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© Macmillan Publishers 2008.

Sample Essay TOEIC Speaking Question 3: Describe a Picture

Task

Question 3 of the TOEIC Speaking Test requires you to describe a picture. You will see a photograph. You must then describe it.

Hints and Preparation

• You have 30 seconds to prepare your response.

• Notice as much as you can in the photograph. Identify both the overall contents of the photograph and its details.

• Think of the sentences that would answer wh- questions about the photograph, such as Who is in the picture, What are they doing, Where are they? Be prepared to answer these questions in your description.

• Think of the specific words that you will use to describe prominent items in the photograph. If you are unsure of the name of any key item in the photograph, choose the most effective word you can think of for the item and use it consistently.

• You will have 45 seconds to describe the photograph in as much detail as you can.

Sample Questions and Responses

The following are examples of the type of photo-description tasks you will find in this section of the TOEIC Speaking Test. Look at the photographs and then read the responses. Then study the comments on the responses.

Sample Photograph 1


Sample Photograph 2

Response

The photograph shows a busy city street. There are lots of cars on the street.

Some of them look like taxis. The one in the front is bright yellow. It looks like all

the cars are heading in the same direction, so this street must be a one way.

People are walking across the street and the sidewalks are filled with pedestrians.

There are tall buildings on the side of the street. It looks light, so it must be

daytime. At the end of the street, there’s some kind of art of decoration. It’s

yellow and it’s hanging over the middle of the road.

Response

There are two men in a meat store. One is shopping and the other is serving him.

The shopper is wearing a light blue shirt and dark pants. He’s standing right in

front of a glass meat case. He’s looking at the meat and pointing into the case. The

case is full of meats and there looks like a good variety. On the other side of the

meat case, the butcher is looking where the shopper is pointing. The butcher is

probably going to get out the meat the man wants. The butcher is wearing a white

top and white hat. He looks about 40 years old. In fact, they both look about 40.


Sample Photograph 3

Comments on the Speaker’s Response

These responses contain the features of a good TOEIC spoken response, for the following reasons.

• The speaker accurately describes the scene in the photograph.

• The speaker describes the photograph in an organized fashion, such as from general to more specific, counterclockwise, one person at a time, and so on.

• The speaker speculates on things that likely have happened or will happen in the photograph, using language to indicate uncertainty (Maybe he caught a fish).

• The speaker uses the necessary grammatical structures for the task. The present and present continuous are especially common for describing events in a photograph (The photograph shows a busy city street. ... all the cars are heading in the same direction ...). “There is” and “there are” are also very useful (There are two men in a meat store).

• The speaker describes the location of items in the photograph, using prepositions appropriately to describe spatial relationships between items in the picture (On the other side of the meat case ... ).

• The speaker uses adjectives (a busy city street) and adverbs (He’s smiling happily) to make the description more accurate.

• The speaker identifies and names colors in the photograph (yellow, blue, white).

• The speaker makes reasonable guesses about the pictured items, indicating what is a guess and what is not ( ... it looks like a fishing pole).

• The speaker says as much as possible about the photograph, filling the available time.

Response

There are three men in the photograph. They look like family members – father,

son and grandfather. It looks like they’re sailing because they’re in a boat. In the

background, you can see blue water and the shoreline. There are trees along the

shore. The little boy in the boat is holding a rod – it looks like a fishing pole. He’s

smiling happily. Maybe he caught a fish. His father is helping him and his

grandfather is sitting right behind him. The grandfather is wearing an orange

shirt, a large ring and a wristwatch. They all look happy, enjoying family time

outdoors.


Scoring

These responses would score high because the information accurately describes the pictures. The language is understandable and coherent. Vocabulary is used correctly and the speaker has sufficient control of grammatical structures to express the necessary ideas. The speaker’s delivery is steady and requires little effort by the listener. Speaking is smooth, with limited hesitations or pauses. Responses are scored on a scale of 0 to 3.

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