Two jobs in one task
Task 5 gives you two options — usually two things you might buy, book or choose — and a person you are talking to. You compare the options, then you persuade that person to take one.
That is two separate jobs, and the second one is where the marks are.
Most answers do the first job well and then stop. They lay the two options side by side, note that both have advantages, and run out of time. It sounds thorough. It is half a task.
The person is not decoration
Task 5 always tells you something about who you are persuading. They are on a budget. They have small children. They do not drive. They hate crowds.
That detail is the task. A comparison that would suit anybody is not persuasion — it is a product review.
Read these two:
"The second apartment is bigger and it has a balcony, which is nice. The first one is closer to downtown."
"Take the second one, Mum. You said the stairs were the problem at the last place — this one's ground floor, and the bus to the clinic stops right outside."
The first is a comparison. The second is persuasion, and it is persuasion because it uses what we were told about her.
The shape that works
- Name your choice in the first sentence. Not at the end. The person needs to know what you are arguing for before you argue.
- Give the comparison in service of the choice — not as a neutral summary. Each point should explain why yours wins.
- Use at least two facts about the person. This is the difference between scoring and not.
- Handle their likely objection. They will have one. Name it and answer it.
- Close by asking them to act. "Let's book it tonight before it goes."
A worked example
The prompt (original AlmiWorld practice prompt)
Your friend Miriam wants a short holiday. She has two weeks off, a small budget, and does not enjoy flying. Option A is a week in Mexico. Option B is a week driving through Nova Scotia. Persuade her to choose one.
The response (spoken, about 60 seconds)
Do Nova Scotia, Miriam.
I know Mexico sounds like the bigger trip, but you told me flying is the part you dread — and this way there's no airport at all. You just get in the car and go. Two weeks off means you can take your time and stop wherever you feel like.
And it's kinder to the budget. No flights, no resort prices. You're paying for gas and small places to stay, and you can cook half your meals if you want to.
The thing you'd give up is the weather, and I'm not going to pretend the Atlantic in October is the Caribbean. But you'd be driving the coast, eating in fishing towns, and stopping when you see something. That's much more your kind of holiday than a hotel pool.
Have a look at the ferry times this evening and let's plan the route.
Why this works.
- Sentence one is the choice.
- Every comparison serves the argument. The flight, the budget, the pace — all three come from what we were told about Miriam.
- The objection is faced. The weather is named honestly and then answered.
- It ends with an action. Not "so, that's my opinion" — a thing to do tonight.
What is not being marked
- Not which option you chose. Arguing for Mexico would score identically if it were argued from Miriam's actual situation.
- Not your accent.
- Not fairness. This is the one task where balance actively hurts you. You are not writing a review; you are talking someone into something.
And underneath:
A response giving insufficient information to assess scores 0 or 1.
A minute of even-handed comparison with no recommendation can land there.
The habit that fixes this task
Say the choice out loud before you plan anything else. With under two minutes per task including preparation, deciding while you speak is normal — but deciding whether to decide is fatal. Pick in the first two seconds, say it, and build the case as you go.
Try one
[Try Task 5: Compare and Persuade →] — one full task, marked, no card required.