Write About the Photo gives you three photos, one minute each, and asks you to write at least one sentence describing each. It feeds the Writing subscore.
One minute is short enough that a plan is the only way to use it well. Two or three complete, varied sentences beat one long sentence you did not finish.
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| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Photos | 3 |
| Time | 1 minute each |
| Minimum | At least one sentence per photo |
| Subscore | Writing |
| Where it sits | The adaptive section of the test |
| Sentence | Function | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The main subject and action | Present continuous: “A man is…” |
| 2 | The setting or the other objects | There is / There are, plus a preposition of place |
| 3 | One extra observation | A subordinate clause: “while…”, “which…”, “although…” |
Three sentences with three different structures is what shows grammatical range in 60 seconds. Three present-continuous sentences shows one structure three times.
A woman in an apron arranges apples on a wooden stall; crates of vegetables stand beside her and a customer looks at a price sign.
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A woman in a green apron is arranging apples on a wooden market stall. There are several crates of vegetables stacked beside her, and a price sign hangs above the fruit. A customer is standing to one side, reading the sign, while the woman continues to work. |
| Structure used | Where |
|---|---|
| Present continuous | Sentence 1 |
| There are, with a passive participle | Sentence 2 |
| Subordinate clause with “while” | Sentence 3 |
A cluttered desk with an open laptop, two coffee cups, a notebook covered in handwriting and a window behind showing rain.
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An open laptop sits on a cluttered wooden desk, next to two half-empty coffee cups. There is a notebook covered in handwriting beside the keyboard, along with several loose papers. Rain is running down the window behind the desk, although the room itself looks warm and well lit. |
Three people wait at a covered bus stop at dusk; one checks a phone, one holds an umbrella, a bus approaches in the background.
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Three people are waiting under a covered bus stop in the early evening. One of them is looking at a phone while another holds a closed umbrella. A bus is approaching in the background, which suggests they will not have to wait much longer. |
The final clause here is inference, and it is the one thing to be careful about: it is grammatically useful but adds nothing the photo shows. Prefer a visible detail if you have one.
Two children stand at a kitchen counter mixing something in a bowl; flour is spilled on the surface and an adult watches from the doorway.
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Two children are standing at a kitchen counter, stirring something in a large mixing bowl. There is flour spilled across the surface and a wooden spoon lying next to the bowl. An adult is watching from the doorway, although nobody appears to be helping them. |
Two workers in hard hats and high-visibility vests look at a plan spread on a table; scaffolding and a crane are visible behind them.
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Two workers in hard hats and high-visibility vests are examining a large plan spread out on a folding table. Behind them there is scaffolding covering the side of a building, and a crane stands to the left. One of the workers is pointing at the plan while the other takes notes. |
A student sits at a long table surrounded by open books and a laptop; tall shelves fill the background and a window lets in daylight.
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A student is sitting alone at a long wooden table, surrounded by several open books and a laptop. There are tall bookshelves filling the space behind her, and daylight is coming in through a window on the right. She appears to be writing in a notebook rather than typing. |
| # | Photo to imagine and describe in 60 seconds |
|---|---|
| 7 | A busy train platform with a departure board and passengers boarding |
| 8 | A veterinary waiting room with two owners and their pets |
| 9 | An outdoor cafe with tables under awnings and a waiter carrying a tray |
| 10 | A classroom where a teacher points at a whiteboard covered in diagrams |
| 11 | A hardware shop aisle with a shopper comparing two paint tins |
| 12 | A riverside path with cyclists, a dog walker and a bridge in the distance |
Set a one-minute timer for each. Write, stop when the timer stops, and only then count your sentences and check the structures you used.
| Function | Structures |
|---|---|
| Main action | A man is… / Two people are… / Someone appears to be… |
| Existence | There is… / There are… / In the foreground there is… |
| Position | next to / beside / behind / in front of / on the left / in the background |
| Simultaneous actions | while… / as… / at the same time |
| Uncertainty | appears to be… / seems to be… / looks as though… |
| Adding detail | which… / covered in… / wearing… / holding… |
| Contrast | although… / whereas… / while the other… |
| Rewarded | Not rewarded |
|---|---|
| Complete sentences | Lists of nouns |
| A range of structures | The same structure repeated |
| Accurate articles and prepositions | Long words used approximately |
| Specific vocabulary for what is visible | Invented backstory about the people |
| Correct spelling | Length for its own sake |
| Error | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| One long unfinished sentence | An incomplete sentence shows less than two complete ones | Finish sentence one before starting two |
| A list of nouns | No grammar to assess | Every answer must be sentences |
| Repeating one structure | Range is part of the score | Use the three-sentence formula |
| Telling a story about the people | Not visible, and it consumes your minute | Describe, do not narrate |
| Article errors | Frequent and visible | First mention takes a or an; already-mentioned takes the |
| Leaving a photo blank | DET gives partial credit — a blank scores nothing | Write one sentence even at 50 seconds |
Two or three complete sentences per photo. One is the minimum requirement, but two or three with different structures give the scoring more to work with, and three is achievable in a minute with a formula.
One minute per photo, and there are three photos. The time is per photo rather than pooled, so you cannot borrow from one to finish another.
Range and accuracy matter more than length. Three varied, complete, accurate sentences score better than five repetitive ones or one long unfinished one, and a list of nouns gives the scoring almost nothing to assess.
Describe rather than narrate. Inference costs seconds and adds nothing the photo shows, and an invented backstory is not what the Writing subscore measures. If you use “appears to be”, keep it to one clause.
Describe it instead: “a container for holding tools” rather than stopping to search for the exact noun. Stopping is the expensive choice at 60 seconds; a slightly longer description costs nothing.
Yes. DET items carry partial credit and Duolingo states that you are not penalised more for an incorrect response than for skipping, so a single short sentence always beats an empty box.
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