Should companies require employees to take all their vacation days?
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
Should companies require employees to take all their vacation days?
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.They should require it, and I say that as somebody who would not take it voluntarily. In most workplaces the person who never takes time off is quietly admired, so the incentive runs exactly the wrong way and telling people to rest achieves nothing against that. A requirement removes the decision, which is the only thing that works. There is also an argument companies rarely make out loud, which is that if one person is the only one who can run a process, an enforced two weeks away is how you find that out before they resign. So the policy is both kinder and more prudent than it looks.
The words that carry it
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- voluntarily
five syllables with the stress on the third
- admired
three syllables with the stress on the second
- incentive
three syllables with the stress on the second
- requirement
three syllables with the stress on the second
- enforced
past participle with the stress on the second syllable
- prudent
a precise adjective for sensible caution
How to build the 45 seconds
- 1Agree and establish your standing.
- 2Explain why the incentive runs the wrong way.
- 3Say why a requirement is the only fix.
- 4Add an argument the employer would care about.
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.