Duolingo English Test extended writing task practice

• Whether you answer every part of the prompt, not just the part you find easy.
• Development: whether each point is supported with a reason or an example.
• Range of linking language, from simple ‘because’ to ‘as a result’ and ‘on the whole’.
• Grammatical accuracy over a longer stretch of writing than the photo task.
• Paragraphing and shape: an answer that has a beginning, a middle and an end.
• Whether you can plan quickly rather than writing whatever comes next.
• Sentence variety: a mix of simple and complex sentences rather than twenty of the same shape.
• Word choice under pressure — precise verbs rather than ‘get’, ‘make’ and ‘do’ everywhere.
• Whether you can finish, including a conclusion, inside the time.
• Self-correction: whether the last thirty seconds are used or wasted.

1. Step 1: 1

   Spend the first forty seconds planning

   Read the prompt twice and note two reasons and one example for each. Writing without a plan means stopping mid-paragraph to think, and those pauses cost more than the plan did.

2. Step 2: 2

   State your position in the first sentence

   Do not build up to it. ‘I think employers should allow staff to work from home two days a week’ tells the reader everything and gives you a thesis your paragraphs can support.

3. Step 3: 3

   Give each paragraph one idea and one example

   Point, reason, example. Three sentences per paragraph is enough. An example from your own life is quicker to write and more convincing than an invented statistic.

4. Step 4: 4

   Answer both halves of a two-part prompt

   If the prompt asks what you think and why, or asks for advantages and drawbacks, write a paragraph on each. Missing half the prompt caps the mark however well the other half is written.

5. Step 5: 5

   Save the last thirty seconds for checking

   Scan for three things only: third-person -s, plural -s, and articles. Those three fixes catch most of the errors you will actually have made, and the scan is fast enough to finish.

6. Step 6: 6

   Vary sentence length on purpose

   Write one long sentence with a subordinate clause, then a short one. ‘Although the fare rose, journeys increased. The reason is simple.’ That rhythm shows range without risking a sentence you cannot control.

7. Step 7: 7

   Use a conclusion of one sentence

   ‘On the whole, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks for most families.’ One sentence is enough. A long conclusion repeats the essay and eats the checking time.

8. Step 8: 8

   Reach for precise verbs

   Replace ‘get better’ with ‘improve’, ‘make a decision’ with ‘decide’, ‘do research’ with ‘investigate’. One or two of these per paragraph raise the register without any risk of error.

9. Step 9: 9

   Write your plan as three words, not three sentences

   ‘cost / time / example: commute’ is a plan. Writing full sentences in the plan means writing the answer twice, and the clock does not care that the first version was in note form.

10. Step 10: 10

    Never start a paragraph you cannot finish

    With ninety seconds left, add a sentence to an existing paragraph and then conclude. An abandoned third paragraph reads as poor organisation, not as ambition.

• Not thisWriting four hundred words with no paragraph breaks.

  ThisThree or four short paragraphs with one idea in each.

  Length alone does not raise a writing score. An unstructured block hides your organisation, which is part of what is being judged.

• Not thisIn my opinion, I think that personally I believe that remote work is good.

  ThisIn my opinion, remote work suits most office jobs.

  Stacked opinion phrases waste words and look like padding. One signal of opinion per sentence is enough.

• Not thisBecause of the traffic. Many people arrive late.

  ThisBecause of the traffic, many people arrive late.

  A subordinate clause on its own is a fragment. Under time pressure candidates start a ‘because’ clause and then full-stop it.

• Not thisAnswering only the first half of a two-part prompt.

  ThisOne paragraph for each half, even if the second is shorter.

  Task fulfilment is checked before anything else. A brilliant answer to half a question is still half an answer.

• Not thisNowadays in modern society, the world is changing very fast in many aspects.

  ThisMost offices in my city now let staff work from home at least one day a week.

  Empty openings burn twenty seconds and say nothing. Start with something concrete and specific to the prompt.

• Not thisThe government should to increase the budget.

  ThisThe government should increase the budget.

  Modal verbs take the bare infinitive. This slip appears constantly in opinion writing because ‘ought to’ and ‘have to’ sit nearby in the mind.

• Not thisPeoples thinks that public transport is expensive.

  ThisPeople think that public transport is expensive.

  Two errors in three words: ‘people’ is plural already, and a plural subject takes ‘think’. Both are on the checking list for your last thirty seconds.

• Not thisRepeating the prompt sentence as your first line.

  ThisStating your own position as your first line.

  Copying the prompt adds words but no content, and it delays the point the whole answer has to support.

on the whole

considering everything; used to sum up

for instance

for example; introduces a specific case

as a result

therefore; introduces a consequence

in addition

also; adds a second point

argue that

to claim something and give reasons

outweigh

to be more important than something else

drawback

a disadvantage of something otherwise good

to sum up

a phrase introducing a short conclusion

whereas

in contrast with; joins two contrasting clauses

provided that

on condition that

even though

despite the fact that; introduces a contrast clause

unless

except if; ‘unless it rains’ means ‘if it does not rain’

furthermore

in addition; formal linker adding a further point

there is little point in

it is not worth doing; followed by -ing

would rather

to prefer to; followed by a bare infinitive

in conclusion

a formal phrase introducing the final sentence

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