Did she actually move closer to work?
The speaker says she decided to move closer to work. But did she actually move? When she mentions children, is she describing her family or imagining a possible situation?
The answer never makes those details clear. It also introduces two relevant reasons without fully explaining either one.
Let’s look at the question, the complete response, and how the explanation could develop.
The Chicago Interview question
“Thank you for joining the study. Today, I'd like to ask you some questions about your commuting habits. First, is it important to live close to your school or work? Why?”
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| My Speaking Score | 3.5/5 |
| Speaking pace | 112 words per minute |
| Word count | 84 |
| Coverage | Complete |
The full original response
“For me, it is important to live near a school or near work um because I've heard that it is um mentally very stressful to have long distances and to drive them everyday, everyday back and to the work. So, you have to drive double distances and I don't want this, so I decided to live and move near school or work, especially if we have kids and the kids have some distances and um it's better for them to live near a school”
Her position is clear: living nearby is important. She gives relevant reasons about commuting stress and children’s school journeys. That supports the Complete coverage result.
However, the listener has to work out which situation she means and supply details about why living nearby helps.
The personal situation keeps shifting
The response moves through three different ways of presenting the situation.
| Her wording | What it suggests | What remains unclear |
|---|---|---|
| “I’ve heard” | Information learned from others. | Has she experienced this herself? |
| “I decided to live and move” | A personal decision. | Has she moved, or does she intend to move? |
| “If we have kids” | A hypothetical family situation. | Is she discussing her family or a possible future situation? |
The transcript does not establish whether she moved or has children. This is a clarity issue. We cannot determine the facts of her life from these sentences.
The question does not explicitly require a personal story. She can explain her opinion through an actual experience or a hypothetical situation. Either approach needs clear wording.
If she is describing a completed move, she could begin, “I moved closer to work because…” If she is imagining the situation, she could say, “If I lived far from work…”
She could go deeper with the commuting-stress idea
The speaker says long journeys are stressful. But how does that stress affect someone’s day?
She could explain the consequence using a hypothetical example:
“If I spent an hour driving home after work, I would arrive tired and have less energy to cook or exercise. Living ten minutes away would give me more time to relax.”
This example gives the listener a journey, a consequence, and a benefit. It explains why the distance matters.
If she has experienced a difficult commute, she could use the real details instead: how long it took, how she felt afterward, and what she struggled to do in the evening.
She could also develop the point about children
The original response ends by saying that living near school is better for children. The benefit remains unexplained.
A hypothetical example could make that benefit concrete:
“If my children lived ten minutes from school, they could sleep later instead of spending forty minutes in the car. They would also have more time to eat breakfast without rushing.”
This is an illustrative example, not a claim about the speaker’s family. It clearly presents a possible situation and explains what would improve.
She does not need to introduce another reason. Either existing idea could support a fuller explanation.
The full MSS Improved Version
“For me, it's important to live near a school or near work because I've heard that it's mentally very stressful to have long distances and to drive them every day. If you live far away, you have to drive double distances, going back and forth to work, and I don't want this for my life. Therefore, I decided to live and move near my school or work to avoid that pressure. This is especially important if we have kids; if the kids have a long commute, it becomes exhausting for the whole family. It's much better for them to live near a school to save time and stay healthy.”
MSS preserves her ideas about commuting stress, living nearby, and children’s school journeys. It corrects some wording and develops the family consequence.
| Original | Improved Version | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| “Back and to the work” | “Back and forth to work” | The phrase becomes natural. |
| “The kids have some distances” | “The kids have a long commute” | The intended situation becomes clearer. |
| “It’s better for them to live near a school” | A long commute exhausts the family, while living nearby saves time. | The rewrite adds consequences to support the point. |
The rewrite still moves between “I’ve heard,” a decision to move, and “if we have kids.” The speaker would need to clarify which situation she intends to describe.
The added consequences also remain fairly general. A specific detail about an evening routine or a child’s morning would make the benefit easier to picture.
What the detailed feedback identifies
The Organization feedback highlights the unfinished school point. It recommends explaining how a shorter school journey helps children before the answer ends.
That directly supports the development goal: finish explaining one benefit.
The Fluency feedback reports 16 stalls of at least 0.2 seconds across 84 words, including a 1.1-second pause between “mentally” and “very.” These interruptions identify a separate delivery goal.
The Intelligibility feedback describes clear consonant sounds and word stress. The speaker can preserve that strength while working on fuller explanations and more continuous delivery.
A focused practice task
- Choose either commuting stress or children’s school journeys.
- Make clear whether the situation is real or hypothetical.
- Add one concrete detail, such as journey time or a daily activity.
- Explain how living nearby changes the situation.
- Record the answer and check whether you finish the explanation.
Inside My Speaking Score, use Follow Along in Improved Version with speed control to practice complete phrases. Then record your own answer using details that fit your chosen situation.
Frequently asked questions
Does this question require a true personal story?
It asks for an opinion and reasons. It does not explicitly request a past experience. A clearly framed hypothetical example can support the explanation.
Can we tell whether the speaker has children?
No. “If we have kids” presents a possibility. The transcript does not establish her family situation.
Does she need two examples?
No. This prompt does not specify a number of examples. One developed example could explain her position effectively.
Why is coverage complete when details are missing?
The speaker answers the question and gives relevant reasons. Those reasons can still need clearer supporting detail.
What should she practice first?
Clarify one situation and finish explaining its benefit. Then practice delivering that explanation with fewer interruptions.
The main takeaway
The speaker has relevant ideas. She needs to make the situation clear and show how either idea affects someone’s day.
A listener should understand whether the example is real or hypothetical and why the benefit matters.
Take a free TOEFL Speaking assessment at www.myspeakingscore.com and use your original response, Improved Version, and detailed feedback to develop a clearer answer.