TOEFL templates for 2026: a structure for each task

Each of these three responses is scored from 0 to 5 on an ETS scoring guide for its task. The guides describe what a response does: it fulfils its purpose, explains its ideas, is easy to follow and uses language well. They don’t describe a layout or a list of phrases.

So a structure helps in one way: it settles what comes next, so your seven minutes, or your 45 seconds, go on ideas and language instead of on deciding how to begin. It stops helping when it replaces the prompt. The lowest scores go to responses that are unconnected to the prompt, or made mostly of language borrowed from it, and a stock paragraph that could go with any prompt runs the same risk. That’s why this page teaches the order and not the words.

You read a short situation at school or in everyday life, and the prompt lists three things your email must do: for example, make a recommendation, send an invitation or propose a solution. The To and Subject lines are filled in. You have 7 minutes, and the directions say to write as much as you can, in complete sentences. There’s no word count to hit.

ETS’s guide asks for “appropriate social conventions” and names politeness, register (how formal you sound), the organization of information, and how you phrase actions such as requests. That’s what this structure is built around. More about the task in the Write an Email guide.

1. 1

   Greet the reader the way you would in real life

   “Dear Ms. Torres,” for an editor, teacher or manager. “Hi Sam,” for a friend. The prompt tells you who the reader is, so let that choose your tone.

2. 2

   Give each of the three tasks its own short paragraph

   Follow the order the prompt lists them in, unless that would sound strange. The reader can then find each answer straight away, and you can see for yourself that nothing is missing.

3. 3

   Put one specific detail in each paragraph

   A day, a name, a number or a reason. “I read it every Friday” says more than “I like it a lot”. The guide rewards elaboration that supports the purpose of the email.

4. 4

   Make any request polite and clear

   Say exactly what you want, and ask gently: “Could you please tell me…?” or “Would it be possible to…?”. The guide names requests, refusals and criticisms as actions that need the right tone.

5. 5

   Close with thanks and a sign-off

   One sentence is enough: “Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.” Then “Best wishes,” and your name.

You see a class discussion board. The professor’s post sets out a topic and ends with a question asking what you think, and two students have already replied with different positions. You have 10 minutes to add your own post, supporting your opinion with your own reasoning, experience or knowledge. The directions say an effective response contains at least 100 words. More in the Academic Discussion guide.

ETS’s directions also ask you to “make a contribution to the discussion in your own words”. That’s the move most templates forget, and it’s step 4 below.

1. 1

   Take a side in your first sentence

   Answer the professor’s question straight away, and you can name a classmate at the same time: “I agree with Ines that…, but I understand Tom’s worry that…”.

2. 2

   Give your main reason, and explain it

   Use “because” and “so” to show how your reason leads to your side. One reason fully explained does more than three in a list, because the guide rewards well-elaborated explanations.

3. 3

   Add an example from your own life or knowledge

   A short, real example makes the reason clear and gives the reader something that couldn’t appear in any other post.

4. 4

   Bring in something your classmates didn’t say

   A new reason, a limit on your idea, or an answer to a classmate’s objection. Repeating a classmate in different words adds nothing.

5. 5

   Finish with one sentence that returns to the question

   “That is why I believe…” ties your post together. If you’re short of time, this is the step to drop, not the example.

You join a short, recorded interview in a situation such as applying for a scholarship or taking part in a research study. The interviewer asks four questions, and you have 45 seconds to answer each. ETS says the first questions are about facts and your own experience, and the later ones ask you to give and support an opinion on a broader issue. So there are two shapes to learn, not one. More in the Take an Interview guide.

ETS’s guide rewards an answer that is on topic and well elaborated, with a good conversational pace and natural pauses, and clear pronunciation, rhythm and intonation. For the second-highest score it adds one more detail: an answer that is elaborated but “may lack effective sentence-level connectors”. Linking words like “because”, “so” and “but” are therefore part of the structure, not decoration.

For a personal question (the first ones), follow these three moves:

1. 1

   Answer in your first sentence

   “The last time I…was…”. Don’t repeat the question first.

2. 2

   Add the detail

   Who, where or when, in one or two short sentences.

3. 3

   Say what you felt or learned, or what happened next

   This is the elaboration: why it mattered to you.

For an opinion question (the later ones), follow these four:

1. 1

   Say your view in your first sentence

   “I agree, at least for…” or “I don’t think so.” A clear side is better than “there are many opinions”.

2. 2

   Give your main reason

   “The main reason is that…”, in one sentence.

3. 3

   Give a short example from your own life

   It’s the quickest way to fill the time with something specific.

4. 4

   Add the other side, or a closing line

   “Of course, …, but…” shows you’ve thought about it. If the time is nearly up, a closing sentence is enough.

These are our tricks, and each one comes with the reason it works.

1. 1

   Memorise the order, never the sentences

   The order of the moves is the same for every prompt, so it’s worth knowing by heart. A sentence is right for one prompt only.

2. 2

   Start from the prompt’s own idea

   Before you write or speak, find the words in the prompt that matter, like “retake” or “live music”, and answer them in your own words. It keeps you relevant, and the guides reward relevance first.

3. 3

   Keep a small bank of real stories

   Choose three or four true things from your life: something you learned, a place you visited, a person who helped you. A story that’s true is easy to tell at a natural pace, and you only change its first and last sentence to fit a new question.

4. 4

   Learn two or three ways to do each move

   Know three ways to take a side, for example. Choosing between them means you’re reading the prompt, not reciting.

5. 5

   Vary your sentences

   After a long sentence, try a short one. Both Writing guides and the Interview guide reward a variety of structures and a range of language.

6. 6

   Practise on a new prompt each time, against the clock

   A structure only becomes yours when you’ve used it on prompts you haven’t seen. Time yourself, and for speaking, record yourself and listen back.

Do the three examples above before you open the samples. Write the email in 7 minutes, then the discussion post in 10, and answer the two interview questions out loud in 45 seconds each. Then open the sample and look for each move in your own answer.

For the same tasks under test conditions, Writing Practice Test 1 has a real-format email and discussion post, and Speaking Practice Test 1 has the interview. Each of the three task guides has more tips and a different sample: Write an Email, Academic Discussion and Take an Interview.