Does social media help or harm real friendships? Use reasons and examples.
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
Does social media help or harm real friendships? Use reasons and examples.
15 seconds to prepare, up to 45 seconds to speak
A model answer at the right length
104 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.It helps friendships survive distance and harms the ones in front of you, which I know sounds like avoiding the question. Two of my closest friends moved abroad and I still know what is happening in their lives, which would simply not have been true twenty years ago. The harm is subtler. Knowing the headlines of somebody's life creates a feeling of contact that makes the actual phone call seem unnecessary, so the relationship stays at a level it would otherwise have outgrown. My own rule is that social media is fine for keeping a friendship alive and a poor substitute for maintaining one.
The words that carry it
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- distance
two syllables with the stress on the first
- abroad
two syllables with the stress on the second
- subtler
a comparative with a silent b
- unnecessary
five syllables with the stress on the third
- outgrown
a compact verb for a relationship developing
- substitute
three syllables with the stress on the first
How to build the 45 seconds
- 1Give the split answer and acknowledge how it sounds.
- 2Take the positive half with a real example.
- 3Take the negative half and name the mechanism.
- 4Close with a rule you actually apply.
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 104. 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.