TOEFL iBT WRITING SECTION

The TOEFL iBT test Writing section measures your ability to write in English in an academic setting and to present your ideas in a clear, well-organized way.

There are two writing tasks.
  • Integrated writing task (20 minutes) — read a short passage and listen to a short lecture, then write in response to what you read and listened to.
  • Writing for an Academic Discussion task (10 minutes) — state and support an opinion in an online classroom discussion.

You’ll type your responses on a computer keyboard.
Test time: It should take about 29 minutes to complete the Writing section.
Scoring: Writing tasks are scored based on the Writing Scoring Guides (Rubrics) (PDF) by a combination of AI scoring and certified human raters. Raw scores are converted to a scaled section score of 0–30.Writing videos

Watch these videos to learn about the questions in the Writing section, plus helpful tips.

Question 1: Integrated Writing

Read a passage and listen to a lecture. Then write a response comparing them.
So, in the next few minutes we’re going to look at how the question is structured, how to approach the question, and how your response is scored. We’ll look at a sample response that received a high score, and we’ll give you some tips for improving your writing skills.
So, here’s generally what question one will look like. For this task, you will first read a passage about a topic. Then, you’ll listen to a short lecture related to the same topic. And then, you will have 20 minutes to type your response at the computer. There is no maximum length for your response, but typically an effective response has between 150 and 225 words.
Now let’s look more closely at what the Integrated Writing question is asking you to do.
First, you’ll see the reading passage, and you’ll have three minutes to read it. So, as you read, look for the main idea of the passage, and take notes about key points that relate to that main idea. You don’t need to memorize the passage because it will reappear on your screen when it’s time to write.
Next, you’ll listen to a lecture. The speaker will talk about the same topic from a different perspective for about two minutes. As you listen, you can take notes on your scratch paper. Listen for information that responds to the points in the reading passage.
You will only hear the listening passage once, and when it’s finished the reading passage will reappear on your screen along with the question. The question will always ask you to summarize the points made in the lecture and explain how they relate to specific points in the reading passage.
Tips

  • Now here are a few tips that can help you improve your writing skills. First, practice paraphrasing, which is expressing the same idea in different ways. Knowing how to paraphrase is important because it gives you more options when you need to respond to a question. You can practice paraphrasing just about anything — a news article, a television ad, an email from a friend, a poem, basically anything you read or hear. To be able to paraphrase well and to write well, you need to build your vocabulary. It’s important to be able to use synonyms of key words when you write.
  • Next, remember how we said it was important to be able to identify main points? You can practice this by listening to recorded lectures and writing down what the main points are. This is a great activity to do with a study partner because you can compare notes.
  • Here’s another tip: Read two articles that are on the same topic, and write a summary of each. Then, explain the ways in which they are similar and the ways that they’re different.

Scoring Criteria
Before the test, make sure you understand what the raters are looking for and how each question is scored. The tasks in the writing section will each be given an overall score from zero to five.
For question one, the Integrated Writing question, raters are looking for three main things – accurate development, organization, and language use.
First, accurate development: The raters are looking for how well you’re able to select important information from the lecture, then clearly present it in relation to the relevant information from the reading.
Second, organization: This basically means the reader can read your essay from beginning to end without becoming confused. You can help the reader follow your ideas by writing in paragraphs and using good transitions; and avoid redundancy, which is saying the same things over and over, just using different words.
The third criterion is language use. Raters are looking for things like sentence structure, word choice and vocabulary. It’s also important that your use of grammar is strong and consistent, though it doesn’t have to be perfect to get a top score.

Now that you understand how the question is presented, here are some strategies for what to do as you prepare and write your response.

As we mentioned about the reading passage, it’s important to identify the main idea, which is usually in the first paragraph, and see how it’s developed. Usually, there will be three points that support that main idea.

For this passage about computerized voting, the main idea is stated in the first paragraph. It basically says that current voting systems are inaccurate and unreliable, and should be replaced by computerized voting systems.

You’ll find the three supporting points in the next three paragraphs. Computerized voting would reduce the mistakes people make when they vote. It would reduce the mistakes people make when they count the votes, and it isn’t any riskier than other widely used electronic transactions like in banking.

In the listening passage, the speaker’s going to indicate his or her perspective near the beginning of the lecture. So, be sure to listen carefully. In this case, it’s clear that the speaker opposes a change to electronic voting.

Audio Example: It’s doubtful that computerized voting will make the situation any better.

Michael: Then, when you’re taking notes during the listening passage, remember that you’re looking for specific points that relate to the points in the reading.

Audio Example: These voters can easily cast the wrong vote or be discouraged from voting altogether because of fear of technology. Furthermore, it’s true that humans make mistakes when they count up ballots by hand, but are we sure that computers will do a better job? After all, computers are programmed by humans. So, human error can show up in mistakes in their programs, and in many voting systems, there is no physical record of the votes. So, a computer recount in the case of a suspected error is impossible. As for our trust of computer technology for banking and communications, remember one thing, these systems are used daily and they are used heavily, but voting happens only once every two years nationally in the United States, and not much more than twice a year in many local areas. This is hardly sufficient for us to develop confidence that computerized voting can be fully trusted.

Michael: In this example, the speaker makes several points. So, after you find those key points in the lecture, you may be able to match up those points with the main points from the reading.

Finally, and this may sound obvious, make sure you answer the question. The question will always ask you to summarize the lecture and it will always ask you how the lecture responds to the points made in the reading passage. So, if you only write about what’s in the reading passage, you’re not answering the question.

Now, let’s look at a sample response to this same question about computerized voting that received a score of five on a five-point scale. This response is very well organized and it does a very good job of selecting the important information from the points made in the lecture and explaining how the information relates to each of the claims made in the reading passage.

First, it says that many voters are unfamiliar with computers. So, some voters may end up not voting at all, and this counters the argument that computerized voting is more user friendly and prevents the voting results from being distorted.

Second, it directly challenges the argument that computerized voting will result in fewer miscounts by saying that computer programming errors could results in even larger miscounts or the loss of voting records.

Third, it rejects the idea that computerized voting would be similar to computerized banking by pointing out that the computerized banking is only reliable because it is so frequently used, and that does not apply to voting.

So, overall, the response is well organized, and it shows the writer really understands how to explain the ways in which one source disagrees with another. There are occasional minor language errors like “Some people are not used of computers,” instead of “Some people are not used to computers,” and making “miscounted” two words instead of one, but there aren’t very many of these kinds of errors. Most important, they don’t make the content of the response unclear or inaccurate. So, this response would receive the highest score of five out of five. It’s a good example of how your response doesn’t have to be perfect to get a high score. For more details about scoring this type of question, look at the Integrated Writing Rubrics.

View Transcript

COMPUTERIZED VOTING
Close Example

Question 2: Writing for an Academic Discussion

Share your opinion in an online discussion with a professor and other students.
So in the next few minutes, we’re going to look at how the question is structured, how to approach the question, how your response is scored. We’ll look at a sample response that received a high score, and will give you some tips for improving your writing skills.
Structure
So here’s generally what the writing for an academic discussion task will look like. For this task, you’re presented with an online academic discussion. A professor has posted a question about a topic, and some classmates have responded with their ideas. You have 10 minutes to type your own post that contributes to the discussion. There’s no maximum length for your response, but a good response is usually at least 100 words.
So what is this task asking you to do? It’s asking you to write an opinion in response to the professor’s question. Your opinion should contribute to the discussion. It should be clear and cohesive, and it should be developed and well supported by reasons or examples.
Approach Tips
The best way to approach a response is to read the discussion carefully and then come up with one or two ideas you would like to contribute to the discussion. In this discussion, the professor is asking the class to think about important discoveries or inventions other than the computer or the cell phone. One student in the class, Paul, posts about space satellites and the various benefits they bring.
Another student, Lena, posts about advances in medical science, particularly the discovery of vitamins. And now it’s your turn to provide your own contribution to the discussion. You could take some inspiration from one of the other posts and write about other advances in space technology or medical science, or something completely different, like how the invention of shipping containers made transporting goods around the world a lot cheaper, or anything else that comes to mind, like television, DNA, or plastics.
Start by introducing the invention, and then explain clearly why you think it is important, just as the professor has asked in the question. When you give your opinion, you may refer to one of the other student posts to agree or disagree, but make sure to use your own words and phrases. Don’t just copy what the other students have written.
Scoring Criteria
Before the test, make sure you understand what the raters are looking for and how each question is scored. Responses in the writing section will each be given an overall score from 0 to 5. For question 2, the writing for an academic discussion task, the raters are looking for three main things:
Relevant and clearly developed ideas

First, relevant and clearly developed ideas. The raters are looking for ideas that contribute to the discussion and are well supported by reasons and examples. If you just use a lot of words and sentences that are not well connected and do not support each other, or that don’t add up to a clear point of view, or if you develop empty ideas, you’ll receive a low score.

variety in the use of language

Second, variety in the use of language. The raters are looking for evidence that you can use a variety of structures and vocabulary. The variety should be natural and support your ideas. If you try to use varied structures of vocabulary without a good reason, that will not help you get a high score.

Correct use of language
The third criterion is a correct use of language. It is important that your use of grammar is strong and consistent, that your word choices are correct and appropriate, and that your spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are correct. Your writing doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect to get a top score, but the few small mistakes you may leave behind have to be typical of competent writers writing under timed conditions.
And don’t try to create an answer by memorizing sentences or paragraphs on various topics before the test and then trying to relate them to the topic you receive, because the content won’t be appropriate, and you’ll just receive a low score.
You can see exactly how your responses are scored by looking at the writing for an academic discussion rubric, or scoring guide. The writing rubrics can be found on the TOEFL website.
Now, let’s look at a sample response to give you an idea of what a good response looks like and what our raters look for when they score. This student wrote a response to the topic about inventions we discussed a minute ago. It received a score of 5 on a 5-point scale. The response is relevant and clearly expressed with good elaboration.
Santos was a major figure in the early history of flight and developed the first commercially viable airplane. There are some errors in mechanics, such as missing spaces after periods and not capitalizing Brazilian, and a few errors in prepositions and articles, like “any place of the world” and “a important invention,” but these kinds of errors are to be expected from a competent writer under timed conditions.
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
Text, Skill Building Tips.
(SPEECH)
Now, here are some tips for improving your writing and getting ready for the writing for an academic discussion task. One, find articles in newspapers or on websites that express opinions. Read them and write about why you agree or disagree.
Two, elaborate on ideas as much as you can. Practice by thinking of different reasons why you feel a certain way about a topic, then provide plenty of supporting arguments and examples for each reason. Three, when you practice, you may find that you’re making the same kinds of grammar mistakes over and over, so learn how to correct them. Then when you write, leave some time at the end to go back and revise to make those corrections.
(DESCRIPTION)
Inside the TOEFL test.
(SPEECH)
There are lots of ways to improve your English skills. Whatever you do, keep practicing, and good luck on your TOEFL test.
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
For more information about the TOEFL i B T text and to register, visit the website at e t s dot org slash t o e f l Copyright 2023.
View Transcript

Do you need to be an expert on the topics?

The writing tasks measure your English proficiency, so you don’t need deep knowledge on a specific topic to get a high score. Score raters recognize that each essay is a first draft, and you can receive a high score with an essay that contains some errors.
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