Sign in Subscribe

Writing Sample - Guide to Duolingo English Test Question (2025)

Last updated on 

Many people consider the “Writing Sample” one of the most challenging questions on the Duolingo English Test. It's also confusing because it's not clear if it's graded or not (It is graded. More on that later.)

By the end of this post, you will see why the "Writing Sample" is easier than you think and you'll learn how to do well on it.

Table of Contents

What is the “Writing Sample” question type?

The Writing Sample question looks like this:

Example of the "Writing Sample" from the Duolingo English Test
Example of the "Writing Sample" from the Duolingo English Test

You will have 5 minutes to write about the topic provided. Although there is no word count or time minimum, we recommend that you write at least 100 words if your target score is below 120 and at least 130 if your target score is 120 or above. The reason is simple: If you don’t write enough, it is difficult to get a high score.

Your response to the Writing Sample counts toward your Writing, Literacy, and Production subscores. It appears just one time on the test.

👉 To see examples of great Writing Samples, check out our other article: 30 Essential Writing Sample Questions High-Scoring Answers

What is special about the "Writing Sample"?

Your response to the "Writing Sample" will be sent along with your test scores. The recipients of your test scores will receive your response to the "Writing Sample" so that they can evaluate your writing themselves.

☝️ Note that your "Writing Sample" is still scored and counts toward your subscores and overall score.

Tips to do well on the “Writing Sample" question

Learn the 3 types of writing and speaking prompts

For every extended writing and speaking question, including the Writing Sample, there are 3 kinds of questions you could be asked:

  1. Recount: You need to tell a story from your past.
  2. Describe: You need to share information about some topic.
  3. Argue: You have to present an opinion about a topic and defend it.

You should know what Duolingo wants to see for each kind of prompt, which you can learn in this lesson:

We also have more in-depth lessons for each prompt type, which you can find in this playlist.

Learn templates

Templates make it easier to structure your responses. This allows you to focus on other aspects of your response like finding the right words and using correct grammar instead of thinking about how to organize your ideas.

👉  Below is a playlist with the most useful templates for the DET. We also have another article: The Best Templates for the Duolingo English Test.

‼️
Templates are not memorized responses. Rather, they are a skeleton for your response. If you try to memorize entire sentences or paragraphs, your DET scores won't be certified and you could be completely banned from taking the DET again. 

Read the question carefully

This sounds obvious, but it is easy to misunderstand the question or miss important details during the test because you may be nervous or stressed. Slow down and read the question multiple times to make sure you understand it. You are given 30 seconds to do this before you have to start writing.

If you misunderstand the question and your response ends up being irrelevant, you will lose a lot of points, even if your response has a lot of advanced vocabulary and few grammar mistakes.

In the initial 30 seconds, you should also prepare your answer. You should focus on identifying your main points and constructing a mental outline. That way, while you are writing, you can focus on choosing the best words and avoiding grammar mistakes.

👉 In this lesson, I explain how exactly you can quickly and effectively plan your response:

Write strong paragraphs

A strong paragraph consists of a clear topic sentence that contains the main point of the entire paragraph plus some supporting ideas, like an example, to justify the point you make in the topic sentence. If you can learn how to write strong paragraphs, you will always be able to construct clear, coherent writing – not just on the DET but for any kind of writing! It's a great skill to develop.

👉  To learn what makes a paragraph strong, check out this lesson:

Use connecting words

In some languages, writing that is complex and requires a lot of work to understand is considered good writing. This is not the case in English. In English, we value writing that is easy to understand, which is why we like connecting words. Connecting words tell your reader what is coming next.

You can learn 10-15 connecting words and use them over and over in your responses. In this lesson, you will learn the most useful ones:

Save time to proofread

If your response has typos, missing words, or other easy-to-fix mistakes, it will be impossible to get a high score. That’s why it is crucial that you save time to proofread your response.

For the “Writing Sample”, we recommend that you stop writing when there are 60 seconds left and use the rest of your time to proofread your response.

But if you don't have enough words when there is a minute left, you should keep writing until you get to our recommended words minimum (see above) and then proofread.

While you are proofreading, you should focus on 3 kinds of mistakes: spelling mistakes, missing words, and singular v. plural. These kinds of mistakes are easy to fix but will lose you a lot of points. Watch the lesson below to learn more:

Improve your typing speed

The writing questions on the DET are short. The Writing Sample is the longest one, and it's still only 5 minutes long. If you are a slow typer, it will be difficult to write enough to get a high score.

We recommend that students be able to type at least 40 words per minute with a 90% accuracy.

To measure your typing speed and, if needed, do exercises to improve, you can use a free site like typing.com.

How to practice the “Writing Sample” question

Simply writing answers to practice Writing Sample questions won’t help you very much. To improve, you need feedback.

That's exactly what Arno provides 😁 We give you instant scoring and feedback about your grammar and vocabulary. Let's see why it's such a great way to prepare for the DET.

1) Go to duolingo.goarno.io. If you don’t already have one, just create a free account.

2) Click on the “Writing Sample” question type.

3) Answer the question and submit your response.

4) Once you submit your response, Arno will give you a score and an explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of your response.

Arno gives you estimated score and shows you the strengths and weaknesses of your response.

6) Arno will also flag your grammar mistakes and guide you through fixing them, that way you can learn from your mistakes.

Arno's Grammar Tutor allows you to learn from your mistakes.

7) Arno also provides you with a high-scoring rewritten version so that you can see exactly how you could improve your response.

Arno's Personalized Rewrite helps you improve your phrasing.

Arno is a great way to practice not just the Writing Sample question but all question types on the Duolingo English Test! To get started, just click below.

"Try Now" call to action for Arno