Take an Interview — start in one second, finish your sentences
Take an Interview
- You answer a series of spoken questions, as you would in a conversation.
- About 8 minutes for the whole section, so almost all your preparation is about starting quickly.
- There is nobody in the room and nothing reacts to what you say. That is the part that feels strange, and rehearsing it is free.
The silence after a question is not an invitation to hold a long meeting.
One shape fits almost every question
- Answer the question that was asked — first, in one sentence.
- One reason.
- One example.
- That shape starts you speaking within a second, which is the hardest part of the task.
Match each part of the answer shape to its job.
The shape exists so that you never have to invent a structure under the clock. Starting quickly is most of the score.
A silence is worse than an imperfect sentence
- Fillers real speakers use buy you a moment and sound natural: well, I suppose, that's an interesting one.
- Long pauses do not. The clock is short and silence is the most expensive thing on it.
- If you lose your way mid-sentence, repair it out loud — sorry, what I mean is — and carry on. That is marked as fluency.
You need a moment to think. What is the best thing to do?
Real speakers use fillers and they sound natural. Long silence is the most expensive thing in an eight-minute section.
Do not recite
- A memorised answer is audible: the rhythm changes, the vocabulary jumps a level, and it usually does not quite fit the question.
- Markers discount it, so the time you spent memorising is worse than wasted.
- Give reasons, not lists. Because the bus is cheaper and I can read on it beats three unexplained items.
Memorising a few strong general answers is a good use of preparation time.
A recited answer is audible — the rhythm changes and it does not quite fit the question — and markers discount it. The time is worse than wasted.
How to practise
- Answer aloud, into a microphone, with a timer running. The format is most of the difficulty and it is free to rehearse.
- Talk to yourself in English during ordinary tasks. Fluency comes from speaking hours, not from reading about speaking.
- ⚠ A typed answer always flatters you: no hesitation, no silence to fill, as much time as you like. Speak it.
- Format facts checked on the ETS website on 13 September 2026.
Writing out what you would say is a good substitute for speaking practice.
A typed answer gives you no hesitation, no silence to fill and unlimited time. It always flatters you. Speak it aloud, on a timer, into a microphone.