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Writing is the last section you’ll complete on the TOEFL. You’re so close to finishing, yet you still have two essays to write before you can celebrate completing the exam. In order to finish the test on a high note, you’ll need to be prepared for this section.

In this guide, we explain the ins and outs of the Writing section and the materials you need to do well. We then go over all the best TOEFL Writing practice resources available , including free and official practice Writing topics. We'll end with final tips to keep in mind in order to ace the TOEFL Writing section.

Overview of TOEFL Writing

The TOEFL Writing section is 50 minutes long (broken into two parts) and contains two tasks: Integrated Writing and Independent Writing. You’ll type both essays on the computer.

The Integrated Writing task requires you to use listening, reading, and writing skills. For this task, you will have three minutes to read a short passage, then you will listen to a short (approximately two-minute long) audio clip of a speaker discussing the same topic the written passage covers. You will have 20 minutes to plan and write a response that references both of these sources. You won’t discuss your own opinion.

For the Independent Writing task, you’ll receive a question on a particular topic or issue. You’ll have 30 minutes to plan and write a response to that topic that explains your opinion on it. You’ll need to give reasons that support your decision.

Each essay will receive a score from 0-5. The sum will then be scaled to a score from 0-30, which is your official Writing score. The Writing section makes up 25% of your total TOEFL score (from 0-120).

What You’ll Need to Be Prepared for the TOEFL Writing Section

As you likely expect, you’ll spend most of your time on the TOEFL Writing section, well, writing. However, you’ll also need to have solid reading and listening skills for the Integrated task. Since the Writing section requires multiple skills, you’ll need multiple study tools in order to be completely prepared. Some of the most important things you’ll need to prepare for TOEFL Writing include:

• Complete practice Writing sections
• Individual practice questions or TOEFL Writing topics
• Opportunities to practice your writing skills
• Opportunities to practice your listening skills

In the next section, we'll go over the best TOEFL Writing practice tests and questions.

The Best TOEFL Writing Practice Materials

This section contains links to the top practice materials to use while preparing for TOEFL Writing. What makes a practice material the best?

• First, the practice questions must be similar in content and format to the real TOEFL Writing section to give you the best preparation for the real exam.
• Second, it’s a major plus if the practice questions come with answer explanations that help you understand how to answer an essay prompt well.
• Finally, prep materials that include useful tips and strategies for answering Writing questions are useful because they give you advice on how to raise your score on this section.

Official Prep Materials

Official resources are the best to use since you can be confident they’ll be very similar to the real TOEFL Writing section. The topics will be much more realistic in format and content.

Below are all the official TOEFL Writing practice materials available, both free and paid resources. ETS doesn’t provide just Writing questions, so each of these resources also have practice resources for the other sections of the TOEFL. Be sure to include at least some of these materials in your studying. The next section has more tips on how to make the most of official practice resources.

TOEFL iBT Sampler

The TOEFL iBT Sampler is a program you can download with official practice questions, and it’s a great free and official resource to use. In addition to other TOEFL sections, it includes a complete TOEFL iBT Writing practice section (two tasks). Sample answers for both tasks are included so you can get an idea of what a good essay looks like. Unfortunately, the Sampler only works with Windows; you can’t download it with a Mac.

TOEFL iBT Sample Questions

This PDF is another free and official resource. In addition to other question types, it includes two Writing tasks: one TOEFL Integrated Writing practice question and one Independent Writing practice question. Each sample TOEFL Writing topic is followed by a sample essay as well as an in-depth score explanation, which is a great tool for studiers.

TOEFL iBT Quick Prep

The Quick Prep contains four different volumes, each of which contains one or two Writing prompts. The first volume is the best for TOEFL iBT Writing practice, since it contains two tasks (the others each only contain one) and also has an in-depth explanation of what your essays should include. The other three volumes only contain the essay rubrics without any advice on how to answer the specific essay prompt given.

TOEFL Practice Online (TPO) Tests

TPO tests are retired TOEFL exams now offered for test prep. They give the closest experience to the real TOEFL, and, because of that, they aren’t cheap. You’ll have to pay $45 for each complete TOEFL you buy (you can’t just buy individual TOEFL iBT Writing practice sections).

Your exam will be automatically graded after you finish it, although I was not particularly impressed with how the Writing section was graded when I took it. For the actual TOEFL, two human graders and a computer program review your essays and assign grades to each one. For this exam, a computer grades your Writing section within less than a minute of you completing the exam, and there is no explanation of how that grade was determined.

This is a useful resource, but if you don’t want to spend that much money on a practice test, it’s completely possible to do well just using the above practice resources.

Official TOEFL Prep Books

There are several official TOEFL prep books for sale by ETS. The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test , in addition to explaining the types of questions on the test, contains numerous practice questions and three full-length exams.  This is also the only official prep book that includes sample essays of varying scores along with scoring explanations, which can be a big help if you’re trying to guess what score your essays would get.

There’s also the Official TOEFL iBT Tests Volumes 1 and 2. Each of these books contains five unique practice tests, available on paper and the computer. However, no sample responses are given for Writing questions, which make them a less useful resource compared to The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test.

Unofficial Prep Materials

You have to be more careful when using unofficial prep resources since not all of them are reliable. Some are high-quality and very similar to the TOEFL, others are not. For the Writing section in particular, because it’s so easy to make up essay prompts, there are many sites that claim to offer TOEFL Writing practice when their practice questions are actually low-quality. Below are some of the top unofficial prep resources out there. All of them (except the prep books, if you buy them) are free.

English Club

This site contains one TOEFL Integrated Writing practice task and five Independent Writing practice tasks. All six TOEFL Writing topics are similar to the real test, and the Integrated task as well as one of the Independent tasks have sample responses you can compare your answers to. At the bottom of the web page is a checklist of things your essays should include to help give you a guideline of what you should be aiming for when you write.

Magoosh offers one TOEFL Integrated Writing practice task. That’s not a lot of practice, but it is a high-quality question that includes a sample response. Magoosh also offers three complete TOEFLs, so you can use those Writing questions as well.

Good Luck TOEFL

This site has a huge number (several hundred) of Independent Writing tasks, separated into five different categories depending on question type. Some of the questions are more simplistic than you’ll see on the real TOEFL , and there’s no scoring information or sample responses, but there are a good source if you need more TOEFL Writing topics to write about.

Beat the Test

This site contains 155 Independent Writing tasks. Like Good Luck TOEFL, some of these TOEFL Writing topics are easier than you’ll find on the TOEFL, and there are no sample responses included, but they do give you the opportunity to practice writing.

Unofficial Prep Books

Prep books, even unofficial ones, often are a great resource for practice questions. Most books include sample Writing questions, along with scoring explanations , and then contain one or more complete practice TOEFLs at the end of the book. You can learn all about the best TOEFL prep books by reading our guide .

Other TOEFL Writing Practice Materials

There are other ways to practice besides just answering sample Writing questions. TOEFL Writing is designed to measure how strong your English writing skills are, so, any practice you get writing English will help you with this section, even if you’re not directly answering practice exam questions. There are many ways to get writing practice; several of them are described below.

Duolingo is a popular free language-learning site. Users answer different types of questions, including writing questions. You can’t choose to only answer writing questions, so this isn’t the best resource for targeted writing practice, bu t it’s a good way to strengthen your overall English skills.

For advanced English learners, many of Duolingo’s beginning problem sets will likely be too easy, but you can take a quiz to figure out where in the program you should start.

Free Writing

Finally, you can also practice writing about topics that have nothing to do with the TOEFL. As long as you’re writing in English, you’re getting good practice. Writing about something that interests you can also encourage you to write more. Some ideas for free writing include:

• Keeping a journal
• Getting an English-speaking pen pal
• Starting a blog about a topic that interests you

How to Get the Most Out of Your TOEFL Writing Practice

Now that you’re an expert on the best practice resources for TOEFL Writing, the next step is to put those materials to use in the most effective way in order to see results on test day. Follow these four tips in order to get the most out of your practice.

Practice Writing in English Regularly

The most important thing you can do to practice for the Writing section of the TOEFL is to practice writing English regularly. If you can practice every day, that would be ideal, but at the very least you should aim to practice writing 1,000 words in English a week.

Remember, this writing practice doesn’t only have to consist of answering TOEFL Speaking questions; any free writing, even just jotting down what you did that day in your diary, counts as writing practice.

Make Use of Official Materials

As mentioned above, official TOEFL resources have the best practice questions out there, so you want to make the most of them. Spread these questions throughout your TOEFL studying; don’t use them all up at the beginning or save them all for the end. You want to be regularly seeing these questions as you prepare.

Also, when you answer official practice questions, make sure you set enough time aside to devote your full attention to them. Practice them in a quiet room with no distractions, and carefully compare your responses to the sample responses. These aren’t the questions to practice when you have a few minutes to spare and need some quick practice while scrolling through your phone.

Time Yourself When Writing Practice Essays

When you are writing practice essays, you should also time yourself. Give yourself 20 minutes to plan and write each Integrated Writing task and 30 minutes for each Independent Writing task.

Timing yourself when you write will help you be better prepared for test day because you’ll have practice planning and writing essays within a limited time frame. When you first begin writing practice essays, it can be easy to spend too much time preparing and run out of time before you finish writing. Taking timed practice essays will help you avoid this. You should also count how many words each of your essays contain after you’ve finished writing them. Integrated tasks should be 150-225 words and Independent tasks should be at least 300 words.

Review Your Practice Essays

After you write each TOEFL practice essay, you should also review it and think about how well it answered the question. This is easier to do if the practice question comes with sample answers that you can compare your answer to, but you should do this step for all practice essays you write, even if they don’t come with any answer explanation. You can also assign your essays a score or have a tutor or friend who’s also studying for the TOEFL score your essay.

It’s tempting to take a break from TOEFL studying as soon as you’ve finished your essays, but it’s important to do this step because it will get you thinking about what great essays look like and how yours can be improved. The ETS provides the rubric it uses to grade TOEFL writing tasks which you can use to evaluate your essays.

Conclusion: Getting the Most Out of Your TOEFL Writing Practice

In order to write two awesome essays for the TOEFL Writing section, you’ll likely have to put in some practice. Once you know what to expect from this section and how you’ll be graded, use a variety of official and unofficial practice resources during your studying.

As you’re preparing for the Writing section, you should also practice writing in English regularly, use official resources wisely, time yourself when writing practice essays, and review your essays after you write them.

What's Next?

Looking for more information on the TOEFL Writing section? Learn all the tips you need to know in order to ace TOEFL Writing !

What score should you be aiming to get on the TOEFL? Learn what a good TOEFL score is based on the schools you're interested in attending.

Looking for a great TOEFL prep book? A good prep book can be the most important study tool you use, and we have information on all the best TOEFL prep books you should consider .

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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Writing Section of the TOEFL iBT

Toefl ibt writing section summary.

On the TOEFL iBT writing section, students must complete two written essays. Total section timing is 50 minutes, which is divided into a 20-minute segment for an integrated writing task and a 30-minute block for an independent writing task. Human graders trained by ETS read all essays, which are assessed on a scale of 0 to 5 (on score reports, this is called a "task rating"). Test-takers also receive a scaled writing section score of 0 to 30 along with brief and general comments on both essays. The primary criteria used by graders to evaluate essays are development, organization, and language use.

TOEFL iBT Integrated Writing

As denoted by the term, iBT integrated writing essays involve both reading passages and listening excerpts. Students first read a brief text on a general or academic topic, and then listen to a portion of a lecture on that same topic. An essay prompt asks students to summarize what was discussed in the lecture and how it either supports or undermines the content of the reading passage. On the actual test, this exercise will be referred to as "Writing Based on Reading and Listening." The suggested length of the essay is 150-225 words.

TOEFL iBT Independent Writing

On the iBT independent writing task, students write an essay in response to a prompt that can deal with a wide variety of general topics. This task is based on the essay prompt only and does not include any reading passages or lecture excerpts. Essay prompts typically ask students whether or not they agree with a certain statement, their opinions on issues of public interest, or what they would do in a given situation. The independent writing task is also known as "Writing Based on Knowledge and Experience." As indicated by the directions that accompany the essay prompt, the most effective independent essays are usually at least 300 words in length.

Important TOEFL iBT Writing Skills

While preparing for the iBT writing section, test-takers should focus primarily on developing the ability to address the relevant tasks in concise fashion. Pay special attention to answering the specific questions asked within the suggested essay wordcounts (students will not be rewarded for excessively long essays; in fact, they will almost certainly be penalized for too much irrelevant content). It is also crucial for students to practice writing essays within the iBT writing section's time constraints. The most successful essays are coherently structured, articulately developed, and correct in terms of the conventions of written English. Graders are mainly concerned with essay content, and it is possible to earn a high score in spite of a few spelling or grammar mistakes if the test-taker accurately explains the most important points associated with the essay. The taking of notes is allowed while completing the iBT writing section, and students may therefore outline their essays before writing the actual text.

TOEFL iBT Writing Score Requirements at Universities

TOEFL iBT writing standards can be set either at the institutional, divisional, or departmental level. Some schools consider writing skills to be more important than others. The total TOEFL score requirement for graduate students at UCLA is 87, but this composite score must consist of 25 writing, 24 speaking, 21 reading, and 17 listening (note that the expected writing score is the highest of these). Harvard University is an example of an institution that values all TOEFL scores equally (the minimum total score for most programs is 100, with at least 25 on each section). It is also common for universities to consider iBT total scores only and to have no specific requirements with respect to the writing section. Even in these cases, poor writing skills can be harmful to student prospects because low writing scores will obviously affect an applicant's ability to receive the expected total score.

TOEFL iBT Writing Section Validity

Independent researchers have explored the validity of the iBT writing section from a variety of perspectives. A doctoral dissertation written at Georgia State University in 2011 found "empirical evidence" that the two types of writing tasks included on the iBT writing section each elicited distinctive forms of writing, "thus justifying the concurrent use of them on an exam." A master's thesis written at the University of Illinois in 2010 asserted that writing section scores can serve as an "additional reference" for appropriate placement in remedial English courses. A 2013 paper found that the essay scores given by human graders could be predicted by certain "linguistic features" associated with complexity and sophistication (such as diversity of word choice, use of prepositional phrases, and variable sentence structures). The results of these studies seem to indicate that the iBT writing section is a valid assessment, but questions have been raised that will likely suggest further refinements.

• TOEFL Writing Correction Topics
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The TOEFL Writing Section: How Long Should My Essay Be?

On the TOEFL , the Writing Section is the fourth and final section of the exam. Like the other sections of the exam, the Writing Section is 50 minutes long. During that time, you will have two tasks: 1) The Integrated Writing Task, and 2) The Independent Writing Task. You will have 20 minutes to complete the Integrated Writing first, and then 30 minutes to complete the Independent Writing.

The TOEFL recommends the following word lengths for each section: Integrated Writing Task: 150-225 words Independent Writing Task: 250-300 words

Most TOEFL experts agree, you need to write more than what the TOEFL exam suggests, but not too much more, so this leads to the question: How long should my essay be?

1. Integrated Writing The first task on the TOEFL Writing Section is the Integrated Writing task. For the Integrated Writing , you will have to read a passage and listen to a lecture before writing your essay. The first part is the reading passage, which is approximately 250-300 words, and you get 3 minutes to read this passage. Next, you will listen to a lecture about the topic from passage you just read. This audio clip is typically 2-3 minutes long. Then you will have 20 minutes to write about the topic using information from both the reading and listening passages.

We suggest your TOEFL Integrated Writing essay should be: 250-300 words.

Now notice that 250-300 words is the recommended length for the Independent Writing, for which you have 30 minutes to write. We are suggesting you write this much on the Integrated Writing, which you only have 20 minutes to write. It will be difficult to write more than 250-300 words on the Integrated essay in just 20 minutes. So, the important point for this essay is to use your time wisely, and again, focus your answer on what is talked about in the lecture.

2. Independent Writing The second and final task on the TOEFL Writing Section is the Independent Writing . On this task, you will be given a question relating to a topic which asks for your opinion. You will have 30 minutes to plan and write about your opinion on the topic, including providing reasons for your opinion. The questions on the Independent Writing are usually one of the following types:

    1) pick a side of a controversial argument,     2) state your preference between two or three conflicting options, or     3) explain why you agree or disagree with a given statement.

Because this task is much more open-ended, it is important on the Independent Writing not to lose track of what yourself. For one, only choose one of the options or sides of the argument to write about. Don’t try to write about both sides. Even if you don’t have a strong opinion on the topic, or if you could go either way on the topic, choose a side a stick to it. You should also outline the structure of your essay beforehand, so you have time to fully cover everything you need to write. A good Independent essay has at least two supporting reasons for your opinion that are fully developed in the body of the essay. These reasons should be explained and illustrated with personal life experiences. In order to do this, we recommend writing more than what the TOEFL suggests.

We suggest your TOEFL Independent Writing essay should be: 350-400 words.

Now in 30 minutes, it is possible to write way more than this recommended length, especially about a topic which you have strong opinions. You could probably write over 1000 words in 30 minutes if you were really passionate about it. But remember the TOEFL is not grading you on the length of your essay. The TOEFL is grading your vocabulary, grammatical sentence patterns and overall structure . So why try to get a perfect score with 1000 words, when you can easily get a perfect score with less than half that.

One thought on “The TOEFL Writing Section: How Long Should My Essay Be?”

thanks, was very useful, I have difficulty writing an integrated essay and have trouble with lack of time while writing

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The best toefl writing templates for any prompt.

Even if English composition isn’t your forte, you can still earn a high score on the TOEFL Writing section by following a template. But what exactly is a TOEFL Writing template? Simply put, TOEFL essay templates teach you how to organize your thoughts, select strong pieces of evidence, and get the Writing score you want .

In this article, we’re providing you with  two high-quality TOEFL essay templates for the Integrated and Independent Writing tasks. Before that, we’ll go over the differences between the two TOEFL Writing tasks and then discuss how our TOEFL essay templates can benefit you. After, we’ll teach you how to customize and use our templates.

What Essays Will You Write on the TOEFL?

The Writing section is the final section you’ll face on the TOEFL, and it consists of two separate tasks: an Integrated Writing task and an Independent Writing task . The Integrated task requires you to write a response comparing a lecture and an article, whereas the Independent task requires you to write an opinionated essay in which you agree or disagree with an idea.

Below, we examine the two TOEFL Writing tasks in detail.

Integrated Writing Task

For the Integrated task, you must read a passage on an academic topic for three minutes and then listen to a short lecture on the same topic. This lecture will either support or challenge what’s written in the passage. Your response must  summarize the main points discussed in the lecture and explain how these points relate to the reading .

You’ll have a total of  20 minutes to write your response. Your response should be around  150-225 words . During this time, you may reread the passage; however, you may not listen to the lecture again.

By the way: we have built the world's best online TOEFL course . Get online practice (TPO-sytle!) and individual grading and feedback on Speaking and Writing.

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The score you receive for this task will be on a scale of 0-5 . According to the official rubric , a level-5 essay (i.e., a perfect essay) selects the most crucial information from the lecture and presents it in a coherent, accurate, and well-organized manner. A level-3 essay is satisfactory but overall vague, with fewer key points and several grammatical errors. Finally, a level-1 essay offers minimal coherency and fails to address any of the main points in the lecture. ETS (the creators of the TOEFL) offers  several samples of scored Integrated essays  online.

Below is an example of an Integrated Writing task borrowed from  ETS :

Reading Passage

Critics say that current voting systems used in the United States are inefficient and often lead to the inaccurate counting of votes. Miscounts can be especially damaging if an election is closely contested. Those critics would like the traditional systems to be replaced with far more efficient and trustworthy computerized voting systems.

In traditional voting, one major source of inaccuracy is that people accidentally vote for the wrong candidate. Voters usually have to find the name of their candidate on a large sheet of paper containing many names—the ballot—and make a small mark next to that name. People with poor eyesight can easily mark the wrong name. The computerized voting machines have an easy-to-use touch-screen technology: to cast a vote, a voter needs only to touch the candidate’s name on the screen to record a vote for that candidate; voters can even have the computer magnify the name for easier viewing.

Another major problem with old voting systems is that they rely heavily on people to count the votes. Officials must often count up the votes one by one, going through every ballot and recording the vote. Since they have to deal with thousands of ballots, it is almost inevitable that they will make mistakes. If an error is detected, a long and expensive recount has to take place. In contrast, computerized systems remove the possibility of human error, since all the vote counting is done quickly and automatically by the computers.

Finally some people say it is too risky to implement complicated voting technology nationwide. But without giving it a thought, governments and individuals alike trust other complex computer technology every day to be perfectly accurate in banking transactions as well as in the communication of highly sensitive information.

Lecture Transcript

(Narrator) Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.

(Female professor) While traditional voting systems have some problems, it’s doubtful that computerized voting will make the situation any better. Computerized voting may seem easy for people who are used to computers. But what about people who aren’t? People who can’t afford computers, people who don’t use them on a regular basis—these people will have trouble using computerized voting machines. 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 the errors caused by these defective programs may be far more serious. The worst a human official can do is miss a few ballots. But an error in a computer program can result in thousands of votes being miscounted or even permanently removed from the record. 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. They didn’t work flawlessly when they were first introduced. They had to be improved on and improved on until they got as reliable as they are today. 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.

Question: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they oppose specific points made in the reading passage.

Independent Writing Task

For the Independent task, you will write about your opinion on a certain topic . You must provide clear reasons and specific examples for why you agree or disagree with the issue or statement. (This doesn’t have to be your real opinion, though!) You’ll have 30 minutes to write your response. A typical high-scoring essay is at least 300 words .

You’ll receive a score on a scale of 0-5 . According to the official rubric , a level-5 essay effectively addresses the topic, provides clear and ample details, and contains at most only minor issues with grammar and word choice. A level-3 essay offers a generally coherent response with occasional slips in clarity. Finally, a level-1 essay offers little to no detail and contains multiple technical errors. You can look at samples of Independent essays  on the ETS website.

Here is an example of an Independent Writing task taken from ETS :

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Always telling the truth is the most important consideration in any relationship.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Integrated Task vs. Independent Task

So far we’ve covered all of the basic components of the TOEFL Writing tasks. To briefly recap, here is an overview of the Integrated and Independent Writing tasks:

What Is a TOEFL Writing Template?

The purpose of a TOEFL Writing template is to help you compose a detailed and eloquent essay — and of course get you a high Writing score! But what exactly is a template?

It’s easiest to think of an essay template as a skeleton . While a skeleton is the framework for a body, a template is the framework for an essay . Thus, a TOEFL Writing template highlights basic structural patterns and phrases you can integrate into your own writing. What a template doesn’t do is write your essay for you. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how you’ll add the skin and muscles (i.e., the details and supporting evidence) to your “skeleton.”

Furthermore, writing templates are typically created to suit different types of essays . For example, a template for a compare/contrast essay will differ from a template for an editorial piece. This is why it’s so important you use a writing template specifically geared toward the TOEFL!

What Are the Benefits of a TOEFL Writing Template?

There are three major benefits to using a TOEFL Writing template.

It Organizes Your Thoughts

Using a TOEFL Writing template ensures you’ll have a focused and well-organized response . A high-quality template teaches you how to structure your response so that your introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs are all clearly defined. This way, even if your grammar and spelling aren’t perfect, your response will still have an overall strong framework that’s easy to follow.

TOEFL essay templates also show you  what kinds of transitions you can use and where . Transitions are a key component of essays that allow you to connect your thoughts and progress to new ideas smoothly. Truth be told, you probably won’t score super highly on the TOEFL Writing section if you don’t use any transitions!

It Saves You Time

Another big benefit of using a TOEFL Writing template is that it saves you time on the Writing section. Since you’ll already have a sense of how you’re going to structure your essay,  you’ll spend less time planning it out and   coming up with transitions, openings, and closings. As a result, you’ll get more time to actually write out your response!

It Gives You Confidence

Lastly, a TOEFL Writing template allows you to  feel more prepared on test day. Many test takers find it difficult to write out responses to English-language prompts in only 20 or 30 minutes. But TOEFL essay templates equip you with the skills you’ll need to feel more confident in your writing skills — and confidence is the first step toward getting a great TOEFL score!

2 TOEFL Essay Templates for You to Use

In this section, we offer you   a TOEFL Integrated Writing template and an Independent Writing TOEFL template . We also provide you with a handy list of key transitional words and phrases  you can incorporate into your essays.

Please note that you do not need to follow these templates directly. In fact, we strongly encourage you to replace our sample words and phrases with your own . We will talk more about how to customize our TOEFL essay templates in the following section. But for now, let’s take a look at the templates!

Template 1: Integrated Writing Task

Before we dive into our TOEFL Integrated Writing template, let’s get a quick reminder of what the Integrated task entails.

For this task, you’ll read a passage and then listen to a lecture. Your task is to summarize the lecture and explain whether the lecture challenges or supports what’s written in the passage. You’ll have 20 minutes to compose a response of around 150-225 words .

We’ll divide our template into four paragraphs:  an introduction and three body paragraphs . You shouldn’t need a separate concluding paragraph for this task, as you can still score a 5 without one (plus, you likely won’t have enough time to write one!). But if you want to write a conclusion, just be sure you keep it short —  two to three sentences  at most.

Now, on to the TOEFL Integrated Writing template!

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)

Your first paragraph will introduce the lecture and how it relates to the reading. This paragraph doesn’t need to be long; a simple  two or three sentences should suffice.

1. Begin with a topic sentence that summarizes the main point of the lecture.

• According to the lecture, …
• Based on the lecture, …
• The lecturer states/believes that …
• The lecturer talks about …
• The lecturer discusses …

2. Next, explain whether the passage refutes or supports the main point of the lecture.

Examples (Contrast):

• By contrast, the author of the passage explains/states/posits that …
• The author of the passage, however, disagrees with this idea/belief. Instead, he/she believes that …
• The author of the passage, however, doubts this idea/belief and thinks that …
• The author challenges this point, however, by explaining/suggesting/positing that …

Examples (Agreement):

• This line of thinking agrees with that of the author, who states that …
• The author of the passage agrees with this notion/idea/belief, stating that …
• Likewise, the author of the passage explains/states/posits that …
• The author of the passage supports this idea/belief, explaining that …

Paragraph 2 (Body)

In this paragraph, you’ll want to focus on one of the key points in the lecture and explain whether the passage refutes or supports this idea.

1. Introduce the main point you’ll be discussing.

• First, the lecturer asserts/claims/suggests that …
• For one, the lecturer thinks/believes that …
• The first point the lecturer makes is that …

2. Next, describe this particular point in more detail and then discuss how the passage either refutes or supports it. I suggest using one to two sentences here.

• On the other hand, the author asserts/claims/suggests that …
• Likewise, the author thinks/believes that …
• This concept is refuted/supported by the passage, which asserts/claims/suggests that …

3. Finally, conclude your paragraph by explaining what this difference or similarity means .

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• This difference/similarity ultimately means/indicates that …
• Basically, the lecturer/author is saying that …
• The lecturer and author are essentially in agreement with each other. Both think/believe that …
• Clearly, the lecturer and author maintain different views on …

Paragraph 3 (Body)

In this paragraph, you’ll focus on another key point in the lecture and again discuss how the passage either agrees or disagrees with this idea. The structure here is essentially identical to that of paragraph 2, so make sure you are using new transitions and varying your word choice.

1. Start by introducing the second point  in the lecture you’ll be discussing. Because this is your second body paragraph, do not use transitions such as “first” or “first of all.”

• Second, the lecturer argues/contends/asserts that …
• Next, the lecturer suggests/proposes that …
• Another key point the lecturer makes is that …

2. Next, explain this key point in more detail  and elaborate on how it is either refuted or supported by the passage. As with paragraph 2, I recommend using one to two sentences here.

• In other words, the lecturer is suggesting/proposing that …
• The author, however, agrees/disagrees with this idea/belief, suggesting/proposing that …
• Similarly, the author argues/contends/asserts that …

3. Finally, explain what this difference or similarity means .

• What this difference/similarity means is that …
• This difference/similarity in thinking tells us that …
• Evidently, the lecturer thinks/believes that … , whereas the author thinks/believes that …

Paragraph 4 (Body + Conclusion)

This final body paragraph will offer  your last key point in addition to a brief conclusion . Once again, try to vary your transitions and words here so that your body paragraphs do not sound redundant.

1. Introduce and summarize the third point in the lecture . This is your third and final body paragraph, so do not use transitions such as “first” or “next.” Instead, use transitions such as “third,” “finally,” “last,” and “lastly.”

• Third, the lecturer explains/states that …
• Finally, the lecturer introduces the idea that …
• Lastly, the lecturer goes on to say that …

2. Then, explain this point in more detail and discuss whether the passage matches or challenges it. Use one or two sentences here.

• This point is also made in the passage, which argues/contends/asserts that …
• The passage supports this idea, suggesting/proposing that …
• On the contrary, the author writes that …

3. Finally, conclude your paragraph by explaining the significance of this similarity or difference . You should also look at this sentence as the conclusion to your entire response . Remember, you do not need to write a separate concluding paragraph for this task; it’s perfectly OK to combine it with your last body paragraph!

• In conclusion, the lecturer and author appear to be in agreement/disagreement about …
• All in all, the lecturer argues/contends/asserts that … , whereas the author argues/contends/asserts that …

Template 2: Independent Writing Task

For this task, you will read a short prompt and then write a response explaining whether you agree or disagree with the issue or idea. Unlike the Integrated task, here you’ll be writing an opinionated response  (though you do not have to write about your actual opinion).

You’ll have 30 minutes to write an essay of at least 300 words . Because this essay should be longer than the Integrated task, it’s best to use the basic five-paragraph structure, with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Note that many of the example sentences below are based on the sample Independent Writing prompt used above . This means that these sentences will not apply exactly to other prompts! So don’t simply copy the sentences onto your test; instead, use them as a general guide to help you develop a better sense of style and flow in your writing.

Now, let’s take a look at our Independent Writing TOEFL template.

In this paragraph, you’ll introduce the main issue or idea and rephrase the prompt in your own words. Then, you’ll state whether you agree or disagree with the statement and why.

1. For your first sentence, you’ll want to come up with a hook  that introduces the topic of your essay in a unique and creative way. Most people  start broad and then get specific . This sentence is also a great opportunity to insert a hypothetical question.

• There is great debate about .. .
• It is said that .. . But is this always true?
• Many people wonder  whether telling the truth at all times is necessary in order to maintain a healthy relationship with someone .

2. Next, introduce your opinion on the topic . You may list your specific reasons for your opinion here or in the following sentence(s). Remember, this doesn’t need to be your real opinion!

• In my opinion, …
• I believe that … is important because …
• I agree/disagree with this idea/suggestion because …
• For me, although telling the truth is important , there are many cases in which it’s OK to lie .

3. Here, state how many points (three is ideal) you’ll be discussing in your essay and then  briefly summarize what these reasons for agreeing or disagreeing are . Your reasons may come from facts, predictions, personal beliefs, experiences, etc.

• In this essay, I will address three potential problems with lying in relationships .
• Lying is never a smart idea because it undermines trust in relationships, causes feelings of betrayal, and often leads to more lying.

In this paragraph, you’ll introduce  your first key point about the issue and offer specific examples illustrating why you agree or disagree.

1. For the first sentence, introduce the key point you want to talk about.

• First of all, lying can make it difficult to trust someone in a relationship.

2. Next, provide an example to explain why you believe this is the case . I suggest using a hypothetical situation somewhere in your essay to help illustrate one of your points.

• For example, if a father lied to his daughter by telling her she was good at drawing, the daughter might begin to wonder whether her father has lied to her about other things, too.

3. Continue your paragraph by elaborating on your example . Explain any effect or consequence of the example and discuss how this outcome supports your viewpoint.

• The next time the father praises his daughter for something, she might believe he is lying, even if he isn’t. In other words, the daughter might find it difficult to trust her father, thereby damaging their relationship.

This paragraph will follow a similar structure to that of paragraph 2, only this time you’ll discuss your second key point . To prevent this paragraph from sounding too similar to the one before it, vary your word choice and choose a different type of example on which to focus.

1. In the first sentence, introduce your second key point . Because this is your second body paragraph (and second point), make sure you employ appropriate transitions, such as “second,” “secondly,” and “next.”

• Second, lying can cause feelings of betrayal in relationships.

2. As you did in paragraph 2, use these next few sentences to elaborate on your point and offer specific examples . Always clarify how your examples support your stance (agree or disagree) and how they relate back to the issue stated in the prompt.

• When I was young, I lied to my best friend about being able to attend her birthday party. She later told me I’d betrayed her and that we couldn’t be friends anymore. Essentially, because I’d lied to her, I destroyed our relationship.

Paragraph 4 (Body)

This is the last body paragraph in which you will introduce and explain your third and final key point .

1. First, introduce your third point . As this is your final body paragraph, make sure you’re using appropriate transitions, such as “finally,” “last,” “lastly,” and “third,” to introduce your point.

• Lastly, lying often begets more lying. This means that once you tell a lie, you will become more likely to tell other lies.

2. As you did in paragraphs 2 and 3, elaborate on this point by providing new evidence, details, and/or examples. Explain why this point is important and how it supports your stance on the issue.

• If you lie but nobody knows you’ve lied, you might begin to believe it’s OK to lie. As a result, you start to lie more and more. However, once people realize how often you lie, they’ll likely lose all trust in you and might even decide to end their relationships with you.

Paragraph 5 (Conclusion)

Like the Integrated Writing task, a separate concluding paragraph isn’t always necessary here . That said, if you have time, I recommend quickly wrapping up your points in a concise yet effective conclusion. One to three sentences should suffice.

1. In the first sentence or two, summarize your stance and explain why you feel this way . You may re-introduce your three main points here. You may also paraphrase the prompt and explain once more whether you agree or disagree with the issue and why.

• In the end, I believe telling the truth is the most important consideration in a relationship.
• Ultimately, lying can easily destroy relationships because it weakens trust, results in feelings of betrayal, and often causes more lying.

2. Finally, if you have time, bring together your concluding paragraph with a single general statement about your viewpoint .

• This is why it is imperative we always refrain from lying.
• Thus, the only way to ensure your relationships with others are healthy is to always tell the truth.

54 Key Transitions & Phrases

In addition to TOEFL essay templates, we offer you an assortment of  common transitions and phrases you can use in your TOEFL responses. These words will allow your writing to flow more smoothly and connect your thoughts in a clearer, more logical manner.

To add information to a point, or to introduce a new (related) point:

• In addition, …
• Additionally, …
• Furthermore, …
• Moreover, …
• Besides, …
• Also, …

To introduce an example:

• For example, …
• For instance, …

To introduce an opinion:

• I believe that …
• I think that …

To start a new body paragraph:

• First off, …
• First of all, …
• To begin/start, …
• Secondly, …
• Last, …

To add similar or related information:

• Likewise, …
• Similarly, …
• On a related note, …

To restate information in a shorter or clearer way:

• In other words, …
• In short, …
• Simply put, …
• Essentially, …
• In essence, …
• Basically, …

To contrast information:

• That (being) said, …
• Nevertheless, …
• Nonetheless, …
• By/in contrast, …
• On the contrary, …
• On the other hand, …

To show cause and effect:

• As a result, …
• Because of this, …
• As such, …
• Consequently, …
• Therefore, …

To emphasize information:

• Evidently, …
• Clearly, …
• Certainly, …

To conclude information, a paragraph, or your overall response:

• In conclusion, …
• All in all, …
• As you can see, …
• In the end, …
• Ultimately, …

How to Customize a TOEFL Writing Template

Below, we offer you a few pieces of advice to help you customize your TOEFL Writing template.

Integrated Writing Template

Here are two ways to customize our TOEFL Integrated Writing template.

#1: Tweak Sample Sentences & Openers

The sample sentence and openers we’ve provided above don’t contain any specific information, so you are welcome to incorporate these examples into your own Integrated Writing response however you like.

That said, you don’t need to use these examples exactly as they are . If you’d like to tweak them, try replacing the verbs and transitions with other (synonymous) words. I also suggest adding adverbs to emphasize certain words. So for example, instead of writing, “The author, however, disagrees with this belief,” you could write, “The author, on the other hand, strongly challenges this concept.”

Just be sure that the examples you’re using in your essay fit with the type of lecture-passage relationship you’re given. Remember, this relationship can be either supportive (in which the lecture agrees with the passage) or contrastive (in which the lecture disagrees with the passage).

#2: Use Different Words to Emphasize Contrast

Most Integrated Writing tasks will give you a lecture that challenges  what’s written in the passage. In these cases, it’s important you use a variety of transitions, conjunctions, and prepositions to emphasize this important contrast throughout your essay.

There is one caveat, though:  do not use a single transition more than once in your response . For instance, if you were to consistently start your supporting sentences with “however,” your essay would lack balance and begin to sound redundant. So be sure to vary your word choice!

Here is a list of strong contrastive words you can use in your Integrated Writing response:

• Nonetheless …
• Even though
• In spite of

Independent Writing Template

Here are three ways you can customize our Independent Writing TOEFL template.

#1: Choose the Side That’s Easier to Support

Although the Independent Writing task asks specifically whether you agree or disagree with an idea, you do not need to write about your real opinion . What you should really do is choose the side that’s easier to argue — regardless of whether you actually agree or disagree with it!

In other words, it’s perfectly OK to make things up for this response and pretend you support something you don’t actually believe. Remember, you are not being judged on which stance you choose but on  how effectively you support your stance.

#2: Do Not Copy Sample Sentences Word for Word

For this task’s examples, I’ve primarily supplied you with whole sentences, all of which were based on the sample Independent Writing prompt used above. Because our examples refer to a specific prompt, you cannot  copy these sample sentences word for word and use them in your own essay . Failing to change these sentences means your essay won’t make a whole lot of sense, if any at all!

Therefore, what you should actually be doing is using these example sentences to learn what types of details to include in your Independent Writing response. You may also use our examples to get a feel for how you can change up your sentences and word choice.

#3: Vary Your Supporting Details

For your response, you must come up with specific details and examples to support your viewpoint. These examples can range from facts and statistics to experiences and hypothetical situations.

In order to produce a truly compelling response (and get a high essay score), you must incorporate a variety of effective examples into your essay. This means you’ll want to  avoid using the same types of examples for each point you make . So if you were to discuss a personal experience for your first body paragraph, focus on a different type of detail, such as a universally accepted fact or a hypothetical scenario, for your second body paragraph.

How to Use a TOEFL Writing Template: 4 Tips

Finally, here are four general tips for using a TOEFL Writing template effectively.

#1: Employ a Variety of Transitions

The sample sentences and openers we’ve given you for each template above contain different transitions to help link ideas together; thus, we encourage you to use a variety of transitions in your own essays . For ideas, refer to our transition list above. This list can help you swap out some of our sample transitions for other ones you believe fit better with your writing.

Ultimately, varying your word choice is critical to ensuring your essay is well written . This means that a high-scoring TOEFL essay will not simply use transitions but use them well . So if you’ve already inserted “therefore” in one area, try using “as a result” or “thus” in another area. You’ll still get the same meaning but with a stronger, more versatile effect.

#2: Add Details Without Rambling

Don’t feel limited by the number of sentences we’ve included in each body paragraph in our templates. If you need to use two or three sentences to explain a point, that’s OK! You should always give a lot of detail for your points — so long as you are staying concise and focused.

For example, if you spend a paragraph discussing a hypothetical scenario but fail to offer any analysis, you probably won’t receive a high TOEFL score. Likewise, if you write a verbose introduction or conclusion, your score may end up being lower than you wanted it to be.

Basically, you must find the perfect balance between detail and analysis. A good way to monitor this balance is to  always try to hit the word minimum for each task . Doing this means you’ll likely have an essay that’s sufficiently detailed. Just try not to exceed the maximum or you’ll risk rambling!

#3: 2 Strong Points Is Better Than 3 Weak Ones

Each of our TOEFL essay templates above has three body paragraphs and three main points. Although three points is a solid number of points, if you can only think of two points, just stick with those and try to   support them as clearly and effectively as possible.

As you can see in the sample TOEFL essays here , many essays with scores of 2 and 3 actually address three points — but their points are altogether weak, with few supporting details and insufficient analysis. What this means is that just having three points in your essay isn’t enough to guarantee you a high essay score . Thus, it’s far better to write an essay with two strong points than three weak ones.

#4: Do Not Copy Entire Sentences From the Prompt

If you struggle with English, you might be tempted to borrow some sentences and phrases from the prompt. While it’s OK to paraphrase sentences, you should never copy exact sentences from your prompt .

Copying the prompt shows evaluators that you lack the English level necessary for writing creatively and analytically. On top of this, copying is also a form of plagiarism, which means you are essentially “stealing” another’s work.

So what does this mean for your score? If you copy entire sentences and phrases from the reading or topic, you will receive a score of 0 .

Additional Resources for TOEFL Essay Templates

In addition to our templates above, here are a couple of online resources offering high-quality TOEFL essay templates you can use for free.

• TOEFL Resources : This resource offers detailed templates for the Integrated and Independent Writing tasks along with useful transitional phrases and sentence openers.
• Magoosh : This handy PDF contains a lengthy list of transitions as well as various sample TOEFL essays.

Recap: How Can a TOEFL Writing Template Help You?

TOEFL essay templates are an especially useful component of TOEFL prep because  they raise your chance of achieving a high TOEFL Writing score .

With TOEFL essay templates, you can organize your thoughts more clearly, spend less time outlining your responses, and prepare for the TOEFL with increased confidence. Our templates are also flexible , allowing you to customize certain elements to your liking and cater the templates to many different prompts.

When using a TOEFL template, always remember the following four tips:

• Employ a variety of transitions throughout your essay
• Add details but try not to ramble
• Two strong point are better than three weak ones
• Do not copy exact sentences from the prompt

Now that you’re equipped with our TOEFL essay templates and the knowledge of how to use them, you should have no trouble getting a great TOEFL Writing score!

What’s Next?

Seeking additional help with the TOEFL Writing section?  Start practicing with our 13 Writing topics  and get information on what resources you can use for high-quality Writing topics .

What does a high-scoring TOEFL essay look like? Take a look at our analyses of two perfect-scoring TOEFL essays  to learn what you can do to guarantee yourself a high essay score on test day.

Want more TOEFL templates?  Check out our TOEFL Speaking templates to improve your English-speaking skills and confidence.

Ready to improve your TOEFL score by 15 points?

Author: Hannah Muniz

Hannah graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in English and East Asian languages and cultures. After graduation, she taught English in Japan for two years via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel. View all posts by Hannah Muniz

5 Simple Tips For Writing Your TOEFL iBT Essay

The TOEFL iBT® test writing section includes two essays. Feeling unsure of your writing skills? Read our article to succeed on test day!

• Preparing to Study Abroad
• English Proficiency

The TOEFL iBT test is a great way to demonstrate your English language proficiency for university education. The test consists of 4 sections reading, listening, speaking and writing and is completed in about 3 hours.

The final writing section includes two essays, one independent writing task, and one integrated writing task. The integrated writing is 20 minutes long and is based on a reading and listening passage recreating a common academic setting. In this section, it is important to retain what you learned in the lecture and relay the ideas without copying words and phrases from what you have read. The independent writing task is based on an essay prompt only, with a 30-minute time limit. This essay gives you a chance to express your own ideas on a topic and to be more creative in your writing.

There are many different ways to improve your English language skills as well as prepare for your  TOEFL iBT test, and this article will focus on tips specific to the TOEFL iBT essay. Listed below are five tips for improving your TOEFL iBT writing skills. 

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1. Create an essay plan

Having a plan for what you will write can help your TOEFL iBT essay to flow better and assist you when forming a discussion. Noting down a short essay plan before you start writing will help you to use your time efficiently. When you know what you are going to write next, you won’t have to pause in a panic between each paragraph to think.

There are a number of common TOEFL iBT essay plans that work very effectively. But what is most important is what works best for you and how your brain works. Having an organized plan is essential to succeed in the TOEFL iBT writing test because it ensures that the examiner knows where to look in your essay. You may have written some great work but if your essay is disorganized it can make it very difficult for you to achieve the grades you deserve.

2. Know what the examiner wants

Look at the writing rubrics for the TOEFL iBT writing test and have a goal for what grade you want to achieve.

The writing rubrics can give you clear notes of what the examiner expects from your TOEFL iBT essay. This can give you goals and skills to work towards, such as organization and clarity.

TOEFL iBT writing test examples with estimated grades can be found online and can give you a good idea of what to work towards when practicing for the writing section. When you are aware of what the examiner is looking for it can help you to feel more confident in what you write.

3. Give yourself a word limit

It is recommended that a good TOEFL iBT essay will contain a minimum of 150 words for the integrated task and 300 words for the independent task, but it is ultimately up to you to decide.

By giving yourself a word limit you will know when to stop writing to focus on reading through and correcting your essay. This will also force you to consider what is essential to your essay and give you a higher grade rather than wasting space. Quality not quantity certainly rings true when writing your TOEFL iBT essay.

4. Stick to the prompt  

Under pressure in the TOEFL iBT exam , it can be easy to get carried away and start to stray away from the essay prompt.

After each paragraph quickly read over what you have written to see if it is relevant to your TOEFL iBT essay prompt. It will ultimately save time if you do this after each paragraph rather than at the end when you realize you have written on a completely different topic. This will also help you to process how you will move into the next paragraph. 

With not much time available, it is best to ensure you stay on track throughout the TOEFL iBT writing test. While this is more applicable to the independent writing task it can also be good to keep in mind during the integrated writing.

5. Write, write and write some more

Practice is necessary for the TOEFL iBT writing test, as it can improve writing skills and writing speed. The more writing you do the more confidence you will feel when taking the exam.

Being great at writing doesn’t happen overnight and the best way to improve your grade on TOEFL iBT essay is through practice. Taking 30 minutes to practice a sample TOEFL iBT essay will help you significantly. By regularly returning to writing you will learn and retain your skills. By doing this, you will also become familiar with the essays, which will make them seem less daunting when taking the TOEFL iBT test.

Also, it is important to ensure that, when you practice, you time yourself. Sure you can write an amazing TOEFL iBT essay in an hour, but can you do it in 20 minutes?

Keystone Team Author

The Keystone Team is comprised of experienced educators and advisors dedicated to providing valuable resources and advice to students all over the world.

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TOEFL Tuesday: Can a TOEFL Essay Be Too Long?

How much is too much? Everybody knows that writing an essay that’s too short is a problem. But sometimes, students ask about the maximum essay length, thinking that either the graders will take off points or that the essay will simply be cut off, not able to continue.

But I can say in short, there is no maximum. You can write an enormous essay and get a perfect score.

Official recommendations from ETS

ETS (the company that makes the TOEFL) gives specific numbers for essay length in all their preparation material and during the actual test.  The recommendations are simple:

• Integrated essay : 150 – 225 words
• Independent essay : 300 words

These aren’t maximum scores, nor are they minimums. But to be honest, an essay that’s shorter than these recommended lengths may not get a perfect score. Usually, top scoring essays are longer.

Still, writing much more does not mean a higher score.

Quantity and quality

There’s a clear reason why shorter essays might have lower scores—they don’t have enough room to include details. That means the essay is not just shorter, but also lower quality. A longer essay gives enough room to add those important details.

Still, a long essay can cause a problem. Imagine trying to write 1000 words in 30 minutes for the independent essay. How much will you be able to focus on grammar, vocabulary, structure, and clarity? Not much. The more you write, the less attention you can pay to each word and sentence.

In other words, it’s possible to write too much, but only because you’re not focusing on the more important aspects of your essay.  It’s possible to write a 1000 word essay and get a perfect score, but I don’t recommend trying it. It’s much easier to write a 400 or 500 word essay with a perfect score.

So first, try to reach the recommended lengths from ETS. If you can write more, that’s best. But don’t worry about writing two times the recommended length—it’s better to focus on quality at that point, not quantity.

Lucas is the teacher behind Magoosh TOEFL. He’s been teaching TOEFL preparation and more general English since 2009, and the SAT since 2008. Between his time at Bard College and teaching abroad, he has studied Japanese, Czech, and Korean. None of them come in handy, nowadays.

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22 responses to “TOEFL Tuesday: Can a TOEFL Essay Be Too Long?”

hi lucas, i could nit finish last line of my independent essay. will that result in deduction?

Hi Apoorva,

There is a small chance that it will affect your score a bit, but if the rest of your essay was strong, it will be fine. 🙂

Hi.. I wrote an essay tat is less than 300 words in independent.will tat greatly affect my score? Thnks

Hi Aishwarya,

Nope! You want to aim for 300-350 ideally, but if it isn’t too much shorter, no worries. 🙂

Hi , i wrote the integrated essay of 400 words and i think it’s too long. How many marks are going to be deducted?

Marks would not be deducted for a long essay, but if the quality of that text is poor (content or grammar) then that would affect you. If the text is solid, though, 400 words is fine!

Hey for my independent essay I had about 257 words. Will any marks be deducted?

The 300 word count is just a recommendation. So you certainly won’t automatically lost points for having 257 words. If you’ve managed to fully develop your essay and satisfy the criteria in the official TOEFL Writing rubric , you could get a decent score. However, 257 still is a bit low. It’s difficult to put together a fully developed written response unless you’re closer to 300 words, or slightly over. So a 257 word essay is more likely to get a lower score than an TOEFL Independent response that’s around 300 words.

Hi, I have written an independent essay of 222 words, but it is fully developed, with introduction, two body paragraphs and conclusion, grammar is also normal, academic vocabulary is udes, how many scores are possible to get with this essay? Thank you

As we mentioned in this blog post, there is no specific grading on the length of the essay. Writing an essay with 222 words does not guarantee you a certain score or score range. In general, higher scoring essays tend to be longer, but that doesn’t mean that a shorter essay will automatically lower your score. The potential problem with a shorter essay is that you can’t fully develop your ideas. I recommend that you check out the TOEFL essay rubric and assess your essay according to that. Better yet, have someone else grade your essay for you 😀

My integrated essay is around 500 words. Could that be too much? The question asked for something “complete” so I included every detail from the text and the lecture.

Hi Delilah,

Whether or not this is “too much” depends on the quality of your writing! In general, 500 words is a pretty good length for the essay. However, you should make sure that your writing is clear and correct and that you don’t have a lot of errors. Just writing a lot won’t get you a good score on the essays–you also must write well 🙂 I recommend that you review your essays using the official essay rubric and see how you fare 🙂

Hi Lucas, I just gave my Toefl and in writing section, wrote 350 words in Q1 (Integrated) and 558 words in Q2. However, I am feeling nervous whether such long essay would affect my writing score or not. I didn’t write with the intention of just making the essay longer and longer. Both the essays have been neatly written with proper structures (4 para) and nearly perfect Grammer. Though, I have not written those big or tough vocabulary words in the Q2 (independent) part. Can you give me any guidance how this will affect my score? Thanks again for all your help and support throughout all your videos and blogs. I really appreciate you guys!! Sincerely, Luv.

As Eliot mentions in this post, there is no word limit on the essays. If you wrote a strong, grammatically correct and well-structured essay, then there is no reason why the length would negatively affect your score. I know it’s difficult, but you’ll have to wait for your scores to be sure! I’m glad that you have enjoyed our blog and that we helped you out as you prepared for your exam 🙂

Hi there! I was just wondering if there will be an automatic word counter for both writing tasks, or do we need to count how many words we have already used ourselves? Thank you.

Yes, there is a word counter on the screen when you take the test, so you will be able to track how long your essays are as you type them. 🙂 So, you won’t need to predict your word count at all.

With that said, if you want to estimate your word count during practice, you can count the number of words in the first three lines, divide by 3, and then multiply by the total number of lines. 🙂 That will give you a good idea of how many words you have.

This. Possibly the most relevant question in the comments here. And NO mention of it on the official ETS site.

There will be a word count feature on the actual TOEFL exam. So you don’t need to worry about counting words! 🙂

Hi! I just took the TOEFL iBT for the first time and ended up with a 250 word essay, I managed to write an introduction, body and conclusion in 4 paragraphs, but I ran out of time to elaborate the idea a little more, it was too concise Is it really that bad? in my case I needed a total test score equivalent to a 6.5, ideally 7.0 IELTS, I believe this was the lowest point in my test, I left the classroom a little worried. Cheers

Hi Maximiliano.

As we mention in this blog post, quality really does matter more than quantity. Unlike in the IELTS, there is no minimum word count in TOEFL essays. These are just recommendations. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to say with any certainty what your score will be–you will have to wait for the results of your exam and then decide how you will proceed! I know it’s stressful to have to wait for results, but try to relax a bit and enjoy the accomplishment of taking the test 🙂

hi Lucas! I have a question, I usually write the essay without really looking at the word count. I try to always focus on the content. However, sometimes after I finish the 3 points and contrast them, I feel there are still some small details that I need to add as a fourth paragraph. is that bad? will they deduct points? thank you!

Hi Sandra 🙂 You definitely want to reach the recommended minimum word count. Once you’ve done that, focus on organization and development. Without knowing the specifics, I would say that small details don’t matter too much. Just make sure that each paragraph has a clear and specific purpose. Hope that helps!

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Inside the TOEFL ® Test – Writing for an Academic Discussion Question

Video duration: 6:43

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Hi. I'm Michael from ETS, and welcome to Inside the TOEFL Test. Today, we're going inside the TOEFL IBT writing section-- specifically question 2, the writing for an academic discussion task.

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Map of the world.

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.

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.

Text, 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, variety in the use of language, and a correct use of language.

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.

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.

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.

e t s dot o r g slash t o e f l

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.

Text, Skill Building Tips.

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.

Inside the TOEFL test.

There are lots of ways to improve your English skills. Whatever you do, keep practicing, and good luck on your TOEFL test.

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.

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• School Education /

Healthy Food Essay 150 and 300 Words in English for Students

• Updated on  
• Apr 4, 2024

Eating healthy food is important for a healthy and disease-free life. A person who eats healthy food means he/ she is taking good care of his/ her body and overall well-being. From childhood, we are told to eat healthy food, which includes green vegetables, fruits, dry fruits, dairy products, etc. On this page, we will be discussing healthy food essay 150 and 300 words for school students.

This Blog Includes:

Healthy food essay 150 words, essay on healthy food in 300 words, 10 healthy food essay lines.

  Quick Read: Essay on Good Habits

‘Healthy food means food that is good for our physical growth and overall well-being. From an early age, we are told to eat healthy foods, ones that are rich in protein, fiber, and calcium. There are five types of healthy foods: Fruit and vegetables; starchy food; dairy products; proteins and fats.

Food is essential for growth and development, and when we talk about healthy food, it means better growth and a healthy lifestyle. Taking care of our bodies is our responsibility, and it all starts with eating healthy food. 

Today, India is the largest producer of milk and pulses, and the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, and fruit. The country not only sustains its 1.4 billion population with healthy food but also exports a large amount of it. 

Our health is our responsibility, which can only be achieved by eating healthy food and exercising. There is a saying in sports, ‘ Your performance is determined by the type of fuel you provide to your body.’ So, let’s all live a healthy and happy life with healthy food.’

Quick Read: 200+ English Essay Topics

‘Food is a source of energy for every living being. Even plants require food in the form of sunlight, water, and minerals from the soil. As humans, we all want to eat our favorite and most delicious food, which is mostly unhealthy. Healthy food, on the other hand, is not preferred by all, as some people don’t consider it tasty. Healthy food is known for its rich fiber and protein content. There are several benefits of eating healthy food, which are very important for our growth, body functioning and to live a sustained life.’

‘A healthy diet is generally a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. Proteins and fats are required for energy, carbohydrates support our bodily functions and physical activity, and vitamins and minerals help boost the immune system, and support normal growth and development.’

‘India is one of the largest producers of healthy foods. In India, the Northern Plains, the Central Highlands, and the coastal areas are known for their rich production of healthy and nutritious food. Uttar Pradesh is the leading producer of sugarcane and wheat, West Bengal of rice, Karnataka for coffee, and Rajasthan of millet. We are surrounded by so many natural and healthy food resources, which can help lead a healthy and sustained life.’

‘Healthy food helps maintain a good body weight. It’s all about balancing what we eat and drink with the energy we burn. Sure, filling our plates with good food is important, but watching how much we take helps too.’

‘Eating healthy food is not just advice to live a healthy life. It’s a way of life that we all must adhere to. Adding fruits, vegetables, and dairy products to our diets will help us maintain good body weight, boost our immune system, and enhance our cells and body functioning.’

Here are 10 healthy food essay lines for students: 

• Eating healthy food is very important for a healthy and happy life.
• We get all the important nutrients and minerals from healthy food.
• Vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and dry fruits are part of healthy food.
• Dairy products such as milk, eggs, ghee, butter, and cotton cheese are rich sources of protein.
• Healthy food keeps our mind and body fit.
• Avoiding junk food and switching to healthy food can help us live a healthier life.
• World Health Day is celebrated on April 7 every year to promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy food.
• Healthy food makes us agile and increases body functioning.
• Healthy food can help boost our immune system and digestion.
• Healthy food can uplift our mood and make us feel good.

Ans: ‘Healthy food means food that is good for our physical growth and overall well-being. From an early age, we are told to eat healthy foods, ones that are rich in protein, fiber, and calcium. There are five types of healthy foods: Fruit and vegetables; starchy food; dairy products; proteins and fats.’ ‘Food is essential for growth and development, and when we talk about healthy food, it means better growth and a healthy lifestyle. Taking care of our body is our responsibility and it all starts with eating healthy food.’

Ans: Food is a source of energy for every living being. Even plants require food in the form of sunlight, water, and minerals from the soil. As humans, we all want to eat our favourite and delicious food, which is mostly unhealthy. Healthy food, on the other hand, is not preferred by all, as some people don’t consider it tasty. Healthy food is known for its rich fiber and protein content. There are several benefits of eating healthy food, which are very important for our growth, body functioning, and living a sustained life.

Ans: ‘Healthy food helps in maintaining a good body weight It’s all about balancing what we eat and drink with the energy we burn. Sure, filling our plates with good food is important, but watching how much we take helps too. Healthy food makes us agile and increases body functioning. Healthy food can help boost our immune system and digestion. Healthy food can uplift our mood and make us feel good.

Popular Essay Topics for Students

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu.

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Test Resources

TOEFL® Resources by Michael Goodine

Toefl vocabulary – four golden rules.

Updated May 12, 2022

I get a lot of questions about TOEFL vocabulary and what words should be used in the independent TOEFL essay. Vocabulary is tricky, but there are four golden rules I always give my students.

TOEFL Vocabulary Rule One: Do Not Repeat Words

You should not repeat words too many times.  I think you may reduce your score if you repeat a word more than two or three times in the same essay.  If you are writing an essay about children , don’t repeat the word “children” ten times.  Use synonyms like “young people” or “youths” or “teenagers” or “adolescents.”  Sometimes it will be impossible to avoid this problem, but do your best.

TOEFL Vocabulary Rule Two: Don’t Repeat Words from the Question

According to ETS publications, you will not get vocabulary credit for using words that appear in the question prompt.  This means that you should avoid leaning too heavily on them in your essay.  If the question prompt is about “ coworkers ,”  you should write your essay about “colleagues.” You don’t have to  completely  avoid repeating words from the prompt, but keep this golden rule in mind as a general guideline.

TOEFL Vocabulary Rule Three: Avoid Vague Words… Be Specific!

According to ETS publications, each TOEFL essay prompt is assigned a list of “high scoring” words that students will be rewarded for using in their essays.  Basically, these are words that were commonly used in essays that received high scores the last time the prompt was used.  You have no way of knowing what these words are, but by expanding the range of your vocabulary, you are more likely to “hit” them.  Moreover, you should try to avoid using boring and vague words like:

These words will never be on the list, so you should replace them with something more specific to the topic you are writing about.

Since the essay questions often revolve around the same kinds of topics, it will be easier to meet this requirement if you have looked at some targeted vocabulary lists.  For example:

• Words about education and campus life
• Words about employment
• Words about children and growing up  
• Words about neighborhoods and communities

I don’t think you should waste  too much time studying vocabulary lists, but it could be worthwhile to spend a few hours going over the above words.

TOEFL Vocabulary Rule Four: Use Transitional Words

You need to use discourse words.  These are also referred to as “Transitional Words” by many teachers.  They include things like:

• As a result
• For this reason
• Consequently
• In addition
• In contrast

There are many more of these ( link ). Basically, they serve to link ideas together in a sophisticated way.  The e-rater is programmed to look for these.  Moreover, the human rater will probably reward you for using them.  If you don’t use these you risk getting a low score, even if your grammar is otherwise strong.

Final Thoughts

That’s about it for vocabulary.  Keep in mind that this is a general guide.  You will also get points for using “hard” words, but sadly the acquisition of “hard words” takes years and there are no shortcuts.  In contrast, the above tips might help you increase your score in a shorter amount of time.

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