In this question, you'll speak about a familiar topic. Your response will be scored on your ability to speak clearly and coherently about the topics. You'll have 15 seconds to prepare your answer and 45 seconds to speak.
We recommend you practice taking notes with a pen and paper like you will during your TOEFL exam.
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Question:
School is planning to change the cafeteria’s menu with aims of offering healthier, low-calorie foods. Describe the advantage and disadvantage.
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Your Answer
Your Review
THIS IS NOT YOUR REVIEW!
It's an example of what you can expect from our speaking reviews
Review Summary (Sample) | |
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Score | 2 / 4 |
Feedback |
Each speaking review includes detailed audio feedback.
Audio feedback (Sample) |
How we review your speaking response | Our TOEFL certified instructors will review your speaking response based on the following criteria:
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Task Fulfillment (Sample) | ||||||||||||
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Criteria Description | Score | |||||||||||
Task fulfillment is about how well you respond to the question you are given. TOEFL raters are looking for a response that answers the question directly, with relevant ideas that are fully developed. Fulfilling the task means answering all parts of the question completely. |
Score: 2 / 4 |
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Pronunciation & Intonation (Sample) | ||||||||||||
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Criteria Description | Score | |||||||||||
Pronunciation and intonation is about how you form English sounds and how you use natural English intonation. Your pronunciation and intonation can damage your score if it is difficult for the raters to understand what you are saying. |
Score: 2 / 4 |
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Flow & Speech (Sample) | ||||||||||||
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Criteria Description | Score | |||||||||||
Flow and speech is about how quickly you can speak and how much pausing and hesitation you use. You don’t have to speak quickly, but just quickly enough to sound natural and explain all of your ideas. Raters want to hear natural rhythm and flow. |
Score: 2 / 4 |
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Correct Grammar Usage (Sample) | ||||||||||||
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Criteria Description | Score | |||||||||||
Correct grammar usage is about how you use English grammar and sentence structure. Raters want to see that you can use what you know correctly. Your grammar doesn’t have to be perfect to score high, but mistakes shouldn’t interfere with your meaning. |
Score: 2 / 4 |
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Vocabulary Usage (Appropriacy and Range) (Sample) | ||||||||||||
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Criteria Description | Score | |||||||||||
Vocabulary usage is about how you use English words. Raters are looking for responses that use different words correctly and accurately, and that use a wide range of words that help listeners understand. |
Score: 2 / 4 |
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Support & Development (Sample) | ||||||||||||
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Criteria Description | Score | |||||||||||
Support and development is about the content of your speaking response. Your content should be related directly to the topic, and you should have several main ideas that support your opinion or position. These ideas should be persuasive or compelling. |
Score: 2 / 4 |
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Connections & Coherence (Sample) | ||||||||||||
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Criteria Description | Score | |||||||||||
connections and coherence are about how you put your ideas together and link different sentences to each other. Raters want to see speaking that flows naturally from idea to idea without confusing the listener. |
Score: 2 / 4 |
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Sample Answer
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Exercise 1 Tips for Success
Step-by-step guide for tackling TOEFL Independent Speaking Task 1
The question will be very general, so you can choose many options. However, remember you only need one answer so don't waste time thinking too hard. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. So choose the first idea that comes to your mind. In your 15 seconds preparation time, you should not spend more than 3 seconds choosing a topic. Once you have a topic, write it down in your note immediately. For this example, you can choose your aunt for example.
Step 2: Find supporting ideas
After choosing the main topic, you need to come up with supporting ideas. Choose about 2 or 3 ideas. One is too little. More than three will be too many and you will not have enough time to develop all the ideas within the time limit. Similar to the first step, note down the first two or three
supporting ideas. Do it as quickly as you can.
In your note, don't write full sentences, only jot down a few words that will help you with
the organization of your actual speech. For example, if you chose your aunt as your closest relative, you can have supporting ideas
describing her and why you are close to her. But also remember to be specific. For this example, one of your supporting ideas is that your aunt
shares a similar interest with you. Make sure to tell what interest it is and if you can, tell a very short one or two sentence story about the interest.
Remember, you have 15 seconds in total to finish both step 1 and 2. Plan your answer as fast as possible.
You'll have 45 seconds to make your speech. The structure of the response can be the following:
1. Your main idea or your main opinion
2. The first main idea and supporting details and examples
3. The second supporting idea and supporting details and examples
4. Conclusion.
Tips to get a high score
2. You can paraphrase the prompt to give your first sentence.
3. For "Personal experience" questions, you need to talk about your personal experience, so make sure use the words "I", "me" and "my" and avoid using the word "You".
4. Be specific about your supporting details and examples. The trick is to use sentence structure like "If I...., I..." or "When I ..., I ..." when providing supporting details and examples.
5. Pay attention to the tense. For example, when giving a response about your past events, you should use the past tense.
Prepare for all 4 question styles
- Personal experience
- Giving advice
- Three choices
- Stating opinions
What is your favorite book? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite.
Giving advice
Your friend wants a pet but has never owned one before and doesn't know what to choose. What advice would you give and why?
Three choices
The university decides to remodel the dormitory and add a new space to it. Which space do you recommend to add in your dormitory? (1) Cafe, (2) Study room, or (3) Game room
Stating opinions
Do you think the government should legislate laws to fine people who use cell phones when crossing roads and intersections?
"Personal experience" questions
- What is your favorite recreational activity? Describe it and say why you enjoy doing it.
- Name a place in your country you would recommend others to visit. Describe this place and explain why you would recommend it.
- What is your favorite kind of food? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite.
- What is your favorite book? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite.
- What is the most memorable experience you have had while on vacation? Why was this experience so memorable? Include details and examples to support your explanation.
"Giving advice" questions
- Your friend wants a pet but has never owned one before and doesn't know what to choose. What advice would you give and why?
- Your friend is studying engineering and has room for one extra course in her schedule. What sort of course would you recommend she take and why?
- Your friend's brother has begun spending time with a group of people that your friend thinks may not be very good people. He wants to talk with his brother but does not know what to say. What advice would you give him?
"Stating Opinions" questions
- Your university has decided to reduce the amount of money it spends to support sports activities. What is your opinion and why?
- School is planning to change the cafeteria's menu with aims of offering healthier, low-calorie food. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this idea.