MET Speaking Task 5, explain and justify an opinion to a person of authority

Task 5 is the last thing you do in the whole test, and it is the only one where you are asked to change someone's mind. Stating a clear opinion is not enough. Michigan's pack says the task goes beyond that, and the extra is persuasion: a listener, a decision, reasons, and an answer to the worry that listener will have. This guide shows how to build that in 90 seconds.

What does MET Speaking Task 5 ask you to do?

Michigan's Speaking Resource Pack says Task 5 requires you to consider a situation, decide what you think about it, and then present your choice to a specific audience, usually a person in a position of authority in the situation. You are told who the person is and asked to convince them to agree with you. You have 90 seconds.

Michigan's sample is a local school considering Saturday lessons for all students. The prompt says many people think this is unfair to the students, introduces the speaker as the school principal, and asks you to say what you think and try to convince them. Michigan says Task 5 situations have two sides, so there is always a reasonable objection to answer.

Michigan calls this task "Explain and justify an opinion to a person of authority" in the Test Taker Handbook and "Provide convincing arguments on your opinion" in the Speaking Resource Pack. For the section at a glance, see MET Speaking, task by task.

Checked 15 and 16 October 2026 against Michigan's Speaking Resource Pack, March 2026 and Test Taker Handbook. ScoreFluent is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with Michigan Language Assessment.

What is the difference between Task 3 and Task 5?

Both ask for an opinion, and Michigan's pack says they have different focuses.

• Task 3 asks you to express and support your view. It runs for 60 seconds and has no named listener. Your job is to explain why you think what you think. See Task 3.
• Task 5 asks you to convince a named person, usually in authority. It runs for 90 seconds. Your job is to move that person, so the reasons you choose should be the ones they would care about.

The shift is from "this is my view" to "this is why you should agree".

How do you plan when there is no planning time?

Michigan describes no separate planning period. The task is read aloud, you hear "Begin speaking now", and recording starts automatically. The read-aloud happens before the timer, so it is the only thinking time you can count on. This is our reading of the process, not a Michigan statement.

Use it to answer three questions quickly:

1. What is my decision? Choose the side you can argue fastest. Michigan's Task 3 advice says the score does not depend on the opinion you give, and the same three-criterion scale applies here.
2. What does this person care about? A principal cares about students and the school. A landlord cares about income and reliable tenants. A manager cares about cost and workload.
3. What will they say against me? That objection is your fourth paragraph.

What are raters looking for in a persuasive answer?

Trained raters score MET Speaking on three criteria, each rated 0 to 4. The mapping to this task is our reading of the published scale.

• Task Completion. Relevance, how much you say, and your ability to elaborate with relevant supporting detail. Michigan's Task 5 advice is to use persuasive language, going beyond just presenting a clear opinion, and to support your argument with lots of reasons and examples.
• Language Resources. Range and accuracy of vocabulary and grammar. Persuasion invites modal verbs ("would", "could"), conditionals ("if you agreed, then...") and polite softening ("I understand your concern, however").
• Intelligibility / Delivery. Fluency, hesitation, rhythm and pronunciation. A confident, even pace suits a persuasive answer. Sounding certain is a delivery skill as well as a content one.

For how ratings become a 0 to 80 section score, see how MET is scored.

How do you structure a 90-second persuasive answer?

Here is a route you can run on any situation. The order and timings are ScoreFluent's technique, not an exam rule.

1. Address and decision, about 10 seconds. Greet the listener by their role and state your position. "Principal, I would like to ask you not to introduce Saturday lessons."
2. Reason one with an example or consequence, about 22 seconds.
3. Reason two with an example or consequence, about 22 seconds.
4. The objection, about 20 seconds. Say what they are probably worried about, then answer it. "I understand that you want students to have more teaching time, but..."
5. The request, about 10 seconds. End on a direct appeal. "I would ask you to consider a different solution."

That leaves a few seconds of margin. If you run long, drop the request, not the objection.

Michigan's own examples of persuasive language are "I urge you to agree with me" and "This decision will have serious consequences". Here is a wider kit, in a respectful register:

• Appeal: "I urge you to consider", "I would ask you to", "I hope you will agree".
• Weight: "This will have serious consequences", "The risk is", "Think about what this means for".
• Concession: "I understand that", "You are right that", "I appreciate the concern, but".
• Question: a single rhetorical question, such as "How can students concentrate if they never have a day to rest?"

Worked example

Scenario and prompt from the ScoreFluent bank: Your landlord plans to raise your rent by twenty percent. You have been a reliable tenant for four years and always pay on time. Persuade your landlord to lower the rent increase. Give at least two clear reasons.

The answer below was written by ScoreFluent to show the route. It is not a Michigan sample and has not been rated.

Mr Hall, thank you for talking with me. I would like to ask you to lower the rent increase. My first reason is reliability. I have lived here for four years and I have never paid late, so you have had a steady income from this flat without any worry. A new tenant could take weeks to find and might not be as dependable. My second reason is affordability. A twenty percent rise is a large jump all at once, and it would make it very hard for me to stay. If I had to leave, you would lose a good tenant and face the cost of finding someone new. I understand that your costs may have gone up. But a smaller, gradual increase would still help you and would let me plan. I urge you to consider a smaller rise, and I hope we can agree on something fair.

What each part does: the opening addresses the landlord and states the request, there are two labelled reasons with consequences, the objection is acknowledged and answered, and the last sentence is a direct appeal that echoes Michigan's own phrase.

What mistakes cost marks in Task 5?

• Describing the problem instead of arguing. "The rent is very high" is not a reason to lower it. Say why the landlord should act.
• Talking about the person instead of to them. "The principal should..." sounds like Task 3. Use "you", their title and requests.
• A clear opinion with no support. Michigan says to go beyond just presenting a clear opinion. Each reason needs an example or a consequence.
• Ignoring the other side. The situation has two sides, so the listener has an objection. Answering it is part of persuading.
• Being rude or threatening. "If you do not agree, I will leave" is an ultimatum, not an argument. Keep the register respectful but firm.

What practice scenarios can you try for Task 5?

Practice items from the ScoreFluent bank (not real exam questions). Each has a situation followed by a prompt. The wording "give at least two clear reasons" is the bank's instruction. Michigan's own sample asks you to say what you think and try to convince the listener, without a number.

1. You live in an apartment building, and your neighbor plays loud music late in the evening. You have an early work start and cannot sleep. Persuade your neighbor to turn the music down at night.
2. There is no bus stop near your neighborhood, so many elderly residents find it difficult to travel. You are speaking to a city official who is responsible for public transportation. Persuade the city official to add a bus stop in your neighborhood.
3. You ordered a meal for a family dinner, but it arrived cold and an hour late. The manager says refunds are not possible. Persuade the restaurant manager to give you a refund.
4. Your landlord plans to raise your rent by twenty percent. You have been a reliable tenant for four years and always pay on time. Persuade your landlord to lower the rent increase.
5. Your office throws away a large amount of paper and plastic every day. The director thinks a recycling program will be expensive and difficult to manage. Persuade your company director to let your department start a recycling program, and explain how you would handle the extra work involved.

The bank has no model answers for these scenarios, so the worked example above is ours. Item 5 sits highest in the bank's difficulty ratings because it asks for a plan as well as reasons. Our blog set MET Speaking practice questions has a different Task 5 prompt, about a library's closing time.

How do you practise Task 5 on your own?

Michigan suggests watching persuasive speeches or debates and noticing how speakers structure their arguments, what kinds of examples they give, and techniques such as rhetorical questions, then choosing a topic and trying them for the full 90 seconds. With a partner, give a 90-second persuasive speech on any topic while your partner plays the authority figure. Afterwards, ask whether you convinced them and why or why not, make changes, try again, then swap roles.

Add these ScoreFluent practice activities:

• Objection first. Before each practice, write the one thing the listener will say against you. Your fourth step answers it.
• Listener swap. Argue the same position to two different people, such as a manager and a friend, and change your reasons and register.
• The drop test. Record a full answer, then check that cutting the final 10 seconds would still leave a complete argument.

Reading a model shows the shape. A recording shows whether your argument reached the objection before the timer. Start practising MET free and you get 40 free credits. Credits never expire and there is no subscription. A Speaking examiner report costs 8 credits. Results are practice estimates, not official MET scores. See pricing.

Back to Task 4, advantages and disadvantages, the Michigan English Test overview, or the full list of MET task guides.