TOEFL Writing Section

The TOEFL Writing Section analyzes and measures test-takers writing competence in English required in an academic space and informal setting. Formal writing varies from informal writing, which test-takers would be most familiar with. Academic writing is not measured to the maximum extent since it is something test-takers will learn in college/university. However, to make use of the information provided, test-takers will require an average level of grammar and vocabulary.

While TOEFL iBT has tasks that measure English writing skills in an academic setting, TOEFL Essentials tests English writing competency in academic as well as social settings. The different tasks check grammar and formal writing skills.

This section measures test-takers' skills in organizing their thoughts and perspectives. Displaying unique perspectives will always be a plus in this section. At the same time, presenting a simple idea in its proper order with above-average vocabulary and accurate grammar will provide test-takers with the excellent results they want.

TOEFL Writing Section Test Structure

The Writing section takes around 30 minutes to complete for both iBT and Essentials and contains 2-3 tasks.

TOEFL iBT: The Writing section has 2 tasks- Writing for an Academic Discussion task and an Integrated writing task. This section takes 29-30 minutes to complete. The test-takers will have to type their response. These tasks focus on presenting ideas in an organized manner in an academic setting.

• Integrated writing task- In this task, test-takers will be given a short passage to read and a short lecture to listen to, after which they will be required to write a summary of the information they were provided. This task must be attempted using the content in the passage and the lecture, and any additional information or views should not be added. This section is designated a time limit of 20 minutes.
• Writing for an Academic Discussion task- In this task, test-takers engage in a dynamic online classroom discussion where they have to type their opinion on the said topic. This section is allocated 10 minutes.

TOEFL Essentials: The Writing section has 3 tasks that take 24-30 minutes to complete. This section tests informal and formal writing skills. There are two writing tasks and one grammatical/vocabulary task.

• Build a sentence- There are 14-18 questions in this task where the test-taker has to rearrange a set of words to complete a grammatically correct sentence.
• Write an email- The test-takers will have to write an email in this task based on the info provided. This task is usually informal, and the email is written to a friend or distant relative.
• Describe a Photo OR Write for an Academic Discussion- Test-takers will be given one out of these two tasks. Describing a photo task requires the test-takers to write a social media post about the given photo in 7 minutes. Writing for an academic discussion is a formal task where the test-taker supports an opinion in a classroom discussion.

How is TOEFL Writing Section Scored?

The TOEFL iBT score in the Writing section is within a range of 0-30, and a score of 24+ is considered good. On the other hand, the TOEFL Essentials Writing section is graded from 1-12, and 9 is considered an above-par score. This section is evaluated by AI software and human raters to avoid biases and discrepancies. If the difference between the two scores is significant, then a third human rater reviews the score.

The Writing section has 5 proficiency levels based on the score. These are:

Proficiency level	iBT Score	Essentials Score	General Description
Advanced level	24-30	10-12	Skill to write a well-organized text about a wide range of topics; has clarity and, a good range of vocabulary.
High-Intermediate level	17-23	8-9	writes well about familiar topics; can summarize; has few grammatical inaccuracies.
Low-Intermediate level	13-16	5-7	can produce simple content; limitations due to lack of vocabulary; language errors.
Basic level	7-12	3-4	basic knowledge of grammar; small range of vocabulary; cannot communicate thoughts well.
Below Basic level	0-6	1-2	close to having no knowledge in the language; cannot communicate thoughts in proper sentences.

Tips to Ace TOEFL Writing Section

The writing section can be aced only if test-takers have an overall idea of all the tasks in this section. Since the integrated task requires that test-takers read a passage, listen to a lecture, and then write down a response to the same, it is necessary that test-takers are good at listening and reading the content to figure out the text.

• Read academic articles- Reading academic articles can help test-takers understand what an organized text looks like. It will not be informal in its writing and will have a structure to follow for the integrated part of the test. Academic texts also give test-takers insights regarding topics they might not have come across while perusing popular content and can also lend them an air of complexity in thought as they write the test.
• Take notes- Once test-takers have mastered the reading and listening sections, they might have a certain confidence that they can ace the writing section. However, writing requires a very specific skill set, with time as a huge factor. Writing section has a total duration of around 30 minutes within which they are supposed to write 2 essays. This will demand a minimum of 4 paragraphs and high speed in writing/typing if they need to complete the test. Test-takers should ensure that they have a plan on how they will be attempting the test to increase writing/typing speed.
• Summarizing- Summarizing the content test-takers have just read or listened to is a perfect practice for the test. This will develop organizational skills, and after a few attempts, they will be able to point out what the most important points are in the content provided, thereby weeding out what is unnecessary. While summarizing content, always write in full sentences, even if this may seem tiring after a point.
• Listen to recorded lectures- The integrated task most definitely has a recorded lecture about which test-takers will have to write an essay/ response. Test-takers can always pause the recording when they begin practicing to avoid missing any information. Replay it and cross-check the recording with the notes that they have taken to figure out missing content. Listen to each recording at least thrice to be sure about the content and its meaning.
• Look for important phrases/words- There will always be important phrases that point to the main idea in any text. If test-takers figure out what these phrases are, they can focus on them instead of listening to every word and trying to figure out what is happening. This includes knowing the speaker and who the source of information is. Important words might contain words like “factor”, “issue”, or “point”.
• Understand the important elements of social media posts- Social media posts are different from news articles. Going over social media posts on Facebook or X (Twitter) will give the test-takers an idea of how to write an informal post when describing the photo.