Method guide
Describe Image: the method
Twenty-five seconds to study a chart, map, diagram or photo, then forty seconds to talk about it. The candidates who score well are not the ones who say the most. They use the same four-part structure on every image, pick the numbers that prove one point, and never stop talking. Here is how to build that habit.
What this guide covers
The Describe Image task page explains the format, what each of the three traits rewards and the mistakes that cost the most. This guide is the method: a structure that fits 40 seconds every time, a routine for the 25 seconds of preparation, two worked examples with different image types, and drills that make the structure automatic.
The constraint that shapes everything is time. Forty seconds at a comfortable speaking pace is about 80 to 100 words: enough for the main point, two or three details and a closing line. Trying to mention every number on a chart is the fastest way to run out of time mid-sentence. And filler that fits any image describes none of them. Every sentence should be about this image.
The four-part structure
| Part | Roughly | What to say |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Identify | 5 seconds | What the image is and what it shows: "This bar chart compares the average weekly hours of volunteering across five age groups." |
| 2. Main feature | 10 seconds | The one thing a reader should notice first: the highest value, the biggest change, the overall pattern. |
| 3. Details | 15–20 seconds | Two or three supporting points with a number or a comparison each. Pick the ones that explain the main feature. |
| 4. Conclude | 5 seconds | One sentence on the overall trend or what it suggests. |
The structure is the same for a line chart, a map and a photograph. What changes is the vocabulary, not the shape. That is the point: when the shape is fixed, the preparation time goes into the content.
The 25-second routine
- Read the title and the labels (5 seconds). The title tells you what the image shows; the axis labels or legend tell you the units and the categories. Your identifying sentence is now ready, and it needs no thinking when the microphone opens.
- Find the main feature (10 seconds). Highest, lowest, biggest change, clearest pattern. One of these is the headline. Decide which.
- Pick two numbers (7 seconds). Choose the two or three values that prove the main feature. Round them: "about four hours", "just over a third". You will say them, not read them.
- Breathe, and start on the first word (the last seconds). Do not plan the conclusion. It is one sentence about the trend, and it will be obvious by the time you get there.
Use the preparation for parts 1 and 2 only. The details will come as you speak, because the image stays on screen the whole time.
Worked example 1: a bar chart
Imagine a bar chart titled Average weekly hours of volunteering by age group, showing 18–24 at 1.5 hours, 25–34 at 1.2, 35–54 at 2.1, 55–64 at 3.0 and 65-plus at 4.2. The figures are invented for practice.
This bar chart compares how many hours a week people in five age groups spend volunteering. The clearest pattern is that volunteering rises with age. People aged sixty-five and over give the most time, at about four point two hours a week, which is more than three times the figure for twenty-five to thirty-four year olds, the lowest group at one point two hours. The fifty-five to sixty-four group is second, at three hours. Overall, the chart suggests that older residents contribute most of the volunteer time in this community.
90 words. Identify, main feature, three details, conclusion.
Notice what it leaves out. Two of the five values are not mentioned, and that is fine. The response picks the numbers that prove the main point, and it finishes before the time runs out.
Worked example 2: a line chart
Now a line chart titled Monthly bicycle rentals at a city scheme, 2025. The line starts at about 4,000 in January, climbs steadily to a peak of 19,000 in July, falls through the autumn and ends near 5,000 in December. Again, invented figures.
This line graph shows the number of bicycles rented each month from a city scheme over one year. The main feature is a strong seasonal pattern: rentals rise through the first half of the year and fall through the second. They start at around four thousand in January, climb to a peak of about nineteen thousand in July, nearly five times the January figure, and then drop back to roughly five thousand by December. Overall, the graph suggests that demand for the scheme depends heavily on the weather, with summer accounting for most of the year's rentals.
96 words. The only numbers spoken are the start, the peak and the end, because those three tell the whole story.
The two responses have the same skeleton. Identify (what and over what period), main feature (rises with age; seasonal pattern), three details with numbers, one-sentence conclusion that interprets rather than repeats. Once the skeleton is automatic, a new image is a vocabulary problem, not a structure problem.
Language by image type
Learn one short set of phrases per image type. You do not need many; you need them ready.
Trends (line and bar charts)
- rose steadily · fell sharply · peaked at · levelled off · fluctuated between · remained stable
Comparisons (bar, pie, tables)
- the largest share · twice as many as · slightly higher than · by far the smallest · roughly equal to
Processes and cycles
- the first stage is · once this is complete · which then · in the final stage · the cycle repeats
Maps and plans
- located to the north of · next to · in the centre of · connected by · on the opposite side
Photographs
- in the foreground · in the background · appears to be · on the left · the scene suggests
The never-stop rule
The microphone closes after three seconds of silence, and a long pause while you hunt for a number costs fluency even when it does not close the microphone. So the rule is: if you lose your place, say something true and general about the image while you find the next detail. "The remaining groups are all lower than this" or "the pattern is similar across the rest of the year" is true, relevant and keeps the recording alive. Hesitating over units is the same trap. Say "about four hours" rather than stalling over whether it is 4.2 or 4.25. An approximate number said smoothly beats an exact one said with a pause.
Drills
- The one-sentence drill. Take ten images. For each, say only the identifying sentence, within three seconds of seeing it. No preparation. This makes part 1 reflexive.
- The headline drill. Same ten images. For each, 15 seconds to find and say the main feature in one sentence. Nothing else. This is the skill that preparation time exists for.
- The no-numbers drill. Describe a chart for 40 seconds without saying a single figure: only comparisons ("twice as high", "the lowest of the five"). This breaks the habit of reading values out.
- The full run, timed. Three images, real 25-second and 40-second timers, no break between them. Record all three. Listen for pauses over one second and for any sentence that could have been said about a different image.
- The rescue drill. Have someone cover part of the image at a random moment while you speak. Keep talking with a true, general sentence until it is uncovered. This is the never-stop rule under pressure.
A fifteen-minute daily routine
- Five minutes: the one-sentence and headline drills on five new images.
- Seven minutes: three full timed runs, recorded.
- Three minutes: listen back to the weakest run and note whether the problem was structure (a part missing), numbers (too many, or a stall) or silence.
After a week, the problem column of your notes will show one pattern. Spend the second week's drills on that pattern alone.
Sources: Pearson, PTE Core test format (Speaking & Writing); Pearson, PTE Core Test Taker Score Guide; Pearson, PTE Core test tips. The sample charts and responses on this page were written for this guide.