Four things to check in your writing.
Your ideas, the order of your sentences, your word choices, and your grammar all matter. Here is what each part means.
Content
Answer the question and explain your ideas with reasons, details, or examples.
Clear organisation
Put your ideas in an order the reader can follow. This is called coherence in writing feedback.
Vocabulary
Choose words that express your meaning. Use different words where they help, without forcing difficult ones.
Grammar
Write complete sentences. Check word order, verb endings, and punctuation.
Use your writing feedback to choose what to revise. Our DET practice score guide explains how to interpret task feedback, mock estimates and official practice ranges.
Answer the first question, then build on it.
Use the 30-second preparation time to read the first question and choose your main ideas. You then have five minutes for Part 1 and three minutes for a related question in Part 2.
Part 1: explain your answer
Start with your opinion or the experience you want to describe. Explain why it matters and add a specific example.
Part 2: answer the follow-up
Read the new question carefully. It may ask you to explain a detail or consider another side. Answer that new question.
Check both answers
Keep your second answer connected to the first and add new information. Leave a little time in each part to check your sentences.
There is no published official word minimum or required paragraph count for this task. More writing helps only when it remains relevant, clear, and controlled.
A short teaching example
Suppose you write that you prefer studying with a friend because you can explain difficult ideas to each other. A follow-up asks about a problem with studying together.
You could begin: “One problem is that we sometimes talk about other things. We now agree on a short task before we begin, which helps us stay focused.”
Why this works
The second answer adds a problem and a way to solve it. It answers the new question while staying connected to the first answer. Repeating why you like studying together would leave the follow-up unanswered.
After practice
Choose one comment from your feedback. Rewrite a sentence or add a missing explanation, then read the answer again. Try a new question to practise the same improvement.
These are original PrepEx example openings. They show how to develop an idea; they are not complete test answers or scripts to memorise.
Now try it yourself.
Use the steps you just learned. Start when you are ready; the timer begins when you press the start button.
No account needed. PrepEx results are practice estimates, not official DET scores.
Start the 30-second preview to reveal the prompt.
A community learning center is considering asking every new member to attend one welcome event. Do you think this is a useful policy? Explain your view.
A related follow-up will appear after Part 1.
See what you did well and what to improve in your ideas, sentence order, word choices, and grammar. Your score is a practice estimate, not an official DET score. This answer is not saved to your account.
2 free AI grades per IP in each 24-hour window · 5 timed attempts in this browser session
Open more Interactive Writing tasks, save your attempts, and track your progress.
Check the rules before test day.
These links explain the real test. PrepEx writes its own practice questions and gives practice estimates, not official DET scores.
The task has a 30-second preview, five-minute first response, and three-minute related follow-up. Read the official task page.
The official guide explains how your ideas, organisation, vocabulary, and grammar are checked. Read the official rubrics.
Interactive Writing informs Writing, Literacy, and Production. Read how DET items are scored.
Interactive Writing FAQ
How long is Interactive Writing?
You see the initial prompt for 30 seconds, write Part 1 for up to five minutes, then answer a related follow-up for up to three minutes.
Is there an official minimum word count?
No task-specific minimum is published. Use the available time to answer directly and develop relevant ideas in clear English.
Which DET subscores does this task inform?
Interactive Writing informs the Writing individual subscore and the Literacy and Production integrated subscores.
Does PrepEx save or share this response?
This answer is not saved to your account or sent to an institution. If you continue to sign up, this browser keeps your answer and feedback for up to seven days so you can return to the task.
Is the PrepEx estimate an official DET score?
No. Petra AI provides an independent practice estimate and response-specific coaching. Only Duolingo can issue an official DET score.