Free Duolingo “Write About the Photo” Practice (2026 Exercises)

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Practice Set 1

Describe 5 new images. You have exactly 1 minute for each. Use varied vocabulary and complete sentences.

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Practice Set 2

Describe 5 new images. You have exactly 1 minute for each. Use varied vocabulary and complete sentences.

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Practice Set 3

Describe 5 new images. You have exactly 1 minute for each. Use varied vocabulary and complete sentences.

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Meta Description: Free write about the photo practice for the DET! Try timed DET picture description exercises, sample answers, and 1-minute writing challenge drills. Build fluency fast.

You open the Duolingo English Test, an image appears on your screen, and you have exactly 60 seconds to write about it in complete English sentences. No multiple choice. No word bank. Just you, a photo, and a blinking cursor.

For a lot of test-takers, this is the task that feels hardest to prepare for — and that makes sense. Writing under time pressure while also trying to show vocabulary range and grammatical accuracy is genuinely challenging. But here’s the thing: it is a completely learnable skill. The more you practice describing images on a timer, the more your brain stops freezing and starts moving.

This page gives you free DET writing practice organized by difficulty level. Each set includes a detailed image description, a sample high-scoring answer, writing tips, and the most common mistakes to avoid. Work through all six sets, or jump to the level that challenges you most.

One rule: don’t just read the samples. Set your timer, write first, then compare. That’s where the real improvement happens.

Choose Your Image Description Task

Everyday Scenes to Complex Situations (Sets 1–6)

Set 1: Daily Life Scenes – The Kitchen

Image Description:

A middle-aged woman wearing a floral apron is stirring a large pot on a gas stove. A young child — maybe five or six years old — sits at the kitchen table nearby, watching her with wide eyes. Late afternoon sunlight streams through a window above the sink, casting a warm glow across the tiled countertop. A half-cut onion and a wooden cutting board sit to the left of the stove.

Your Task:
Set a timer for 1 minute. Write 2–3 sentences describing this image. Focus on complete sentences, present tense, and specific details. Don’t just list objects — describe what is happening.

Your Answer:
(Write your response here before reading the sample below.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample High-Scoring Answer:

“A woman in a floral apron stands at the stove, carefully stirring a bubbling pot while warm sunlight fills the kitchen around her. Her young child watches quietly from the kitchen table, clearly fascinated by whatever is cooking. The cutting board and freshly sliced onion beside the stove suggest she has been preparing the meal for some time.”

Key Writing Tips:

  • Use present continuous tense for ongoing actions: “is stirring,” “is watching”
  • Add sensory details — the sunlight, the smell of onion, the sound of bubbling
  • Use prepositions of place: “beside the stove,” “at the kitchen table,” “above the sink”
  • Think of your sentence as a camera lens — zoom in on one detail per sentence

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

  • ❌ “There is a woman. There is a child. There is a pot.” — These simple sentences show no grammatical range.
  • ✅ Combine: “A woman and a child share a quiet kitchen moment as she prepares dinner.”
  • Don’t forget to mention location AND action in at least one sentence.

Pro Tip: Kitchen scenes almost always include someone doing something AND someone watching or reacting. Capture both — it immediately makes your response feel more complete.

Set 2: People and Actions – The Morning Commute

Image Description:

A crowded urban sidewalk during what looks like morning rush hour. Several people are walking briskly in different directions. In the foreground, a man in a dark suit carries a briefcase in one hand and a coffee cup in the other, his face turned slightly toward a phone screen. Behind him, two women are walking side by side, one of them laughing. A bus is visible at the edge of the frame, partially obscured by pedestrians.

Your Task:
Set a timer for 1 minute. Write 2–3 sentences describing this image. Focus on the movement and energy of the scene — this image has a lot of action, so try to capture it.

Your Answer:
(Write your response here before reading the sample below.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample High-Scoring Answer:

“On a busy city sidewalk, a man in a dark suit strides forward with a briefcase and coffee cup in hand, glancing down at his phone as the morning crowd moves around him. Behind him, two women walk together, one laughing at something her companion has said. A bus looms at the edge of the scene, suggesting that the rush of a typical workday morning is well underway.”

Key Writing Tips:

  • Use action verbs that show movement: “strides,” “weaves,” “rushes,” “glances”
  • Avoid repeating the word “walking” — try: moving, hurrying, heading, making their way
  • Describe the atmosphere, not just the objects: “morning rush hour,” “urban energy”
  • One strong sentence about the overall scene + one zoomed-in detail = a well-rounded response

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

  • ❌ Using only “walking” for every person — vary your verbs
  • ❌ Ignoring the background — the bus, the buildings, even the light can add richness
  • ❌ Writing sentences that don’t connect: “A man is there. A bus is there.” — try to link ideas

Pro Tip: When a scene feels busy or crowded, pick ONE person or object to describe in detail and use the rest as supporting context. You don’t have to describe everything.

Set 3: Nature and Landscapes – The Mountain Trail

Image Description:

A narrow dirt trail winds through a dense pine forest, disappearing around a bend into the trees. On the left side of the path, a wooden signpost points in two directions, though the text on it is not clearly visible. The sunlight filters through the tree canopy in long, diagonal beams, creating patches of bright light on the forest floor. A small stream is visible through the trees to the right.

Your Task:
Set a timer for 1 minute. Write 2–3 sentences describing this image. Focus on atmosphere and setting — think about light, texture, and the feeling of the scene.

Your Answer:
(Write your response here before reading the sample below.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample High-Scoring Answer:

“A narrow trail winds through a dense pine forest, with sunlight breaking through the canopy in long, golden beams that illuminate patches of the mossy ground below. A wooden signpost at the edge of the path marks what appears to be a fork in the trail, though the destination names are too distant to read clearly. Through the trees to the right, the faint sound and shimmer of a small stream suggest that the forest is as alive as it is quiet.”

Key Writing Tips:

  • Use descriptive adjectives for nature: narrow, winding, dense, golden, mossy, still
  • Combine visual details with atmosphere: don’t just say what you see — suggest how it feels
  • Mention depth: what’s in the foreground, middle ground, and background?
  • The phrase “appears to be” or “suggests” is useful when you’re not 100% certain of a detail

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

  • ❌ Writing only about colors: “The trees are green. The path is brown.” — go deeper
  • ❌ Ignoring light — light and shadow are huge in landscape descriptions
  • ❌ Writing something generic like “It is a beautiful forest” — always be specific

Pro Tip: For landscapes with no people, your vocabulary range matters even more. Push yourself to use at least three different descriptive adjectives.

Set 4: Work and Office – The Team Meeting

Image Description:

A glass-walled conference room inside a modern office building. Around a long rectangular table sit five people — three on one side, two on the other. At the head of the table, a woman stands and gestures toward a whiteboard covered in diagrams and text. Two of the seated participants are looking at their laptops, while another is writing notes in a notebook. A half-empty water pitcher sits in the center of the table.

Your Task:
Set a timer for 1 minute. Write 2–3 sentences describing this image. This is a write about the photo Duolingo-style prompt that tests your ability to describe professional environments and multiple simultaneous actions.

Your Answer:
(Write your response here before reading the sample below.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample High-Scoring Answer:

“In a glass-walled conference room, a woman stands at the head of a long table and gestures toward a whiteboard covered in diagrams, clearly leading a team discussion. The five people seated around her are engaged in different ways — two are working on laptops, and one is carefully taking notes in a notebook. The modern, well-lit space and the presence of a half-empty water pitcher suggest the meeting has already been going on for some time.”

Key Writing Tips:

  • Use profession-related vocabulary: conference room, presentation, colleagues, agenda, briefing
  • Describe simultaneous actions using different sentence structures: “while,” “as,” “at the same time”
  • Note details that tell a story — the half-empty pitcher implies the meeting is well underway
  • Duolingo picture description practice often includes group scenes — practice describing multiple people without repeating the same structure

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

  • ❌ “A woman is talking. People are listening.” — too simple, no sentence variety
  • ❌ Forgetting to describe the setting — the glass walls, the whiteboard, the table shape all add context
  • ❌ Using “persons” instead of “people” — common grammar error

Pro Tip: In any group scene, describe what one person is doing AND what the group as a whole is doing. This naturally creates two complementary sentences.

Set 5: Social Events – The Outdoor Market

Image Description:

A vibrant outdoor farmers’ market on a sunny morning. Rows of wooden stalls are covered with colorful awnings — red, blue, and yellow — and laden with fresh fruits and vegetables. In the foreground, an older man weighs a bunch of bananas on a small hanging scale while a younger woman in a wide-brimmed hat waits, her basket already full of produce. Children and adults move between the stalls in the background, and a string of small flags hangs across the top of the scene.

Your Task:
Set a timer for 1 minute. Write 2–3 sentences describing this image. Try to write one or more sentences that describe the image using color, movement, and human interaction.

Your Answer:
(Write your response here before reading the sample below.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample High-Scoring Answer:

“Beneath colorful red, blue, and yellow awnings, a lively farmers’ market fills the sunny morning with activity as shoppers browse the wooden stalls piled high with fresh produce. In the foreground, an older vendor carefully weighs a bunch of bananas on a hanging scale while a woman in a wide-brimmed hat waits patiently, her basket already overflowing with vegetables. The festive string of flags overhead and the steady flow of people in the background give the whole scene a warm, community-centered feeling.”

Key Writing Tips:

  • Markets and festivals = opportunity for color vocabulary: vivid, vibrant, colorful, bright, bold
  • Describe the transaction or interaction happening in the foreground — it anchors the scene
  • Use the background as a way to establish scale and atmosphere: “a steady flow of people”
  • Free DET writing practice like this helps you get comfortable describing busy, detailed scenes

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

  • ❌ Only listing stall contents: “There are bananas, apples, and tomatoes.” — describe the scene, not an inventory
  • ❌ Missing the human interaction — the buyer and seller are the emotional center of this image
  • ❌ Writing “very colorful” instead of a specific adjective: try “vivid” or “vibrant”

Pro Tip: When you see color in an image, use at least two color-based adjectives in your response. Most test-takers skip this — don’t be most test-takers.

Set 6: Abstract or Complex Situations – The Empty Classroom

Image Description:

A large, empty university lecture hall photographed from the back of the room. Rows of curved wooden seats, most of them folded up, slope downward toward a wide chalkboard at the front. The chalkboard is covered in equations and diagrams that haven’t been erased. A single backpack sits on a seat in the third row, as if its owner stepped away. Fluorescent lights illuminate the hall with a cold, slightly bluish glow.

Your Task:
Set a timer for 1 minute. Write 2–3 sentences describing this image. This is a more abstract prompt — the scene implies something has just happened or is about to happen. Try to capture that sense of time in your response.

Your Answer:
(Write your response here before reading the sample below.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample High-Scoring Answer:

“A vast lecture hall sits nearly empty, its curved rows of folded wooden seats sloping down toward a chalkboard still covered in equations from what was clearly a recent class. The cold fluorescent light gives the space a quiet, almost suspended feeling, as though students have only just left. One backpack, abandoned on a seat in the third row, is the only sign that someone is still nearby — perhaps a student who stepped out for a moment and will return.”

Key Writing Tips:

  • Abstract or “empty” scenes reward inference: what happened? what’s about to happen?
  • Use mood vocabulary: quiet, suspended, still, cold, vacant, hushed
  • The single abandoned object (the backpack) is a deliberate detail — mention it; it tells a story
  • Sentence variety here means mixing a long observational sentence with a shorter, punchier one

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

  • ❌ Describing what’s absent rather than what’s present: “There are no students.” — focus on what IS there
  • ❌ Missing the emotional tone — empty rooms in DET photos often have a specific atmosphere; acknowledge it
  • ❌ Writing three sentences that all start with “The room” — vary your sentence openings

Pro Tip: For any scene that feels “incomplete” — an empty room, an unfinished meal, a lone object — use phrases like “suggests,” “implies,” or “as if” to demonstrate sophisticated vocabulary range.

What is the “Write About the Photo” Task?

The 1-Minute Writing Challenge

The rules are straightforward, but executing them well under pressure is another matter. Here’s exactly what you’re working with:

  • Time limit: 60 seconds total. Not 90. Not “about a minute.” Sixty.
  • Format: Write in complete sentences. No bullet points, no numbered lists, no single words.
  • Goal: Write one or more sentences that describe the image — though one simple sentence will not demonstrate enough range to earn a strong score.
  • What’s being tested: Your ability to use English quickly, accurately, and expressively.

Most people default to writing one or two very simple sentences when they’re nervous. “A woman is cooking. A child is watching.” That’s grammatically correct — but it shows almost no range. The sweet spot is two to three sentences that vary in structure, use specific vocabulary, and stay relevant to what’s actually in the image.

The biggest thing that separates high scorers from average scorers isn’t speed — it’s preparation. When you’ve practiced describing dozens of images, your brain already has templates and vocabulary ready to go. You stop translating and start writing.

What the Algorithm Looks For

Vocabulary Diversity vs. Sentence Length

The DET doesn’t just check whether your sentences are grammatically correct. It analyzes your response in several specific ways.

Vocabulary range matters a lot. If you write “nice” three times — “a nice kitchen,” “a nice woman,” “a nice day” — the algorithm sees repetition and limited vocabulary. The fix is simple but requires practice: build a bank of alternatives. Instead of “nice,” try bright, sunlit, welcoming, warm, vibrant, cheerful. Instead of “big,” try spacious, expansive, towering, vast. Synonyms aren’t just good style — they’re points on the test.

Sentence complexity is the other major factor. Simple sentences (subject + verb + object) are the baseline. Compound sentences join two independent ideas with words like “and,” “but,” or “so.” Complex sentences use subordinate clauses: “While the child watches from the table, her mother stirs the pot with steady hands.” That last sentence does several things at once — it establishes contrast, location, and action. The algorithm recognizes that structural range.

Grammatical accuracy includes verb tense consistency (stay in present tense for image descriptions), subject-verb agreement, correct article use (“a woman,” not “woman”), and proper prepositions (“on the stove,” “at the table,” “through the window”).

Relevance is also scored — your response must describe what’s actually in the image. Going off-topic or making up details that aren’t present can hurt your score. Stick to what you can reasonably observe or infer.

Here’s a quick example of the difference vocabulary diversity makes:

  • Low range: “A nice woman is in a nice kitchen making nice food.”
  • High range: “A focused woman in a floral apron tends to a simmering pot, her movements practiced and unhurried.”

Same scene. Very different scores.

Get Human Feedback on Your Writing

Self-practice with pages like this one is genuinely valuable — and you should keep using it. But there’s a ceiling to how much you can improve when you’re evaluating your own writing. You’ll miss patterns you don’t know to look for: the verb tense you keep getting slightly wrong, the sentence structure you rely on too heavily, the vocabulary gaps that repeat across your responses.

A human evaluator who specializes in DET writing feedback can read your actual responses and tell you exactly what’s holding your score back — not just whether something is “correct,” but whether it demonstrates the range and complexity the test is designed to reward.

If you’re serious about improving your Write About the Photo score and want personalized, detailed feedback on your actual writing:

👉 Get Human Writing Feedback Now

Frequently Asked Questions

How many sentences should I write for the Duolingo photo task? +
Ideally, two to three complex sentences. Writing just one simple sentence is the most common mistake test-takers make — it limits how much vocabulary diversity and grammatical range you can show. One sentence might be grammatically perfect, but it doesn’t give the algorithm enough material to evaluate. Aim for two strong sentences at minimum, and push for a third if the image gives you enough to work with.
How much time do I have to write my answer? +
Exactly 1 minute — 60 seconds. The timer starts when the image appears and stops automatically. There’s no way to pause or get extra time, which is exactly why timed practice is so important. If you’ve never practiced writing under this kind of time pressure, the first few attempts will feel uncomfortable. That discomfort fades quickly with regular practice.
Is there a minimum or maximum word count for Write About the Photo? +
There’s no officially published minimum or maximum word count. That said, experience with the DET suggests that 30 to 60 words across 2–3 sentences is the practical sweet spot. Fewer than 30 words usually means you’ve written only one or two simple sentences — not enough to demonstrate meaningful vocabulary or structural range. Much more than 60 words in 60 seconds is nearly impossible to write with accuracy, and rushing leads to grammatical errors that hurt your score. Quality matters more than quantity.
Can I just list the objects I see in the picture? +
No — and this is one of the most important rules to remember. The DET’s scoring algorithm looks for complete, grammatically correct sentences with subjects, verbs, and context. Writing “table, chair, window, woman, pot” or even “there is a table. there is a chair.” with no context or action will result in a low score. Every sentence needs a verb that shows what’s happening, not just what exists.
What if the picture is blurry or I don’t understand what is happening? +
This happens occasionally, and the strategy is: describe what you can clearly see rather than guessing or leaving the response blank. Even if you can’t identify the specific object, you can describe its color, shape, position, or approximate size. “A large, dark object sits in the lower left corner of the image” is a legitimate sentence. “Two people appear to be standing near a vehicle of some kind” is much better than nothing. Partial descriptions of observable details are always better than leaving the response empty or making up details that aren’t there.
Can I use bullet points to describe the image? +
No. The test explicitly requires standard paragraph formatting — continuous prose, complete sentences. Bullet points, numbered lists, or fragmented notes will not be scored the way a properly structured paragraph response is. Even if your bullet points contain accurate information, the format itself signals to the algorithm that you’re not writing in the required style. Always write in full sentences.

Looking for more DET writing practice? Try our other free resources:
– Read and Complete the Sentence – DET Practice
– Full DET Mock Test Practice

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