Sample answers (transcript)
Question 1
“What is your favourite class so far this year, and what makes it stand out?”
My favourite class is intro to behavioural economics. Three things make it stand out for me. First, the professor uses real-world examples in every lecture — yesterday she walked us through how a small change in the default option on retirement plans nearly tripled enrolment in some companies. Second, the readings are short but dense, so I'm building the muscle for analysing one paper deeply rather than skimming five. And third, the class size is small enough that we actually debate during seminars instead of just listening. Together those three things make me look forward to the lectures, which is something I rarely say about a 9 AM class.
- Direct answer in the first sentence — no preamble, no hedging.
- Three-reason structure with explicit signposting ('First... Second... third'). The rubric explicitly rewards organisational clarity.
- Each reason has a concrete example, not just a category. The retirement-plan example pays the highest rhetorical cost — it's specific enough to be memorable.
- Closes with a self-deprecating note ('something I rarely say about a 9 AM class') — natural register, signals confidence with conversational English.
- Word count maps to ~42 seconds of speech. Full but not rushed.
Question 2
“Has there been a moment in this class that changed how you think about something?”
Yes, two weeks ago we read a paper showing that more choice doesn't always make people happier — sometimes it actually paralyses them. The classic example was a study where shoppers were more likely to buy jam when there were six options on display than when there were twenty-four. That ran completely counter to my intuition that choice equals freedom. It made me rethink not just consumer policy but personal decisions: I've started cutting down the number of options I give myself when I'm stuck on something. Whether to study at the library or the cafe, what to make for dinner. Reducing the choice has actually made me act faster.
- Specific example (jam study) with numbers (6 vs 24). Numbers are rhetorical anchors — they make the answer feel grounded in real evidence.
- Personal application at the end ('I've started cutting down...'). The rubric for the Interview task explicitly rewards personal engagement with the topic.
- Uses 'paralyses' — sophisticated vocabulary deployed naturally. Doesn't sound forced.
- Hits the 44-second limit precisely. The auto-advance won't catch the response mid-sentence.
- Clear arc: claim → evidence → personal connection. The same structure that scores well in Writing scores well here.
Rubric breakdown
| Criterion | Score | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | 5/5 | Clear consonants, natural vowel reduction in unstressed words ('to', 'of'), reliable rhythm. Nothing obscures meaning. |
| Fluency | 5/5 | No long pauses, no false starts. Filler words used sparingly and naturally ('actually', 'so'). |
| Grammar | 5/5 | Wide range of structures including conditional, comparative, and complex subordinate clauses. Zero errors. |
| Vocabulary | 5/5 | Topic-specific vocabulary deployed accurately ('paralyses', 'consumer policy', 'intuition'). Hedging language used naturally. |
| Content | 5/5 | Direct engagement with each question. Concrete examples in both answers. Personal stake clearly communicated. |
How to push higher
Band 5.0 sits at the rubric ceiling. The only headroom is at the 5.5 boundary, which would require additional fluency markers — natural use of discourse particles ('I mean', 'you know', 'sort of') without losing precision, plus rhetorical structures uncommon at the band 5 level (counter-argument acknowledgement, intentional rhetorical pause for emphasis).
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