Writing Study Guide for the TOEFL Test

Basic Writing Skills

One big difference between the 2026 TOEFL Writing section and its predecessor is the length of the writing tasks. The content you produce will be shorter since there is no “long essay” involved. This means you won’t need to plan and produce a full composition that includes such components as an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, even for the shorter tasks, some practice tasks will make your writing better and, thus, gain you a higher score.

Unlike in today’s texting and posting environment, your responses in this test section need to utilize standard written English conventions with regard to grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and word use. The following are things you should be aware of while writing, and proofread for as you have time. Note that if you make just a few small errors, which might be typical of any writer under timed circumstances, it will not significantly affect your score. So, do not be overwhelmed by all these rules. Just do your best to avoid these common mistakes, and you are on your way to getting a higher score on the writing tasks!

Grammar

Grammar is critical in the writing section. It is a way for the scorers to evaluate your language. Therefore, your grammar needs to be correct. It is easy to get it wrong. Let’s look at some areas where your writing should be appropriate and precise.

mixing tenses—Do not mix verb tenses in a sentence. There are instances where mixing tenses is allowed; however, for this test, it’s best not to risk it. Keep your tenses the same in the same sentence.
sentence variety—The TOEFL scorers will also look at your ability to correctly write different types of sentences. Your responses should include simple sentences (“The university book club has a weekly meeting.”), compound sentences (“The university book club raised the fees, so she decided to quit.”), and complex sentences (“Though she was very rich, she still didn’t want to pay the higher fees.”). If you only use simple short sentences, your response won’t receive a high score.
subject-verb agreement—When taking the TOEFL writing section, you must be certain that the subject and verb agree. You need to double-check your sentences and ask yourself, if the subject is singular, is the verb singular? Is the subject plural? If so, the verb should be plural. Sometimes, the subject and verb are separated. They can be separated by a prepositional phrase. Remember that the prepositional phrase has no effect on the verb. For example, this is correct:

The effects of that rise in fees are likely to be devastating to the club.

These are the major grammatical areas that the scorers will consider. It’s important to practice grammar through online sites and/or practice books.

Spelling

Spelling is an important part of writing and can affect the appropriateness of your response. Misspelling a word can dramatically affect the meaning of your sentence. For example, consider the difference in meaning of these two sentences:

Everyday people walk around town in the afternoon.
Every day, people walk around town in the afternoon.

Using the word everyday or the words every day can cause this sentence to mean two different things.

To prevent this, look up commonly misused and misspelled words online. Practice writing on a word processing program that has spell check. Then, write those words down and practice spelling them correctly.

Punctuation

Missing or incorrectly placed punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence completely. Let’s look at an example of missing commas:

My favorite meal is turkey cranberry sauce and green beans.
My favorite meal is turkey, cranberry sauce, and green beans.

In the first sentence, the writer likes two things—turkey cranberry sauce and green beans. What is “turkey cranberry sauce” anyway? In the second sentence, it is made clear by commas that the writer likes three things.

Forgetting a full stop/period at the end of a sentence can make it a run-on sentence, contributing to a lower score. Here is an example:

I love to ride horses I would ride them every day if I had the time.

Instead, separate them with a full stop/period:

I love to ride horses. I would ride them every day if I had the time.

On the other hand, consider this as the original sentence:

Since I love to ride horses I would ride them every day if I had the time.

Here, you would use a comma instead of a period to divide the clauses:

Since I love to ride horses, I would ride them every day if I had the time.

The word since makes the first clause dependent and not a complete sentence on its own.

Don’t forget question marks. You should know when and when not to use a question mark. Of course, we use a question mark when asking a question. But there are also instances where you do not use a question mark. Indirect questions, for example, do not close with a question mark but with a period. Like direct questions, they demand a response, but they are expressed as declarations without the formal characteristics of a question. For example:

The people were wondering if there was any progress on the issue.
I was wondering if a physical was necessary to join the basketball team.

They are both indirect questions and do not require a question mark because they are actually statements.

Verb Use

As stated before, verb use is critical. You should make sure that you are using the correct tenses in sentences and that they are similar. Don’t mix tenses inside a sentence.

When using perfect tenses, make sure that you are using the correct participles. Also, keep checking while writing that the verbs agree with the subject. Sometimes, the verbs are separated by an accompanying phrase without changing the agreement, and this can cause some confusion, but as long as the intervening phrase does not change the agreement, then the verb will remain the same. Some words can cause confusion while writing. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Use singular verb forms after the following: Each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, and someone.

Everybody tries to write a well-written answer.

The word none has both singular and plural forms. The singular verb form is used when none means no one or not one. The plural is used when none implies more than one thing or person.

None of us thinks what she said is correct.
None of the students are driving to the testing center.

A compound subject—formed by two or more nouns and the word and—usually requires a plural verb.

The teacher and the student were working on the project.

A singular subject remains singular if connected with the words with, as well as, in addition to, except, together with, and no less than.

Her attitude, as well as his speech, is inappropriate.

Sentence Composition

Evaluators look beyond periods and spelling errors to evaluate the way sentences are put together. Here are some things to remember:

Complete, Concise Sentences

Fragments are frowned upon, and you could receive penalties for using them. A fragment is a sentence part that does not express a complete thought because it is missing a subject or verb or depends on another part for meaning. Simply using many words does not guarantee a complete sentence; for example, this is not a sentence:

The big, angry, fluffy gray parrot

It does not tell what the parrot does. If you add one word, flies, to the end, it becomes a sentence.

Don’t use run-on sentences or sentences that begin with conjunctions (and, or, but, so). Be careful not to write sentences that have dangling participles. A dangling participle or misplaced modifier can change the meaning of a sentence entirely. For example:

After falling from the tree, my sister picked up the pear.
My sister picked up the pear after it fell from the tree.

The first sentence reads as if the sister fell from the tree, while in the second example, you know that the pear fell from the tree.

Sentence Structure

Another common writing mistake to avoid is using a nonparallel sentence structure when giving lists. When you enumerate something, be sure that the items in the list use the same form. Let’s look at an example:

She likes taking long walks, exercising at the gym, and marathons.
She likes taking long walks, exercising at the gym, and competing in marathons.

The first example shows a nonparallel sentence structure, while the second example shows a correct parallel structure, with all the items in the list in the “-ing” form: taking, exercising, competing.