9 Best Tips for Picture Description on the Duolingo English Test
Improving at Write About the Photo and Speak About the Photo is a great way to raise your DET score. We don't get much experience in ordinary life describing images in great detail. This is why for most students, improving at picture description is the fastest way to raise their scores.
At Arno, we've helped over 200,000 students get ready for the DET and in this article, we’re going to cover all the best tips and tricks that our students rely on for picture description questions.
👉 We have a ton of great lessons on our YouTube channel that will help you improve at picture description for the DET. Check out the playlist below, which starts with our popular 3-step template for Write About the Photo:
Table of Contents
- The Speaking Picture Description Question
- The Writing Picture Description Question
- 9 Best Tips for Picture Description
- Example Picture Description Questions (with High-Scoring Responses)
- Conclusion
The Speaking Picture Description Question
This question is officially called “Speak About the Photo.” It looks like this:
You will have 20 seconds to study the image, then you will have 90 seconds to speak about it.
You will only be able to record yourself 1 time! So, if you make a mistake, don’t panic. Stay calm and just keep speaking.
There is only one Speak About the Photo question on the test.
👉 For an in-depth look at this question type, check out: Speak About the Photo - Guide to Duolingo English Test Question
The Writing Picture Description Question
This question is officially called “Write About the Picture” and it looks like this:
For this question, you won’t have any time to study the image before you write. You simply have 1 minute to write.
Another difference is that you will see this question 3 times on the test, while the speaking version you will see only once.
👉 To learn more, check out: Write About the Photo - Guide to Duolingo English Test Question
9 Best Tips for Picture Description
1. Study the image carefully
The image will be quite small on the test. Make sure you look at it closely to notice all the important details. Be especially sure to look in the background for any small aspects that are noteworthy. The last thing you want on the test is to run out of aspects to describe!
2. Always describe the colors of objects
A great habit to get into for picture description is that anytime you describe an object also describe its color. For example, instead of saying, There is a car, you should say, There is a light blue car. That's a quick way to gain some points!
👉 To learn high-scoring color vocab, check out this lesson:
3. Master the present simple v. the present continuous verb tenses
Simple grammar mistakes lose you a lot points. So, avoiding them is an way to raise your score!
For picture description, a common issue for many students is when to use the present simple v. the present continuous tenses. In short, you should use the present continuous when you are describing action. Otherwise, you should use the present simple.
👉 To master this essential grammar concept, check out this lesson:
4. Learn sentence templates
Sentence templates make it easier to remember what you can describe about an image and to use advanced vocabulary. Then, you can pair these templates with specific vocabulary that is appropriate for the image you are describing.
👉 In this lesson, I share 7 high-scoring sentence templates:
To learn templates for other question types, check out our other article: The Best Templates for the Duolingo English Test.
5. Learn vocabulary for different kinds of images
There are thousands of images that Duolingo uses on the DET, and they are adding new ones all the time. This means that you need to have a range of vocabulary that covers different areas like cities, nature, and people.
In our picture description playlist, we have several videos that teach you advanced vocab for different areas, like this lesson below which teaches you the best high-scoring vocab to describe nature:
👉 Another excellent way to learn more advanced vocab for picture description questions is through Arno's free Vocabulary Builder. We've assembled the most useful words that will immediately raise your scores.
6. Describe the location of things in an image
Like always describing the color of objects, another useful rule is to always describe the location of items. For example, don't just say, There is a dog and there is a house. Instead say, In the foreground there is a dog, and in the background there is a house.
👉 In the lesson below, I teach you the best vocab to describe location (and some other useful vocab for picture description).
7. Write and speak for the entire time
On the Duolingo English Test, you do not gain points by going faster. There is no reason to not use all of the time you are given for Write About the Photo and Speak About the Photo questions.
Many students find it difficult to speak about an image for 90 seconds. This is why it's important to learn strategies and vocabulary to help you describe images in detail and then to practice with them so that you have the right habits going into the test.
The next tip will also help you come up with ideas to add to your descriptions.
8. Ask yourself, "Why?"
If you run out of ideas, a useful trick is to ask yourself "Why?" which is also called speculating about an image.
When we speculate we are guessing at why things are the way that they are. Take the image below.
Why is the woman working on her laptop? It's impossible to say for sure, but we can speculate: Perhaps she is working on an essay for one of her classes. And just like that we've added another sentence to our description!
When speculating, it's important that you make reasonable guesses; you can't invent implausible stories. For example, you shouldn't say something like, Perhaps she is writing a PhD dissertation on Ancient Roman culture. That's possible but unlikely.
It's a good idea to always provide evidence when speculating. For this image, we could say, This woman looks young and she is sitting under a tree, so I get the impression that she is a university student. Perhaps she is working on an essay for one of her classes. Providing evidence ensures that your speculations are relevant and reasonable.
9. Practice and get feedback
The best way to improve your writing and speaking is to get feedback. This is why we built Arno.
With Arno, you can practice an unlimited number of picture description questions for free. With paid credits, you can also get instant scoring and feedback on your grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation 🤩
Just click below to create your free account and start practicing in just a few seconds.
Example Picture Description Questions (with High-Scoring Responses)
Let’s now look at 6 examples of writing and speaking picture description questions. All these responses are very high scoring, at least 130 out of 160 points.
(All of these examples were taken from Arno.)
Example 1
Response
In this photo, I see a picture of a man wearing a mask. He is on the sidewalk and all around him people are walking. Everyone appears to be wearing masks as well, so this could be a picture taken during the Covid-19 pandemic. The man’s mask is amusing because it makes him look like a shark that has a big smile. Additionally, the man has big, curly hair, and he is wearing glasses and a tee shirt.
Example 2
Response
In this photo, there is a teenage girl lighting candles in a slice of cake. Instead of using a match or a lighter, she is using another candle, which is a clever method. There is another hand in the photo holding a candle, and it looks like this person is waiting for the teenager to finish lighting the candles on her side. Presumably, they are celebrating someone’s birthday.
Example 3
Response
This photo shows a small, cute animal in a tree. I believe that the animal depicted is a red panda, although I’m not sure. It could be another kind of mammal, but one that I don’t believe is native to North America, where I live. The animal seems scared because it is cowering against the branch, like it is trying to hide from a predator.
Example 4
Response
I see in this photo a musician, specifically a rock star. He is playing a yellow guitar and singing into a microphone. Behind him is another musician who appears to be playing another guitar, or maybe a bass guitar. The other musician is in dark green light while the singer is brightly illuminated, indicating that he is in the spotlight. The stage they are playing on appears to be quite large, so they must be quite a successful band.
Example 5
Response
This photo shows a dance crew performing in a town square or some open space like that. They are all wearing matching white tee shirts, but it is impossible to see what is written on the tee shirts. All but one of the dancers are wearing black jeans. Maybe he found it too hot for jeans! Behind them is some kind of display or booth. Maybe the dance crew is raising awareness around an issue or they are trying to sell something.
Example 6
Response
In this photo, we see a woman golfer. She has just finished hitting the ball, and she is following through with her swing and watching the flight of her ball. Her attire suggests that she is a serious player. She is wearing a glove to give her better grip on her golf club, and she is wearing a visor to keep the sun out of her eyes. There also appears to be a scorebook in her back pocket, which is what professional golfers do.
👉 To see even more high-scoring picture description responses, check out this article: 30 Essential Write About the Photo Examples with High-Scoring Answers
Conclusion
Here are the top tips to improve your scores on picture description questions:
- Study the image carefully
- Always describe the colors of objects
- Master the present simple v. the present continuous verb tenses
- Learn sentence templates
- Learn vocabulary for different kinds of images
- Describe the location of things in an image
- Write and speak for the entire time
- Ask yourself, "Why?"
- Practice and get feedback
