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3 tasks, 23 minutes — the current TOEFL iBT Writing format
TOEFL Writing changed to a 3-task format: Build a Sentence, Write an Email, and Write for an Academic Discussion. Each one is graded differently — see a real example of each below, and exactly how it's scored.
Task 1 — Build a Sentence (10 items · exact-match graded)
Tap scrambled words into the correct order. One extra word is often mixed in — it belongs nowhere.
Chunks
my bus · was · delayed · because · of the traffic · were
"My bus was delayed because of the traffic."
"were" is the distractor — it doesn't fit anywhere in a correct sentence, so it stays unused. Get it exactly right, or the item scores zero — no partial credit.
Task 2 — Write an Email (7 minutes · scored 0–5)
Reply to a campus or academic situation, hitting 3 stated requirements. Register matters as much as content.
Too direct ✗
"I want a different day for the workshop."
Appropriately polite ✓
"I'm writing to ask whether it might be possible to attend a different session, since I have a conflicting exam at the same time."
Task 3 — Write for an Academic Discussion (10 minutes · scored 0–5)
Read a professor's prompt and 2 classmate posts, then state and support your own position.
Ignores classmates ✗ (capped at 3, however clean the grammar)
"I agree that all students should take a required course in financial literacy."
Engages with a classmate ✓
"I agree with Diego — so many graduates really don't know how to budget or manage debt, and a required course would fix a real gap."
Putting it together
10 (Build a Sentence) + 5 (Email) + 5 (Discussion) = a raw score out of 20, converted to the 1.0–6.0 band on your results.
DEB
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