Read then Speak strategy to achieve higher scores

This question will not be difficult if we know how to manage our time and optimize our skills. As a result, we have developed a complete step-by-step strategy to support our members, which is very effective. After a few months of practicing, one of them has achieved a 140 Production sub-score in his 4th test; especially,  he only got 95 Production when he took it for the 1st time.        

You should know that Tips and Strategies only help you improve your scores by around 10-20 points. So you need to practice regularly and upgrade your speaking generally to achieve your desired scores. Follow our articles for not missing any strategies to boost your scores.

Regarding our following strategy, you should practice with us at any point during this article to get the most out of it.

If you’re ready, let’s get into it.

1. Take notes and Brainstorm          

a. Taking notes          

When you see a question, you need to know what they ask you to do. Otherwise, you will likely misunderstand and answer inappropriately.     

Speaking of taking notes, you need to identify interrogative words in the questions. Interrogative words are what, which, when, where, who, whom, whose, why, whether, and how.     

For example, if you see the below question, what should you take notes about?   

Talk about a film you saw recently.   

• What was it about;
• When did you see it;
• Who was the main character;
• What else do you remember about it?

Apparently, they ask us to talk about:   

• What was it about;
• When did you see it;
• Who was the main character;
• What else do you remember about it?

b. Brainstorming         

After identifying all interrogative words, your job is to think of what to talk about them. In this case, you only need to brainstorm a short and simple answer and, of course, go straight to the point.    

For example, you should brainstorm as follows:  

• What was it about;

It was about the journey of the main character to solve his problems.    

• When  did you see it;

I saw it at the end of November 2021.    

• Who was the main character;

He was Spiderman, a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.     

• What else do you remember about it?

The final fight between all superheroes and strong villains .    

Remember that you brainstorm and prepare ideas in 20 seconds of preparation time. So you feel free to speak aloud to remember them better.     

Time management strategy:       

As you already know, we have 20 seconds when the question appears to do this step. So please make sure you pay close attention to all interrogative words and brainstorm how to answer them shortly.    

2. Follow the tense triggers       

There are always clues to help you figure out what tenses they ask you to speak when you see a question. Hence, it’s genuinely essential to use appropriate tenses if you do not want to lose points for the Grammatical Accuracy grading element.    

For example, if you see this question, what tenses should you use?   

Talk about a film you saw recently.   

• What was it about;
• When did you see it;
• Who was the main character;
• What else do you remember about it?

Obviously, some clues we can see are:  

Talk about a film you saw recently.   

• What was it about;
• When did you see it;
• Who was the main character;
• What else do you remember about it?

So, you need to use the Past Tense to answer the first three questions. Regarding the last one, we need to apply the Simple Tense.    

For example, here is how we answer “What was it about”:  

I’d like to share a movie named Avenger: Endgame, which was about  a group of superheroes defending the Earth against a villain in the galaxy. In detail, there were dozens of heroes with extraordinarily magical skills and remarkably physical strengths. They had the same objective of winning against the Mad Titan, aka Thanos. Even though they sometimes thought they would lose the fight, everyone just did not give up. For that reason, I love this movie the most.      

Time management strategy:       

You should do this step together with taking notes and brainstorming simultaneously in your 20 seconds preparation.     

3. Answer all questions      

You have 90 seconds to answer all questions. What if you cannot answer any of them for any reason? You surely will lose points for it.     

Therefore, we wholly recommend you answer all questions thoroughly. Specifically, we need to answer them one by one and do not go back to say anything else once we finish.  One more point to add, please DO NOT deliver any information related to the following questions. Otherwise, you will likely lose control over your plan, which indeed affects your score enormously.    

For example, if you receive this question:   

Talk about a film you saw recently.   

• What was it about;
• When did you see it;
• Who was the main character;
• What else do you remember about it?

There are 04 more minor questions, and each of them asks for different information from you. Hence, you should concentrate on responding to each one per time and NOT say anything about other questions unless you finish the previous one.    

Furthermore, it will help if you study some ways to start answering too:  

• When it comes to…  
• Regarding… that I…  
• Considering… that I….  
• I would like to share…  
• Speaking of…   

These are a few basic ways to answer the first question. So in case you are not yet confident with your English level, or you want to achieve your desired score faster, you should take them into practice every day.    

Time management strategy:     You need to answer all questions within 90 seconds, so you have roughly 20 to 30 seconds to answer each smaller one, which hinges on how many smaller questions we have. Usually, we have 03 or 04 small questions.     

4. Expand your answers      

Duolingo English Test is an English proficiency test just like IELTS or TOEFL, so you better should show off your skills to earn more points. In other words, only labeling your answer is not a wise move; instead, you should make your response longer as long as it’s related to the question.     

As a result, we have a couple of ways to help you expand your answers. We will use this question to make some examples for you “What was it about?”.    

a. Elaborate answers      

When you answer the question directly to the point, you need to give other related information in order to make it longer but still readable. Please DO NOT add any information about the following questions.    

Example: “What was it about?”.    

• Labeling:

Frankly speaking, when it comes to  a film I saw recently, I can only think of “Avenger: Endgame”, which was about a group of superheroes defending the Earth against a villain from another planet.     

• Elaborating answers:

Frankly speaking, when it comes to  a film I saw recently, I can only think of “Avenger: Endgame”, which was about a group of superheroes defending the Earth against a villain from another planet. You may or may not know, but this movie had the highest revenue of all time for months, thanks to its stunning stories and breathtaking action scenes. Therefore, audiences went nuts about it and were highly fascinated to watch the movie.      

See? Adding more information about the movie to your answer makes it much more inviting, and you still manage it within 20 to 30 seconds. Perfect!    

b. Share opinions      

If you cannot elaborate on your answers, you may find it easier to share your opinions about the questions.     

Example: “What was it about?”.     

• Labeling:  

Frankly speaking, when it comes to  a film I saw recently, I can only think of “Avenger: Endgame”, which was about a group of superheroes defending the Earth against a villain from another planet.     

• Sharing opinions:  

Frankly speaking, when it comes to a film I saw recently, I can only think of “Avenger: Endgame”, which was about a group of superheroes defending the Earth against a villain from another planet .  As far as I can tell, this is the best movie I have ever seen in my life because I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, which never happened. Ever since I fell in love with Marvel movies, I have told myself that I will see every movie from Marvel.      

This tip is more accessible as you share how you feel about something; you don’t even have to remember other information to make your answer longer.      

c. Give examples      

It depends on each question to see whether we can give examples or not, so I would say this is the least commonplace tip to expand your answers. Nevertheless, it is still a great option to deliver something unique and different.     

In this question, we can give examples for the last point.  

Talk about a film you saw recently.   

• What was it about;
• When did you see it;
• Who was the main character;
• What else do you remember about it?      

For example:

• Labeling:

I am in love with action, so I remember pretty well about most action scenes. One of them was strongly reminiscent of my past.    

• Giving examples:

I am in love with action, so I remember pretty well about most action scenes. One of them was strongly reminiscent of my past. To illustrate an example, the main character fought the main villain for 2 minutes straight, which resonated with the childhood memory that I was fighting another kid in town for candy.     All in all, there is no way to advance your score unless you expand your answers. And the above three tips are very helpful to increase your scores.       

5. Use linking words       

What are linking words? And why should we use them?   Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Linking words are words or phrases that show the relationship between paragraphs, sentences, or sections. Some examples are below:          

Simply put, we use linking words to connect ideas and ideas, paragraphs and paragraphs that help you deliver an organized, readable, and engaging speech.    

You can check 16 Linking word categories apart from My vocab list, Collocations, and Idioms on your Personal Site once you become our premium member.         

Suppose you want to experience the automatically correcting system practice platform first. Let’s go for it.    

One last tip, when you see a difficult question, please take a deep breath and read it again carefully. Our mind tends to go blank, and we cannot process any words if we are not calm enough. Therefore, you have to stay calm regardless of your proficiency or how confident you think you are taking the test.     

In case you want to ensure your Duolingo English Test success, we can help you with our online training courses. We have experienced and qualified trainers in addition to strategies for all question types and correction support to boost your scores.     

Check our Online training schedules to pick the most suitable one.    

* Practice makes perfect!     

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• Thousands of practice questions;
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