TOEFL Writing in 23 minutes: ten sentences, one email and one discussion post

The email task lists what to cover. A missing point is the cheapest way to lose marks, and the one you control completely.

Twelve items, three tasks

Writing takes about 23 minutes and does not adapt, so every candidate sees the same number of tasks.

The old integrated essay is gone. If your practice material still asks you to listen to a lecture and then write about it, it belongs to the previous test.

Build a Sentence

Each item is one point, and ten of them add up. Grammar decides most of them, because the words are given and the order is the question. Indirect questions are a common trouble: "I wonder what time the lab opens" takes statement order, while "What time does the lab open?" takes question order. Learn to spot a question that sits inside a statement.

For practice, take ten sentences from anything you read, scramble the words and rebuild them against the clock.

Write an Email

The task describes a situation and lists points to cover. Answer each one. A missing point limits your score, however polished the rest is.

A useful method is to number the points in the prompt and tick them off as you write. If the task asks you to tell a tutor you cannot attend a seminar, explain why and ask about the reading, that is three jobs, and each needs its own sentence. Keep the register polite and direct, and finish with a sentence that closes the email.

Write for an Academic Discussion

You post a paragraph in an online class discussion. The aim is a clear, supported view. State a position, give a reason and respond to a classmate's view. A post that sits on the fence, or that praises both sides, gives the reader no position to assess.

A three-part frame keeps you on track:

1. Your position, in one sentence.
2. One reason, with a brief example.
3. A reply to what a classmate said, saying why you agree or differ.

Practice that gets feedback

Writing is a skill that responds to feedback more than volume. Write one short email a day and one discussion post a week, and have someone check them against the points the task asked for. Feedback can come from a person or an official tool. What matters is that every email and post is checked against the task.

Rehearse the order

Practise the section in sequence: ten sentences, then the email, then the post, under a timer. The pace only feels familiar once you have run the whole section a few times.

Check the prompt once more before you finish.