TOEFL iBT Writing from January 2026
About 23 minutes, about 12 items
- Writing is about 23 minutes and about 12 items.
- Three task types: Build a Sentence, Write an Email, Write for an Academic Discussion.
- This is not the old Independent essay plus Integrated essay.
Practice
About how many minutes is TOEFL Writing? Use the figure ETS publishes.
ETS says about 23 minutes and 12 items.
Build a Sentence and Write an Email
- Build a Sentence: you assemble or complete a grammatical sentence. Accuracy is the point.
- Write an Email: a short email that does a job — reply, request, explain.
- Match the register to the reader. An email to a professor is not an email to a roommate.
Practice
Complete: Writing has about ___ items.
About 12 items across Build a Sentence, Write an Email, and Academic Discussion.
Academic Discussion
- You read a class question and other students' posts, then add your own.
- Contribute something new: a reason, an example, or a limit on someone else's claim.
- Repeating the prompt in different words is not a contribution.
Practice
Write an Email is scored mainly on which of these?
An email has a job. Cover the required points in a register that fits the reader.
How to practise
- Time the whole section at 23 minutes, not each task in isolation, so you feel the squeeze.
- For Academic Discussion, write as if the other posts are already there. Do not restart the thread.
- Sample prompts in the Library are for format. Do not memorise them as model answers.
Practice
The January 2026 test still uses the old Independent essay as its main Writing task.
The 2026 Writing tasks are Build a Sentence, Write an Email, and Write for an Academic Discussion.
2026 format
- Sources, checked on 19 September 2026: TOEFL iBT content and structure, TOEFL iBT prepare.
Practice
Match each Writing task to what you produce.
Three different products. Practising only essays misses two of them.