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Duolingo English Test video interview and writing sample

B2Test strategy40 questionsUpdated

As well as the scored tasks, the Duolingo English Test includes a video interview and a writing sample that are generally shared with the institutions you send your results to rather than converted into the numerical score. That makes them unusual: a human being may watch and read them, so they are worth preparing even though they do not move the number.

What this task tests

  • Whether you can speak on an open prompt for a longer stretch than the short tasks allow.
  • Organisation of spoken ideas without a written plan in front of you.
  • Whether your speech stays on topic for the full answer.
  • The impression you make on a human reader or viewer, not only on an algorithm.
  • Consistency between your written sample and your scored writing.
  • Whether you can talk about your own experience with specific detail.
  • Control of hesitation across a longer answer.
  • Basic presentation: audible speech, a steady camera position, a plain background.
  • Whether you can choose sensibly between offered prompts under time pressure.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Choose the prompt you have examples for

    When you are offered a choice, pick the one that brings a specific memory with it, not the one that sounds most impressive. Examples generate language; abstract topics generate pauses.

  2. Step 2:

    Plan three beats, not a script

    Answer, reason, example. Say the answer in the first sentence so a viewer knows where you are going, then spend the rest of the time on the example.

  3. Step 3:

    Speak to the camera as if to a person

    An admissions officer may watch this. A steady position, normal volume and a plain background make you easy to listen to, which is most of the impression you will make.

  4. Step 4:

    Use your own life as material

    Concrete details — a job, a class, a journey, a decision — are easier to talk about fluently than opinions about society, and they are more memorable to a human viewer.

  5. Step 5:

    Keep the writing sample in the same voice as your other writing

    Do not paste in a memorised paragraph. A sample that does not sound like the rest of your test raises questions you do not want raised.

  6. Step 6:

    Manage hesitation with phrases, not silence

    ‘The main reason for that is…’, ‘to give you an example…’. These buy you two seconds of thinking time while still producing language.

  7. Step 7:

    Check your setup before you start

    Camera at eye level, face lit from the front, no window directly behind you, microphone tested. Five minutes of setup improves the impression more than an hour of rehearsal.

  8. Step 8:

    Rehearse three life topics, not twenty

    A job or course, a place you know well, a decision you made. Almost any open prompt can be answered through one of those three, so prepare them properly instead of preparing everything badly.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisReciting a memorised answer to a prompt it does not fit.

    ThisAnswering the prompt with a prepared example adapted to it.

    A memorised paragraph is obvious to a human viewer and usually drifts off topic, which is exactly what the section shows to institutions.

  • Not thisSpeaking for twenty seconds of a much longer window.

    ThisUsing the answer-reason-example shape to fill it.

    A very short answer is the clearest signal of unpreparedness, and it is the one an institution can see directly.

  • Not thisTreating this section as unimportant because it is not scored.

    ThisPreparing it as the part a human will actually see.

    The score is a number; this is the part with a face and a voice attached. Institutions may weigh it in ways the score cannot capture.

  • Not thisSitting with a bright window behind you.

    ThisFacing the light with a plain wall behind you.

    Backlighting turns you into a silhouette. It is a five-second fix that affects every second of the recording.

  • Not thisAnswering an open prompt with abstract generalisations.

    ThisAnswering with one specific example from your life.

    Generalisations run out after two sentences. A specific story has detail you can keep drawing on.

  • Not thisWriting the sample in a noticeably different style from the rest of your test.

    ThisWriting it in your own, consistent voice.

    Consistency is part of what makes a sample useful to an institution, and an inconsistent one invites doubt.

Language this task keeps reusing

prompt
the topic or question you are asked to respond to
writing sample
an example of your writing sent on with your results
admissions
the office that decides who is offered a place
unscored section
a part of a test that is not converted into a number
authentic
genuine; produced by you and nobody else
on topic
relevant to the question asked
hesitation
a pause while you think, often filled with ‘er’
eye contact
looking directly at the camera or person
backlighting
light behind you that turns your face dark on camera
rehearse
to practise something before doing it for real
anecdote
a short account of something that happened to you
share a score
to send your result to an institution
impression
the effect you have on someone who sees or hears you
concise
saying what is needed in few words

Practice: video interview & writing sample

40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.

1Complete the word.

A word meaning ‘the topic you are asked to speak or write about’: pro.
You are offered a choice of prompts. Which should you take?

3Complete the word.

A word meaning ‘an example of your work passed on to someone else’: sam.
Decide whether each statement about this section is true.
  • These responses are generally shared with the institutions that receive your results.
  • A memorised paragraph is easy for a human viewer to spot.
  • Because it does not change the score, this section is not worth preparing.
3 to go

5Complete the word.

A word meaning ‘the office that decides who is offered a place’: admis.
What shape works best for an open spoken prompt?

7Complete the word.

A word meaning ‘genuine, produced by you and nobody else’: auth.

8Prompt: ‘Describe a decision you made that changed something for you, and explain why you made it.’ Write your first three sentences.

Why is a specific personal example better than a general opinion here?

10Complete the word.

A word meaning ‘a short account of something that happened to you’: anec.

Keep going

30 more questions on this page

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Note

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Frequently asked questions

Does the video interview affect my score?

It is generally treated as an unscored section that is passed on to the institutions receiving your results rather than folded into the number. Check the current official description before you test, since details can change.

Who actually watches it?

Potentially an admissions officer at any institution you send your results to. Prepare it as something a person will watch, because that is what it is.

Can I prepare answers in advance?

Prepare material, not scripts. Three well-known personal topics let you answer almost any prompt naturally, whereas a memorised paragraph is easy to spot and usually drifts off topic.

What should the room look like?

Plain background, light on your face rather than behind you, camera at eye level and nothing moving behind you. It takes five minutes and improves every second of the recording.

What if I go blank?

Use a filler phrase that produces language — ‘the main reason for that is’ — and go to your prepared example. A short pause is normal; a long silence on camera is what you want to avoid.