TOEFL Speaking Task 1 · work

Should employees be allowed to choose their own working hours? 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

TOEFL Speaking Task 1

Should employees be allowed to choose their own working hours? Why?

15 seconds to prepare, up to 45 seconds to speak

A model answer at the right length

102 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.
A 45-second answer

Where the work allows it, yes, and I would attach one condition. People differ enormously in when they are capable of difficult thinking, and forcing everybody into the same nine hours guarantees that a large fraction of the workforce is producing their worst work in the morning. Letting them choose costs the employer nothing. The condition is a shared window, maybe four hours in the middle of the day, when everybody is reachable, because completely independent schedules make collaboration impossible and the meeting problem becomes unsolvable. Obviously this only applies to work that is not tied to a shift or a customer.

The words that carry it

Each one links to how it is pronounced.

  • capable

    three syllables with the stress on the first

  • guarantees

    three syllables with the stress on the third

  • fraction

    the precise noun for a proportion

  • workforce

    compound noun for the whole staff

  • reachable

    a compact adjective for being available

  • collaboration

    five syllables with the stress on the fourth

How to build the 45 seconds

  1. 1Agree conditionally and flag the condition.
  2. 2Give the argument from individual variation.
  3. 3State the condition and why it is necessary.
  4. 4Limit the scope of your claim honestly.

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 102. 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.
Practise this question

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.