TOEFL speaking task 1: Sample responses scored by the ETS
Hi everyone!
Today, we’re going to work on TOEFL Speaking Task 1. We’re going to focus on what ETS is looking for when they grade responses, using sample responses provided by ETS.
Mastering Task 1 is even more crucial for the 2026 version of the TOEFL, because the new question type — called “Take an Interview” — is basically made up of four Task 1-type questions.
Now, for TOEFL Task 1, you need to state your position on a given question and provide your own reasons for your opinion.
We’re going to analyze real sample responses today, see how ETS raters score them, and figure out what makes a response truly top-tier.
We have five sample responses to analyze, all provided by ETS.
Here’s how we’ll do it:
First, we’ll listen to each response.
Then, we’ll analyze the strengths and weaknesses together.
Finally, we’ll check whether our assessment matches ETS’s scoring.
According to ETS, a high-scoring response should be:
✔ Highly intelligible (clear pronunciation and fluency)
✔ Sustained and coherent (well-organized structure)
✔ Thoroughly developed ideas (clear reasoning and examples)
✔ Effective grammar and vocabulary use
ETS uses holistic scoring, meaning raters consider all aspects together when evaluating your response.
Let’s take a listen to the first response.
Sample response 1
This speaker has excellent pronunciation and prosody — stressing content words and making focus words salient — which makes the response easy to understand. So, for Delivery, I’d give this a 4 out of 4.
Now for Topic Development — again, the content is solid. The speaker states their thesis clearly in the first sentence, and then follows up with three persuasive reasons:
It’s convenient to take the class.
It facilitates discussion and participation.
It makes submitting assignments easier.
The response is well-structured, with no hesitation or long pauses for thinking, which makes it clear that the speaker has likely prepared for this question.
The speaker wraps up their conclusion right as time runs out — no loss of information, no awkward cut-off. So for Topic Development, I’d also give it a 4 out of 4.
And finally, Language Use — let’s talk about grammar and vocabulary.
The speaker should’ve said "say" instead of "talk" in the sentence “we can talk whatever we want” — because the verb “talk” doesn’t take an object. It should be “say whatever we want.”
Also, she could have used progressive tense for the background situation and simple tense for the main action — for example, “While we are facing the computer, we can say…”
She also says “commentator” when she means “comments”, but these are minor word choice issues.
Overall, for Language Use, I’d give it around a 3.9 out of 4.
Now, let’s check how ETS rated this response. ETS says that the speaker clearly states their position and provides a fully developed response with strong reasons. Good — our assessment matches the ETS rater’s evaluation. Let’s move on to the next sample response.
Sample Response 2
Now, let’s listen to this second response.
In terms of delivery, pronunciation and prosody, especially the native-sounding rhythm, are strong — so 4 out of 4.
However, the content is not as well-prepared as the first response. The opening sentence is long-winded and actually unclear. In a 45-second response, starting with a phrase like “The prompt question is controversial” is a waste of time — because these questions are designed to be debatable!
If you want to acknowledge complexity, it’s better to use it as a concession, not the main idea. Something like:
“While it can be debated whether the best way to learn is through mistakes, I personally believe it is true.”
or
“While the statement that one of the best ways to learn is through mistakes can be controversial, I personally think the statement is valid.”
Then, you can transition into your example like this:
“My own experience proves this. A few months ago, I applied for a consulting position at a company I had never heard of…”
After some long pauses, he gives an example — and it’s actually very persuasive. He talks about how failing to research a company before an interview led to a disastrous experience, which then motivated him to be better prepared for future interviews.
Because of the initial weak beginning and lack of clarity, he loses some points in Topic Development — so I’d rate it a 3.6 out of 4.
Also, there are some word choice errors, like saying “do this mistake” instead of “make this mistake.”
Still, given his strong delivery and compelling evidence, this response should score high, though not as high as the first. So again, 3.6 out of 4 seems fair. Now, let’s see what ETS raters had to say:
ETS Comments:
"This is an example of a high-level response. The speaker gives a full, clear response after struggling at the beginning. His first sentence is confusing, but he provides a solid response afterward. He makes a couple of grammatical and word choice errors (‘the statement is complicate’ instead of ‘the statement is complicated’ and ‘I wouldn’t do this mistake again’ instead of ‘I wouldn’t make this mistake again’), but these minor errors do not interfere with meaning. Because he clearly states his stance and supports it with a relevant personal example, his response is easy to understand and well justified. His delivery is also very clear."
So these comments are in line with our assessment. OK, let’s move on to Response 3.
Sample response 3
In my opinion, I totally agree with this statement. That learning by making mistakes is the one of the best ways, because a couple of reasons. For instance, when I was a high school students, uh, I always try to get a high degree in my math class. But at that time I really didn’t know about to how to resolve the every questions. So I tried the several ways even though I mistakes a lot of the time and I had to spend a lot of time to get the correct answer but after doing that, I, right now I couldn’t find the correct way and very easy and fast and the study guidelines so I can get the grade, the high grade.
OK, this response is not as strong as the first two responses. Let’s begin with delivery.
Pronunciation-wise, it’s pretty good — we can easily understand what the speaker is saying.
However, it’s too clear, almost unnatural. It doesn’t follow the rhythm of English.
The speaker seems to have a habit of using syllable-timed rhythm, but English is a stress-timed language. That means only the stressed syllables of content words should be emphasized, while function words should be de-emphasized — spoken in a lower pitch, shorter duration, and often in schwa. This way of stressing is called sentence stress, and it’s the source of natural English rhythm. So for delivery, I’d give it a midrange score of 3.5 out of 4.
Now for topic development. The speaker gives a clear thesis and a persuasive example, but the way it’s presented is riddled with problems. The response starts awkwardly with, “In my opinion, and I believe…” — that’s redundant and signals that the speaker is not operating at a high level. Instead, use one of the following clear and direct openings:
“In my opinion, the statement that learning by making mistakes is one of the best ways…”
“I agree with the statement that learning by making mistakes is one of the best ways…”
Also, words like “totally” are too informal and lack critical thinking. A better version would be:
“Some might think the best way to learn is by doing it correctly, not by making mistakes.”
And when you want to express strong agreement, replace “totally” with something like:
“I strongly/completely/absolutely agree…”
While we get the main idea of the example, we’re not entirely sure what’s going on — and that’s because of grammar.
There are just way too many basic grammar mistakes that distract from the message. Errors show up every other word — problems with number, tense, and articles.
Some examples:
“a high school student” → should be “students”
“every question” → should be “every questions”
“tried” → should be “try”
“the one of the” → should be “one of the”
“the several ways” → should be “several ways”
“a lot of times” → should be “a lot of the time”
“mistakes” → should be “made mistakes”
Another example:
“So I can get the grade, the high grade”
Here, “can” should be “could” to match past tense, and “the grade, the high grade” is awkward. Better version:
“So I could get a high grade.”
There are also sentence fragments, like:
“Very easy and fast and the study guidelines”
— which has no clear verb or structure.
In terms of word choice, there are several confusing mistakes:
“high grade” instead of “degree”
“solve” instead of “resolve”
Due to these grammar problems, it’s hard to follow the main idea.
The speaker is trying to talk about a past event, but keeps using words and phrases that signal the present, leading to discourse-level incoherence. A particularly confusing sentence:
“But after doing that, I, right now I couldn’t find the correct way.”
This makes no sense — “right now” and “couldn’t” (past modal) don’t belong together.
And to support the thesis, it should’ve been:
“I could find the correct way” — not “couldn’t.”
Because the grammar mistakes are so severe, we can’t clearly understand the main idea. That results in a low score on both Topic Development and Language Use.
So overall, I would score this response at a medium level — around 3.1 out of 4.
Here are the comments provided by the ETS rater on this response:
ETS Comments
“This is an example of a mid-level response. The speaker has a rather strong accent, but is for the most part still relatively easy to understand, and he provides a sustained response. He starts off strong by stating his opinion (that he agrees with the statement), and attempting to provide an example of a personal experience in order to explain why he agrees. The example is somewhat unclear, however, and it isn’t obvious how making mistakes helped him learn math. Near the end of the explanation, he says, ‘right now I couldn’t find the correct way,’ which is confusing since it sounded like he was talking about how he learned to improve in math (a listener would expect him to say something like, ‘Now I can always find the correct way to solve a problem.’). The response has some grammatical and vocabulary issues as well, such as extra articles (‘how to resolve the every questions’ and ‘I tried the several ways’ instead of ‘I tried several ways’) and some confusing sentences (‘I always try to get a high degree in my math class’ instead of ‘I always tried to do well/get a high grade in math classes’).”
Now, here’s a revised version of the response that would likely score 4 out of 4:
"I strongly agree with the statement that learning through mistakes is one of the most effective ways to improve. My own experience supports this. When I was a high school student, I always aimed to earn high grades in my math class. However, at that time, I didn’t fully understand how to solve all the problems correctly. So, I tried different approaches, made a lot of mistakes, and spent extra time figuring out the right solutions. Through this trial-and-error process, I eventually discovered the most effective methods for solving problems, which made studying much easier and faster. As a result, I was able to follow study guidelines more effectively and achieve higher grades."
Moving on to the next sample response.
Sample response 4
I think adventure books more enjoyable than other books, because, uh, other books generally based on, uh, only one topic or only one event, but adventure books has lots of events and topics, uh, so I think adventure books more fluently and enjoyable than other books when I, uh, reading, uh, adventure books, uh, I can’t understand how I spent my time. Uh, it is so fast for me.
OK, what jumps out immediately about this response is the number of unnecessary pauses, which results in low fluency. Because of all the hesitations, there’s no natural rhythm to the speech. For delivery, I would give it a 2.9 out of 4.
Now, for topic development. The speaker offers only the bare minimum, simply stating that adventure books are enjoyable because they include “lots of events and topics.” But this alone doesn’t make a strong case. For example, newspapers also contain a lot of events and topics — yet most people wouldn’t describe them as enjoyable reading.
To score higher, the speaker should have illustrated the claim with concrete examples or vivid imagery. Here's how that could have been done:
“Adventure books are packed with all sorts of things — exploring crazy places, going on wild journeys, facing off against dangerous creatures, getting into epic battles, and even hunting for hidden treasures. It’s like a rollercoaster ride of excitement and danger, all wrapped up in one book!”
That kind of description would have supported the claim much more convincingly.
In terms of language use, there are serious grammar errors and awkward word choices, such as:
❌ “Adventure books has” → ✅ “Adventure books have” (subject-verb agreement)
❌ “Adventure books more fluently and enjoyable” → ✅ “Adventure books are more engaging and enjoyable”
❌ “When I, uh, reading” → ✅ “When I read” (correct verb form)
❌ “I can’t understand how I spent my time” → ✅ “I lose track of time” (more natural phrasing)
The overall language use is limited, with many distracting errors:
“fluently?” (incorrect usage)
“other genres of books” (vague and imprecise)
“It is so fast for me” (confusing phrasing)
“I can’t understand how I spent my time” (tense confusion)
This last sentence is especially problematic. The speaker is clearly trying to describe a repeated or habitual action, but switches tenses incorrectly.
To be clear and grammatically correct, the sentence should be:
“When I read adventure books, I can’t understand how I spend my time.”
—or better yet—
“When I read adventure books, I lose track of time.”
For all these reasons — weak support for the main idea, frequent grammar errors, unnatural phrasing, and lack of fluency — this response should score around 2.9 out of 4.
Now, let’s see what the ETS rater had to say:
“This response is mid-level. The speaker does a good job of clearly stating which type of books she enjoys the most (adventure books) and starts to explain why she likes these books, but parts of her explanation are somewhat unclear. For example, when talking about how enjoyable these books are, she says, ‘when I, uh, reading, uh, adventure books, uh, I can’t understand how I spent my time. Uh, it is so fast for me.’ A more effective way of expressing this idea would be to say, ‘When I’m reading adventure books, time goes by so quickly. I’m so focused on what I’m reading that I lose track of time.’ Grammatically, this response has room for improvement, such as changing ‘adventure books more enjoyable than other books,’ to ‘adventure books are more enjoyable than other books,’ or saying ‘adventure books have lots of events’ instead of ‘adventure books has lots of events.’ The speaker speaks with some hesitations and pauses, but her pronunciation is mostly clear. To improve this response, she could provide clearer explanations for her ideas and try to pause less frequently in between words and phrases.”
Here’s a revised version of the response that would likely score a 4 out of 4:
“I find adventure books more enjoyable than other types of books because they feature a variety of events and themes, whereas most other books tend to focus on a single topic or storyline. Adventure books are particularly engaging and exciting to read. For example, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien takes readers on an incredible journey filled with unexpected challenges, thrilling battles, and fascinating characters. When I immerse myself in an adventure story like this, time seems to fly by—I become so captivated that I don’t even notice how much time has passed.”
Sample Response 5
All right, this is our final sample response. Take a listen.
What stands out immediately in this response is the speaker’s accent. Some phonemes, such as the plosive /t/ sound, are pronounced in a way that’s not typical in English. However, this doesn’t interfere with comprehension at all. The speaker is highly intelligible, so no points should be lost in delivery.
Now let’s talk about topic development. This response wows us with two solid reasons, each supported by clear, relevant examples. It’s pretty clear that the speaker prepared for this question in advance — the ideas are well-organized, and there’s no hesitation or pausing to think.
What’s more, there are no noticeable grammar mistakes that distract from the message. Everything is smooth and polished. For all these reasons, this response absolutely deserves a perfect 4 out of 4.
Let’s now examine what the ETS rater had to say:
“This is an example of a high-level response. In the beginning of the response, the speaker clearly states his preference for biographies, and then goes on to explain why he likes biographies so much. His first reason is that you can learn from biographies by seeing how other people do things. His second reason is that biographies can provide their readers with motivation. He explains that the founders of Google were successful even after facing rejection, though it is not completely clear how this has motivated the speaker (or if he learned about it in a biography). This response would be even more full and complete if the speaker provided a clearer explanation of how biographies personally motivate him. In terms of the delivery of the response, the speaker has a noticeable accent, but he speaks clearly and his accent does not make it difficult for listeners to understand him. He effectively uses some idiomatic phrases, such as, ‘productivity hacks’ and ‘when things are going down south for you.’ While there are some minor errors (‘second reason would be,’ instead of ‘the second reason would be,’ and ‘things will do go right,’ instead of ‘things will go all right’), the response is overall very clear and mostly complete.”
We can tell that this response impressed the rater as well.
Key Lessons for a High-Scoring Response
So, what’s the takeaway for scoring highly on TOEFL Speaking Task 1?
Delivery: Your response must be easy to understand. That means clear pronunciation, good rhythm, few pauses, and natural phrasing using thought groups. Fluency matters.
Topic Development: Your argument must be convincing. State a clear position, back it up with solid reasoning, and illustrate it with specific, relevant examples.
Grammar & Word Choice: Make sure basic grammar rules — like subject-verb agreement, article use, and tense consistency — are correct. Avoid word choice errors that sound awkward or unnatural.
Confidence & Preparation: The best responses don’t sound hesitant or improvised. They sound structured and confident, like the speaker has practiced the question type before.
Thanks so much for watching!
If you're preparing for the TOEFL Speaking section, remember: great responses aren't about perfect English—they're about clear ideas, confident delivery, and solid support.
So keep practicing, stay focused, and don't get discouraged by small mistakes. Every response is a step closer to your goal.
If you have any questions while preparing for the TOEFL, feel free to leave a comment below or send a message to Dr. Byrnes using the contact form on her website. In fact, be sure to visit www.nanheebyrnes.com regularly, as Dr. Byrnes frequently updates her blog with useful study tips and information to help you succeed.