternatives. A dense neighborhood with courtyards and a square delivers most of what a park delivers. The answer changes completely in a city with cheap housing and no green space, which does exist.
The words that carry it
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- symmetrical
four syllables with the stress on the second
- shortage
the precise economic noun for scarcity
- measurable
four syllables with the stress on the first
- development
four syllables with the stress on the second
- courtyards
compound noun, concrete architectural detail
- neighborhood
American spelling, three syllables
How to build the 45 seconds
- 1Choose and establish that you value the other side.
- 2Give the argument from asymmetry.
- 3Insist on a condition that gets you both.
- 4Say when your answer would flip.
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 108. 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.