Would you move to another city for a better job? Why, or why not?
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 move to another city for a better job? Why, or why not?
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 at twenty-five and I am much less sure at thirty-five, which tells you that the answer is about what you would be leaving rather than about the job. Early on, the network you lose is thin and rebuilds quickly, and the career benefit compounds over decades. Later, the friendships took fifteen years, your family is nearby, and a salary increase does not replace any of that. The factor people underweight is that a new city is not simply the job. It is eighteen months of having nobody to call on a Sunday, and that is a real cost that does not show up in the offer letter.
The words that carry it
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- network
compound noun for a set of relationships
- rebuilds
the precise verb for re-establishing something
- compounds
the financial sense, applied to a career
- underweight
the verb use, meaning to undervalue
- friendships
concrete noun for what is at stake
- increase
the noun, stressed on the first syllable
How to build the 45 seconds
- 1Give two answers by age and say what that reveals.
- 2Explain the early case.
- 3Explain the later case.
- 4Name the cost people leave out.
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.