Level 1 · Writing

This unit is for you if your Duolingo English Test (DET) Writing subscore is below 100, or if you have never typed an answer to a DET writing question against the clock. At DET 60–95 (CEFR B1), a reader can usually follow your ideas, but your photo descriptions name things instead of describing them, your longer answers stop after two or three thin ideas, and small errors (a missing a or the, a wrong verb form, an Indian English phrase) appear in almost every sentence. You do not need rare words to move up. You need complete, correct sentences, a fixed plan for each of the four writing tasks, a timing routine that leaves you time to check, and control of the small group of mistakes that Indian candidates make again and again.

Why it matters: Writing is one of the four DET subscores, each reported from 10 to 160 in steps of 5, and your overall score is the average of the four, rounded up to the next 5. Writing also feeds two combined subscores that some universities look at: Literacy (Reading and Writing) and Production (Speaking and Writing). Many universities in the USA, Canada, the UK and Europe ask for an overall score of about 105–120, and some set a minimum subscore as well; requirements vary by university and by course, so always check the official admissions page. One writing task, the Writing Sample, is also sent to the universities you share your results with, so an admissions officer may read your exact words. Every score in this book is an FLC estimate, not a promise, but the pattern is clear: candidates who master the sentence rules and the four plans in this unit rarely stay below 100 for long. Level 2 builds directly on what you learn here.

The DET is taken at home on a computer and lasts about an hour. The writing questions do not come together in one block: they appear at different points in the test, between reading, listening and speaking questions, so you must switch into the right plan in a second. You type every answer, a timer runs on screen, and there is no spell checker and no grammar checker. Paper and pens are not allowed in the test room, so every plan in this unit is a plan you can hold in your head. Much of the DET is adaptive (questions get harder or easier with your answers), but the three writing questions (Write About the Photo, Interactive Writing and the Writing Sample) are not.

How your writing is scored

Every writing response is judged on the same four criteria: content, discourse coherence, grammar and lexis (vocabulary). The DET gives you one Writing subscore, not separate task scores, and it does not publish how much each task or criterion counts. The descriptions below are FLC’s plain-English summary of what the criteria mean, with the difference between typical Level 1 writing and writing that reaches 100.

The table below is your timing at a glance. The DET sets no word limits for its writing tasks; the word targets are FLC’s Level 1 targets, chosen so that you can finish, develop your ideas and still check.

Lesson 1 · Sentence building: the complete sentence

Every DET writing task is built from sentences, and every English sentence needs a subject and a full verb. Learn the basic chain, then learn to add detail to it.

• Actions happening now use is / are + -ing. This is the main tense for photos: A woman is holding an umbrella. Never drop the is or are.
• Things that are there use there is / there are. There is a cup on the table. · There are two people at the bus stop. Use only one verb after it: There are many people waiting, not There are many people are waiting.
• Describing words go before the noun: a red umbrella, a wooden table, tall bookshelves.
• Place words show position: on the left, on the right, in the middle, in front of, behind, next to, in the background.

Kunal, a Level 1 student from Bharuch, used to write Man selling fruits. That is a list, not a sentence: there is no article, no is, and fruits is unusual here (fruit is normally uncountable). The full version above uses the same idea but shows the reader the grammar and vocabulary the DET is looking for.

Lesson 2 · Write About the Photo

You see a photo and have one minute to describe it in writing. There is no planning time, and you do this three times, with three different photos. The DET’s own advice is to describe in detail rather than just naming things, to avoid long introductions and to write full, correct sentences. FLC turns that advice into a plan you can use in every photo:

FLC’s Level 1 target is three good sentences, about 30–45 words. If you type slowly, three correct sentences beat five broken ones. Use the time like this: 5 seconds to look at the whole photo, about 45 seconds to write, and the last 10 seconds to check the end of each sentence (a full stop, a capital letter at the start, is or are before each -ing verb).

In the real test you see a photograph. The photos in this book are simple drawings of real-life scenes, so that you can practise the same skills.

Meera, a Level 1 student from Vadodara, looks for five seconds and sees: two students · library · laptop · notebook · books behind. She starts with the big picture, gives each student an -ing verb, and adds one detail about the background. She stops typing with ten seconds left and checks that every sentence has a verb.

The same description at four levels

Here is a description of the library photo written at each of the four FLC levels. The photo is the same; what changes is how much detail there is, how well the sentences are controlled and how precise the words are. Read them in order, then decide which one is closest to the way you write now.

Lesson 3 · Interactive Writing, Part 1: answer every part

Interactive Writing starts with a question about your life, your choices or your opinion. You have 30 seconds to read and plan, then 5 minutes to write. Many questions have two or three parts, for example:

• Describe a skill you would like to learn. → which skill
• Why do you want to learn it? → why
• How will you learn it? → how

Content is judged on whether you answer the exact question, every part of it. A beautiful answer to two parts out of three cannot score as well as a simple answer to all three. In the 30 seconds, count the parts of the question on your fingers, and choose one idea for each part. You cannot make notes on paper, so keep the plan to a few words in your head: public speaking · nervous in class · join a club.

The Part 1 plan

FLC’s Level 1 target is 80–110 words. Time plan: use the 30 seconds to count the parts and choose your ideas; write for 4 minutes; keep the last minute to check that every part is answered and every sentence has a verb. Leave a line between your short paragraphs so the reader can see your plan.

Arjun, a Level 1 student from Anand, counts three parts (which skill, why, how) and holds three ideas in his head: public speaking · presentations abroad and job interviews · a club and recording myself.

The same answer at four levels

Lesson 4 · Interactive Writing, Part 2: a new idea

As soon as Part 1 ends, a follow-up question appears on the same topic. You have 3 minutes. The question asks you to write about an idea you did not cover in Part 1, often by moving from your own life to a more general question, or from one side of the topic to another. Part 1 and Part 2 are scored together, so Part 2 is where you show that you can think about the topic from a new angle.

FLC’s Level 1 target is 50–70 words. Time plan: 20 seconds to read the question and choose one new reason and one example; about 2 minutes 10 seconds to write; 30 seconds to check.

Arjun wrote about public speaking in Part 1. Now the question is about practical skills for all school students. He chooses a new idea: money management · moving abroad · rent and budget.

The same answer at four levels

Lesson 5 · The Writing Sample: the answer universities read

Near the end of the test you get one more writing question: 30 seconds to read and plan, then 5 minutes to write. It is scored like the other writing tasks, and it is also sent to the universities that receive your results, so an admissions officer may read it next to your application. A school sees only the Writing Sample from the test you send it. The question asks you either to write about your own experience or to give your opinion:

FLC’s Level 1 target is 90–120 words in two or three short paragraphs. Time plan: 30 seconds to choose your story or your view; 4 minutes to write; 1 minute to check spelling, capital letters and full stops. The DET’s own advice is the same: plan in the 30 seconds, and leave time at the end to check.

Riya, a Level 1 student from Vadodara, chooses a real story in her 30 seconds: laptop broke before exams · family away · searched online, fixed it · learnt to stay calm and back up files.

The same answer at four levels

Lesson 6 · Summarize the Conversation

Each Interactive Listening set is a conversation on campus, between two students or between a student and a professor. You take part in it: in Listen and Respond you choose what “you” say at each turn. At the end you have 75 seconds to type a short summary of the whole conversation. Your summary counts towards Writing (content, discourse coherence, grammar, lexis) and also towards Listening, because it shows whether you understood what happened. The DET’s own advice: write full sentences, not bullet points; explain the situation, the main ideas and what happened at the end. You may write as “I” (I asked my professor…) or about “two students”, and you may reuse words from the conversation.

FLC’s Level 1 target is 2–3 sentences, about 35–55 words. There is no time to plan: start typing the situation sentence at once, and keep the last 15 seconds to check verbs and names. While you listen, hold three things in your head: who, what problem, what they decided.

In the test you hear the conversation. In this Writing unit you read it, so that you can focus on the writing side; the Listening units of this book train you to catch these details by ear.

The same summary at four levels

Lesson 7 · Correct sentences for every task

All four writing tasks are judged on grammar and lexis, and at Level 1 most lost marks come from a small number of repeated errors. Learn to join two ideas with the right connector, and punctuate the result correctly.

Indian English that international readers notice

These phrases are normal in India, but they are not standard international English, and a DET rater or an admissions officer may see them as errors or find them unclear.

Lesson 8 · Habits that cost marks, and your Level 1 plan

These habits appear again and again in DET writing from Indian candidates. Most come from school writing formats, from Indian English, from typing on a phone, or from rushing. None of them is caught for you by the test.

Timed practice

Do the next three exercises on a computer with a timer, spell check and grammar check switched off, and no notes. Then use the checklist below and compare with the models in the key.

Before you finish: the Level 1 checklist

• Write About the Photo: big picture first; an is or are before every -ing verb; details and position; no “In this picture I can see”.
• Interactive Writing: every part of the question answered, one short paragraph each, with a real detail; Part 2 on a new idea, with a reason and an example.
• Writing Sample: the right plan for experience or opinion; full words, capital I, no letter formulas; checked in the last minute.
• Summary: situation, problem, outcome; past tense for what was said; names, days and numbers checked.
• Everywhere: no fragments, no comma splices, no although… but; a or the before singular nouns; international English, not Indian English; one spelling convention.

Your Level 1 plan

When your photo descriptions are three correct, detailed sentences every time, your Interactive Writing answers every part of the question, and your Writing Sample would read well to an admissions officer, move on to Level 2 and the DET 100–115 target: fuller development, more varied sentences and more precise vocabulary.