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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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Sample Essays for the Writing Section of the TOEFL® Test

Sample Essays for the Writing Section of the TOEFL Test ( document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) )

Did you hear about the updated TOEFL iBT Writing section?

On July 26, 2023, ETS introduced a new TOEFL Writing question : Writing for an Academic Discussion.

That’s right. The Independent Writing question has been retired from the official TOEFL iBT test.

Before we get into the topics and sample essays for the new TOEFL Writing question, let’s start with the first task, which hasn’t changed, the Integrated Writing.

TOEFL Integrated Writing Topics

In the TOEFL Writing Section, there are two questions you must respond to. The first question is called the TOEFL Integrated Writing task. The second question is called the TOEFL Writing for an Academic Discussion task.

The integrated question presents a reading and listening passage, followed by a question, which is a bit more complicated.

Simple, right?

No? Still confused.

No worries. The best way to understand something better is through examples.

Let’s do one together.

This TOEFL integrated writing topic deals with the use of  Corn Ethanol .

Give yourself three minutes to read it:

The chemical compound, ethanol, has risen in recent years as the most viable alternative to fossil fuels. Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from crops, mainly from corn in the United States, which can power engines. There are many who argue that corn ethanol should replace fossil fuel gas as the primary source for running cars.

One major benefit of using corn ethanol is that it uses less energy than gasoline. Using less energy means that people can get better gas mileage while driving these more fuel-efficient cars. In the long-run, this will be cheaper for consumers because they can drive further than they do now with fossil-fueled cars. People will spend less money on gas because they won’t have to stop to fill up as frequently.

Another advantage of switching to corn ethanol is that it helps the American economy become less reliant on energy sources from other countries. Petroleum is not readily available in the U.S., so it must be imported from other countries. Depending on foreign relations with those countries, fuel becomes a political issue. Corn is a crop that America has in abundance. By using corn ethanol instead, the cost of gas will decrease because now the import taxes on fossil fuels are calculated into the price. This also means that we will be putting the money into our own economy, thus helping local corn farmers.

One of the most attractive aspects of corn ethanol is how environmentally friendly is when compared to current automobile gasoline. Fossil fuels release carbon that has been stored for years from the earth. Burning biofuels, like corn ethanol, is better for the environment because it releases less greenhouse gas emissions. Lessening the amount of carbon emissions will help prevent global warming and all of the other negative effects of climate change.

Once three minutes have ended, listen to a conversation about the same topic

Now, it’s time to write your TOEFL essay.

Stop reading.

Start writing.

Write your essay before you look at this TOEFL Writing sample. You will learn a lot more if you actually write the essay and then compare this to your own.

Here’s an expert TOEFL teacher’s sample essay to this particular TOEFL Writing topic.

The article introduces the topic of corn-based ethanol. More specifically, the writer discusses the advantages of switching from fossil fuels to this alternative energy source. The lecturer in the listening passage disagrees. He believes that the benefits the author mentions are misleading and attacks each of the claims made in the reading.

In the reading, the author begins by stating that drivers will get better gas mileage on corn ethanol than on fossil fuels, and therefore save money on gas. The speaker, however, disagrees. He states that the production of corn ethanol is very expensive. He says that in order to make for the costs to create and distribute this biofuel, the price of ethanol gas will increase.  Therefore, it will not be any cheaper for consumers in the long run.

The writer also claims that making the switch to corn ethanol will help the American economy because it will make the United States less dependent on foreign oil. Again, the lecturer believes there are flaws in the writer’s argument. He holds instead that mass use of corn-based ethanol will hurt the economy. He elaborates this by point out that the inevitable competition for corn by multiple consumers, including beef and dairy farmers, will drive the price of corn up.

Another reason why the author feels that moving from traditional gasoline to corn ethanol is a good idea is that they are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. The professor in the listening passage is doubtful that this is accurate. He suggests that as more farmlands are created to support the demands for more corn, more carbon will be absorbed by the land. This means that these emissions will still be released to negatively affect the environment.

As you can see the author and speaker hold very different views about the use of corn ethanol.

The author here clearly defined the main idea, organized the supporting points from both the reading and listening passage, and showed how they differ from each other. 

I know it may seem a bit difficult, which is why I recommend that you start off with a TOEFL Writing template for both the Writing for an Academic Discussion task and Integrated essay.

Looking for more example essays?

Download our TOEFL Writing 24+ Guide if you would like more sample essays. It includes extra tips, tricks, and strategies you will not find anywhere else. Download it for free here

Too complicated? Don’t worry.

I will share TOEFL writing templates for the Integrated Writing question, which will make your life a whole lot easier.

We have to talk about the Writing for an Academic Discussion question.

Writing for an Academic Discussion Question

You will have 10 minutes to complete the Writing for an Academic Discussion question .

For this task, you will participate in an online discussion. After you read the question and student responses, you will have to write a response that adds to the conversation.

Here’s the breakdown:

This question is straightforward, but let’s do a sample together.

When the question appears on the screen, take two minutes to scan the passage and the student’s opinions.

Start to write your response. Be sure to add to the discussion and avoid repeating the same points as the other students.

Aim to write at least 120 words.

Get peace of mind with these TOEFL Writing Templates

Now that you have a few TOEFL Writing topics and sample essays to study from, you may want to use a writing template to help guide your writing.

A TOEFL template is basically a pre-organized set of words and phrases that you can use in almost any TOEFL Writing response.

Here’s TST Prep’s template for the integrated TOEFL Writing question (question one) :

The article introduces the topic of (general topic). More specifically, the writer discusses (stance of the author on the topic). The lecturer in the listening passage disagrees. He believes that (stance of the professor on the topic) and attacks each of the claims made in the reading.

In the reading, the author begins by stating that (first point made to support stance). The lecturer, however, disagrees. He states that (first counterargument by the professor). He goes on to say that (additional detail about first counterargument).

The author also claims that ( second point made to support stance). Again, the lecturer believes there are flaws in the writer’s argument. The speaker holds that (two sentences about the professor’s second counter-argument).

Another reason why the author feels that (restate stance of author ) is that ( third point made to support stance). The professor in the listening passage is doubtful that this is accurate. He suggests that (two sentences about the professor’s third counter argument ).

To sum up, both the writer and professor hold conflicting views about (general topic). It’s clear that they will have trouble finding common ground on this issue.

And here’s our template for the independent TOEFL Writing for an Academic Discussion (question two) :

You will notice that the sample essays in this article differ from the templates.

You do not have to use templates, it’s up to you. Some people prefer to write in their own unique fashion for the entire exam. However, you will notice that the structure of the templates is similar to the TOEFL example essays.

These templates follow the exact organization and structure you are expected to use on test day, so don’t hesitate to use them in your writing.

Also, don’t forget to download the free 24+ TOEFL Writing Guide if you would like more example essays, templates, and exclusive tips to help you earn the best possible TOEFL Writing score on test day.

If you read this far, it means you are serious about your TOEFL studies. Don’t hesitate to send us an email and let us know how we can help you earn the TOEFL score of your dreams – [email protected]

Did we forget anything? Please comment and let us know how we can improve our TOEFL Writing advice (or if you want to just say hi that would be great too).

Other articles

Ten Awsome Tips for the Writing Section of the TOEFL Test

100 Free Questions for the Listening Section of the TOEFL Test

Check other articles on TOEFL

111 Comments

Hi, Josh. I have a question about copying and pasting in TOEFL writing. I heard some TOEFL teachers say it should be avoided because ETS will consider it a potential form of plagiarism in future academic study.

Could you please provide some suggestions in terms of this issue? Is it ok to copy and paste, since it saves a lot of time in writing, especially on the test day. Thank you!

Great question. The copy-and-paste feature will not work at the test center, and I do not believe it works on the Home Edition either. Regardless, copying and pasting or manually copying the exact words should be avoided. You are always better off putting the answer into your own words.

Hello Josh, I have a question regarding how we can write an advanced writing that will be scored 25+?

Thanks very much for your question. We do have some templates that can help to increase your score. However, to give you a more detailed answer, I would suggest you consider doing an essay evaluation with us so we can help you determine specific areas for improvement. In the meantime, here are some articles that can help.

https://tstprep.com/articles/toefl/ten-awesome-tips-for-the-writing-section-of-the-toefl-test/

https://tstprep.com/articles/toefl/sample-essays-for-the-writing-section-of-the-toefl-test/

Hi Josh! For the academic writing, I only gave my reason for the topic, and I forgot to mention the opinion of the other student. I checked my word count. It is already past 100 words, and I do not want it to be too long. Do we really need to mention the other students’ opinion?

Hi Ireen. Great question! We often suggest mentioning one of the other students, but it is not required. As long as what you said was on topic, you “added to the discussion,” and gave specific reasons and examples, you should be okay with the 100 words you wrote.

Hello, I have a question about the independent writing: Is it a problem if I just give one reason in my essay (but detailed enough)? Thank you

Hi there and thank you for your question. There are no specific grading criteria that say you MUST give two reasons for your opinion, so, in theory, yes, you can just give one reason. I don’t think you will be marked down for it. If possible, try to give two though. It will make your word count higher.

Hello Josh, I was wondering if you have more integrated writing questions that we could do for practice, do you know where to find them?

Hi there and thank you for your question. If you search “TOEFL Writing Practice test” on Youtube you will find 2-3 TST Prep practice videos with an Integrated Writing practice question. I’m sure there will be tests from other providers as well.

Hey Josh, I have been following your YouTube channel for my TOEFL preparation, where I learned a lot. My question is that I got stuck between 15-17 scores in the reading section and could not figure out what I would do to enhance my scores. Any suggestions?

Hi there Ashina, and thank you for your question.

It is, indeed, a difficult question to answer. Here are two pieces of advice on how to practice at home and how to improve time management:

HOW TO DO A PASSAGE

I am going to breakdown the process you should go through when you do a TOEFL Reading passage:

1. Copy the test conditions (set a timer to complete the passage and all the questions in 18 minutes)

2. Check your answers

3. Identify the reason you got a specific question wrong (or didn’t understand why you were correct) and write down what you can do to avoid the same mistake next time. Step #3 is the most important and the one often overlooked because most test-takers are pretty tired after reading and answering questions. This will help you notice patterns in incorrect choices and apply what you have learned later.

4. (Optional) Do the same passage again two weeks later. (You will remember much of what you did before, but it should help remind you of what you have learned)

TIME MANAGEMENT

My advice is pretty simple here, practice with LESS TIME. If it is not too stressful, try to complete a passage and all of the questions in 16 minutes (instead of 18). This usually does the trick for most students over time.

I hope you find some of this helpful. Good luck, and let me know if you need anything.

Hey Josh, in the Reading section the last question holds two marks where we are asked to pick three choices. I have always have a hard time getting the perfect score here. any suggestions, please…

Hi Kiba, this is a popular complaint. I posted a video about summary questions here. You might find it helpful.

Hey Josh, I have a question. If the question is saying a good essay is between 200 and 300, and I wrote more than 300, is this okay? Or should I make it only as maximum as they are saying?

Hi Joud and great question. Definitely write MORE. There is a direct correlation between test scores and word count, so the more you write the better. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should write as much as possible as fast as possible, but anything between 350-450 words would be great.

Hey Josh, I think I do well in my writing section, but my score doesn’t improve. Is there anything that I can do to know my mistakes from the ETS?

Hi Aziz, good question, and unfortunately, no, they do not release that information. The best you can do is work with an experienced teacher who can point out your weaknesses and work on them at home before test day.

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TOEFL Practice Section 4: Writing

This section is now a standard part of the TOEFL iBT. Previously, a writing test was administered as a separate test (TWE) from the paper and computer based TOEFL. The iBT writing section is divided into two parts: Integrated Writing and Independent Writing.

Integrated Writing

Writing Based on Reading and Listening

Here you will read a passage about an academic topic. Then you will listen to a lecture about the same topic. You are permitted to take notes while you read and listen. You will be asked a question that relates to both the text and the listening. Your response should be 150-225 words. Hint: Look for three many points that are related. Your score will depend on the quality of your writing as well as how well you answer the question. After you have heard the lecture you will have twenty minutes to plan and write your response.

In a vote that took place at the International Astronomical Union Conference on August 24th, 2006, Pluto lost its status as a planet in our solar system. Pluto was originally discovered in 1930 when scientists were searching for something that was interfering with Uranus's orbit. Though Pluto was estimated to be similar in size to Earth, it was later discovered that it was even smaller than our own moon, as well as many other moons. It is now known that there are thousands of planetary objects similar to Pluto, including Eris which is slightly larger than Pluto. Choosing to reclassify Pluto to a dwarf planet honors the fact that science is about making new discoveries. While it was a sad day for Pluto lovers, people in general have accepted the idea, and the next generation of children will grow up knowing only eight planets and thinking nothing of it. As Mike Brown, the astronomer who discovered Eris, noted following the IUC's decision, "science is self-correcting."

Next you will listen to part of a lecture on the same subject.

Summarize the points made in the lecture, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in the reading passage.

Sample Response

Pluto lost its status as a planet in our solar system at the International Astronomical Union Conference in 2006. The decision has been wrapped in controversy ever since.

The reading suggests that the decision was generally accepted and was based on the new scientific information that has been learned since Pluto's original discovery. However, the lecture refutes this idea, suggesting that the astronomy community was not fairly represented in the vote to demote Pluto to dwarf status, and that many people disagree with the decision.

According to the reading, Pluto was demoted due to its size. However, the professor points out that the reason Pluto was demoted was because it doesn't fit the new definition of a planet. According to the new definition, a planet must clear the neighborhood around its orbit. While Pluto does not, neither do other planets including Earth. Technically speaking, many planets have asteroids as neighbors, therefore, they do not clear their orbit.

Finally, the reading implies that people will soon forget that Pluto was ever a planet. In contrast, the professor talks of petitions and special ways that citizens are honoring the beloved planet Pluto. While the reading notes that children will not know any differently when they grow up without Pluto in their solar system, the professor claims that the lost planet will always have a place in children's hearts as it did from the very beginning.

Transcript of lecture:

As you all likely know by now, Pluto has been officially demoted to a dwarf planet. What this means is that we will no longer include it as part of our solar system. The debate about whether or not Pluto should hold its status as a planet created such a conflict within the community of world astronomers that it has been called the Great Pluto War . The decision on whether or not to demote Pluto was put to a final vote by astronomers from around the world at the International Astronomical Union Conference. However, when I say from around the world, I don't mean worldwide. In fact, less than 10% of the world's astronomers voted, and most of those who were at the conference had already gone home by the last day when the vote took place. Of more than 10 000 potential voters, less than 500 took part, mainly because there was no way for them to cast their vote without actually being at the conference. Many astronomers believe that if electronic voting had been an option, Pluto along with two other celestial objects, would now be considered planets. Furthermore, the definition that was decided upon for a planet - that it must clear the neighborhood around its orbit - doesn't technically hold up, since Earth, Mars, Neptune, and Jupiter all have asteroids as neighbors.

The IUC decision disappointed many people outside the astronomy community too. You see, there are more than a few Pluto lovers out there. Some were so angry at the resolution that they began putting petitions together to have the ruling overturned. In New Mexico, where Pluto's discoverer was a resident, state officials have declared March 13th, Pluto Planet Day. Children in particular have a thing with Pluto and are perhaps the least willing to part with it. The name for the now dwarf planet was put to a vote in 1930. And incidentally, Pluto , which was chosen unanimously by a group at the observatory where it was discovered, had been submitted by a young schoolgirl.

Independent Writing

Writing Based on Knowledge and Experience

This section of the test asks you questions about common experiences. You will be asked to give your opinion and provide reasons and examples. You will not be required to have any previous knowledge on a topic. You will have 30 minutes to prepare an essay in response to the question provided.

Sample Question types:

• Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Students should take out student loans to avoid working while studying. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
• Some people think its better to live with a roommate. Other people prefer to live alone. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
• It is better to grow up with siblings than without. Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to develop your essay.
• It has recently been announced that the public library in your area will be closed for the summer months for a major renovation and expansion. Do you support or oppose this plan. Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

Read the example of a student's brainstorming session and essay. When you are finished reading the example look at the checklist and find out why this student deserves a perfect score of 5

Some people prefer to settle down and start a family in a rural area. Other people prefer the convenience of the big city. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Sample Essay:

There are more work opportunities for young couples in a city than in a rural area. Unemployment is much lower in urban centers. One reason for this is that many jobs in rural areas are seasonal. It is more common for large companies to be based in the city. Even though the cost of living is higher in the city than it is in a rural area, people who work in the city tend to have much higher salaries. Furthermore, financial stress is a leading cause of divorce and leads to the break up of families.

The city offers important institutions such as the best hospitals and schools that rural areas don't always have. For instance, people who get sick or have babies in rural areas often have to travel to the city for medical attention. This can lead to bills and transportation problems. While their parents have to commute to work, kids sometimes have to travel a long way on a bus to school. All of the travel takes away from family time. In addition, kids who grow up in rural areas are less likely to go to post secondary schools. Most have to go to the city to get a good education.

It is more likely that a young couple will have the support of friends and family in the city than in a rural area. When a young couple moves away from this support system, they often feel isolated. On the other hand, small communities are usually close and friendly. It doesn't take long to meet new friends in a small town. People look out for each other and the crime rate is much lower. Even still, you can never replace your best friends and relatives. Consequently, birthdays and holidays feel lonely without grandparents and childhood friends to join in the celebration.

Living in the city is a new trend for young families. This is partly because people are starting families later. I have already established my career and home in the city. My friends and family and all of the things I need are here. When I meet my future spouse I hope he agrees to settle down in the city.

Now read these 20 TOEFL Tips Follow these essential tips to improve your TOEFL score.

TOEFL Writing Task 1: The TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice Task

The TOEFL Integrated Writing Task requires you to read a passage that is about 250-300 words long. You then must listen to a lecture that is 2 to 2.5 minutes long. The lecture will challenge or disagree with the ideas in the reading passage for TOEFL Writing Task 1.

Because this task is so test-specific, it’s difficult to find authentic practice with TOEFL Integrated Writing topics, outside of official TOEFL prep materials that take questions from the real test. But you can find reading passages and audio for TOEFL Integrated Writing in the official TOEFL Writing practice sets . Additional free prep for this task can be found in TOEFL Quick Prep (the tasks all come with reading passages, but some of them have transcripts rather than audio).

You can also find practice for this TOEFL Writing task in the official TOEFL books from ETS . Last but not least, you can sharpen your TOEFL Writing skills by practicing a TOEFL Integrated Writing task from Magoosh, free of charge, right here in this post! Near the bottom of this page there is a TOEFL Writing Task 1 practice exercise with a sample answer.

Before we get to that mock test, though, let’s talk about a few basics of TOEFL Integrated Writing. Click the table of contents below to navigate these basics, and hop down to the practice exercise.

Table of Contents

• TOEFL Integrated Writing Topics: What to Expect
• Structuring Your TOEFL Integrated Writing Task
• Difficult Integrated Writing Tasks: What to Do
• Free TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice Task
• Model Answer for the Free TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice Task
• Additional Practice and Resources for TOEFL Writing Task 1

What should you expect from TOEFL Integrated Writing topics?

Since you’ll still be wearing headphones after the Speaking section, the Writing section begins with the integrated task, for which you’ll need to keep your headphones on.

So what do TOEFL Integrated Writing topics look like? Well, the materials you’ll be using to answer the question are a reading passage and a lecture excerpt. Both of these will be longer than the ones you encountered in the Integrated Speaking questions—the reading passage will give you three minutes to read, and it will go into more detail than the one in the Speaking section did.

Whereas other integrated reading samples have served mainly to define a key concept, the one in the Writing section will describe a process or defend a position. The lecture (actually, it will be a short part of a lecture) will then expand on this information by offering examples, explaining in greater detail, or, most likely, describing conflicting viewpoints on the topic introduced in the reading passage. The author will use reasons that respond directly to the ideas in the reading passage.

The question will follow one of several formulas. The question you answer will probably be almost identical to one of these:

• Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage.
• Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they challenge specific claims/arguments made in the reading passage.
• Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to specifically explain how they answer the problems raised in the reading passage.
• Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to specifically explain how they support the explanations in the reading passage.
• Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to specifically explain how they strengthen points made in the reading passage.
• Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to include specific reasons that they strengthen points made in the reading passage.

The first two are by far the most common; usually, you will hear a lecture that contrasts with the reading.

Altogether you will have 20 minutes to plan and write your TOEFL Integrated Writing essay. The essay will not be long—most responses are between 150 and 225 words—but there’s still no time to waste, and you’ll want to keep your writing skills sharp. Remember that your organization and content are just as important as your language use. Your essay needs to have a clear structure with separate points and specific examples that transition smoothly. Most of all, it’s very important to draw from both the reading passage and the listening passage. If you only reference the written passage, the very best score your essay can get is a 1. In many ways, the integrated essay is a summary of the lecture that you heard, but be sure to mention both sources.

You can take notes as you read and listen. With enough practice you will be able to identify the important points in the reading passage that will most likely be discussed in the lecture, and your notes should reflect that. Then, when you listen, it will be easy to take notes that relate to the ones that are already on your paper. Make as many connections between the two as possible while listening. If you have trouble with this, it’s okay—you can take a minute to connect information before you start writing, after the lecture is finished.

Typical TOEFL Writing Task 1 topics will be scholarly, the kinds of things that you’d read about or hear lectures about in an academic setting. Typical topics include things such as the spending habits of American consumers, lectures on history or classic literature, scientific debates, and so on. Topics will seldom be contemporary. For example, you are unlikely to see TOEFL Integrated Writing topics that focus on social media, cell phone use, contemporary popular culture, etc. These more modern topics are far more common in the TOEFL Independent Writing task that follows this one.

As you can see, success in TOEFL Integrated Writing is not just a matter of writing, but also comes down to reading and listening. For additional tips on these two skills in TOEFL Writing Task 1, read the following blog posts:

• Good Reading Practice for TOEFL Integrated Writing
• Listening Practice for TOEFL Writing Task 1

How should you structure your TOEFL Integrated Writing task?

Even though the 20 minutes you have to write the integrated essay will fly by, it’s still worth taking a minute or two to write an outline of your own prior to beginning your response (the test proctor will provide as much scratch paper as you need). Even jotting just a few lines that connect parts of your notes and circling the main examples you want to cover will give you the guidance you need to stay on task when writing your response.

Below I’ve written an outline that demonstrates an effective structure to use on the exam when responding to TOEFL Integrated Writing topics. I highly recommend that you practice writing with this outline as your guide, at least at first. Once you’ve gotten some feedback and have some good practice under your belt, you can deviate from it. At first, though, it’s good to know the rules before you break them, and to have a structure you can rely on when test day comes.

Note that this outline template involves a lot of paraphrasing. Before you get started on making a practice outline of your own, be sure to check out Magoosh’s tutorial on paraphrasing in TOEFL Integrated writing .

A. General statement about the relationship between the resources you heard and read.

B. Short description of the structure of the lecture

A. Paragraph on first point

1. Paraphrase the professor’s point

2. Contrast/compare with the reading

3. Give extra detail and additional specific examples on the professor’s point (optional)

B. Paragraph on second point

C. Paragraph on third point

III. Conclusion

Note that you don’t have a conventional essay structure here. There is no thesis statement, and the difference between a body paragraph and introductory paragraph is less pronounced. When responding to TOEFL Integrated Writing topics, you also don’t have a concluding paragraph per se. If you’re having trouble picturing exactly what this looks like, you can see an example task and model answer at the bottom of this post. You can also see some sample essays for this task in the official TOEFL Writing practice set PDF from ETS . (And this PDF contains TOEFL Writing samples for task 1 as well!)

Above all, remember that the key to a good essay here is simply to take good notes on what you read and hear, and translate those notes into a full essay. For more info on the best ways to do that, see my post on note-taking and organizing your answer in TOEFL Integrated writing . Those tips can help you even when you encounter a particularly challenging Independent Writing task. And for more advice to help you through harder prompts, see the section immediately below.

Dealing with an Extra Hard TOEFL Writing Task

In all of the years that I’ve been tutoring the TOEFL, the part of the test that seems to inspire the most extreme reactions in students is the TOEFL Integrated Writing task. Students either happily breeze right through it or get very stressed out. Why? Because the difficulty levels on this task can vary so much! This, combined with the general complexity of the task, makes TOEFL Integrated Writing challenging for the average TOEFL test taker.

Ultimately, the TOEFL Integrated Writing task may be the hardest part of the TOEFL. This task requires not only keen English language skills, but also good analytical abilities. You need to bring together different, opposing ideas from the lecture and passage. This is a complicated job. And to make things even harder, the task comes almost at the very end of the test, when most test-takers are exhausted.

Some TOEFL Integrated Writing topics are harder than others. And if you get a hard Integrated Writing Task, you could be in danger of “blowing” your whole TOEFL IBT Writing section—doing badly on both tasks! An unusually difficult Integrated Writing task can leave you so tired and frustrated that you aren’t able to focus on the easier second TOEFL Writing Task.

So if you come across a harder-than-usual Integrated Writing Task on test day, make sure you handle it carefully. With the right strategies, a really tough TOEFL Writing Task 1 doesn’t need to hurt your TOEFL score at all.

Early detection of hard TOEFL Integrated Writing Topics

The worst thing you can do is not notice how hard an Integrated Writing Task is. If you mistakenly think an Integrated Writing task is relatively easy, you won’t plan for it correctly.

So try to immediately notice how complicated a task is. You should be able to tell just by looking at the reading passage, since the passage is the basis for the lecture. If the passage seems unusually complex, make note of this and proceed carefully. Don’t miss anything important, and don’t lose track of time. It’s really easy to leave out key facts or run down the clock in TOEFL Integrated Writing.

When you come across a potentially hard Integrated Writing Passage, start trying to mentally paraphrase the passage right away. Figure out whether you are able to paraphrase the passage effectively. Paraphrases should be shorter than their source, and should change the original wording significantly. If you are having a lot of trouble doing this, the passage may be too difficult for you to paraphrase.

Strategies once you’ve found a hard TOEFL Integrated Writing Task

If the ideas in the passage are really hard to paraphrase and shorten, don’t panic. For these more difficult Integrated Writing passages, there’s a simple solution: put less of the passage information into your essay. If necessary, put nothing directly from the passage into your essay.

This advice may sound strange. After all, the official TOEFL Writing Rubrics , which are used for scoring on the real test, say it’s important to include all the big ideas from the passage and the reading. But for a harder Integrated Writing Task, it really does pay to adjust your approach in this way.

Think about it. If the passage is really complex, then the lecture that follows will also be complex. And if the passage and the lecture are both very complicated, it can become almost impossible to correctly summarize them both. You won’t have enough time, and it’ll be too hard to focus on absolutely everything in the prompt. The lecture will need to be the main focus, since the task itself asks you to focus on the way that the lecture challenges the passage.

The lecture will of course contain ideas from the passage, since the lecturer is challenging the key points from the reading. So paying attention to what the lecturer says will allow you to indirectly use parts of the passage. And with this approach, you run less of a risk writing an unfocused or incomplete essay.

How this strategy can affect your score

Also remember how the TOEFL scoring system works . If you get a task that is harder-than-average, the TOEFL will adjust your task score upwards at least a little. Relying only on lecture content might hurt your score a bit. But you have a good chance of recovering those lost points when ETS adjusts your score. On the other hand, if you try to take on all of the complicated content in the task and fail, your score could really suffer, even with ETS’s score adjustments for difficulty. Ultimately, getting a high score on TOEFL Integrated Writing is a matter of balancing your priorities and focus, regardless of the difficulty level of a given individual task.

A Free TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice Task

I have written and recorded a task for you that closely follows the real TOEFL Integrated Writing Task in length, content, and format. Read the passage, listen to my lecture and follow the instructions for an (almost) authentic TOEFL writing practice experience. To prepare, you may want to read some of Magoosh’s advice on this task. The official TOEFL Integrated Writing Rubric (page 2 of the linked document) may also be useful. And at the bottom of this post, you’ll be able to view a sample response to this task.

TOEFL Integrated Writing Task Practice

Directions: Give yourself 3 minutes to read the passage.

The “comics medium” includes newspaper comic strips such as Dennis the Menace and comic books such as Spider-Man. Scholars around the world agree that comics are a uniquely American art form.

The first commercially successful comic strip was Hogan’s Alley , a comic strip from the 1890s. Hogan’s Alley featured the Yellow Kid, the world’s first popular cartoon character. This strip and its character marked the beginning of comics and was American in every respect. Set in a low-income neighborhood in New York City, Hogan’s Alley dealt with the lives of ordinary Americans. It was written and drawn by American cartoonist R.F. Outcault. Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, two famous and influential American publishers, printed the comic strip in their newspapers.

The first popular comic book in the world was also American. Action Comics , a series that is still in print today, was initially released in 1938. It featured Superman, the world’s first superhero. Like Hogan’s Alley , Superman was American-created.

Americans invented comic strips, and Americans have exported their unique art form to the rest of the world. Japanese comics, called manga , were inspired by the comics that Americans brought to Japan after World War II. Popular European comics series such as Smurfs and Asterix are influenced by Disney comic books. Today, American-created Disney comic characters are more popular in Europe than ever.

The comics medium started in America. While it has spread around the world, even comics that aren’t created by Americans have an undeniable American influence. This is why so many art and literature scholars recognize the comic strip as a truly American art form.

Directions: Summarize the main points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they challenge the specific points made in the reading passage. You have 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response will be judged on the basis of the quality of your writing and how well your response presents the points in the lecture and their relationship to the reading passage.

Listen to the lecture here:

  Once you’ve completed the practice task, you can assess the quality of your answer by comparing it to this sample answer . Good luck!

Ready for a Full Writing Test?

If you’re ready to try the independent and integrated tasks together under test-like conditions, check out our full-length video Writing Test!

And if you want more writing practice, download the FREE TOEFL Practice Test PDF .

Plus, Magoosh TOEFL online prep has six practice tests with sample answers, video explanations, strategies and tips for the every TOEFL speaking question!

TOEFL Integrated Writing Task: Model Answer

I have written a level 5 answer, which you can read below. This answer is followed by some commentary on why this response would earn the full five points.

Model level 5 TOEFL Integrated Writing answer

In the passage, the author argues that comics are an art form that is very unique to the United States, but has been borrowed by other countries. The speaker corrects many things the author wrote about comics being an American art form. Although the writing says all scholars agree that comics are uniquely American, the lecturer says that in modern times, very few scholars agree with that.

The speaker then points out that, contrary to the writing, the first popular comic strips were not American. According to the speaker, 100 years before the first American comic strip, there were popular comic strips in Europe. The lecture also states that Hogan’s Alley , the 1890s comic strip described as American in the article, is not completely American because the comic characters were not Americans. Moreover, the publisher and creator of the comic were immigrants from other countries.

Additionally, the speaker disagrees with the article’s claim that American comic book Superman was the first popular comic book. Instead, the lecturer says the Belgian comic book Tintin was popular before Superman. Also, the author points out that Superman’s creator is Canadian, not American as the article says.

Finally, the speaker disagrees that American cartoon art influenced international comics, as claimed in the writing. He says that popular European comics have a uniquely European style. He also argues that Japanese comics are influenced more by traditional Asian art. Finally, the speaker notes that even American Disney comics characters are drawn by European artists.

Per the official TOEFL Integrated Writing rubric , this answer would get a score of 5. It outlines all the main points from the lecture. It explains how each main point contradicts or challenges the main ideas from the reading. It is organized well, with good transition words for each paragraph. It has no major errors, using correct grammar and vocabulary . Look at this model answer and the rubric linked above as you write your own answer to the sample task . If you need some extra help, you can find a writing template for your own response here .

I also have some resources specific to this essay prompt. For a guide on how to paraphrase as you respond to this specific prompt, see my article “ How to Paraphrase in TOEFL Integrated Writing .” And for advice on how to reise your TOEFL writing, using this model Integrated task as a specific example, see “ How to Revise TOEFL Writing .” All of this advice is applicable to other TOEFL Integrated Writing essays as well! (And it can also be applied to Task 2!)

Follow-up TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice

For more TOEFL Integrated Writing tasks from Magoosh, check our the additional free TOEFL Integrated writing practice task found in Magoosh’s complete guide to TOEFL Writing samples . You may also want to consider signing up for Magoosh TOEFL (you can try a free trial of Magoosh TOEFL prep without entering any payment info, and then “go premium” if you like what you see).

You can also go to “the source”—official TOEFL Integrated Writing practice from ETS. This free TOEFL Integrated Writing task , which focuses on the ecological practices of American companies (a typical Integrated Writing topic) is a good place to start if you’re looking for some quick official practice that you don’t have to pay for. Unfortunately, this readily accessible official practice task is flawed: it has a transcript of a lecture, rather than lecture audio. The only free official TOEFL Integrated Writing task with an actual sound clip for the lecture is the one in the official online TOEFL mock test .

David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he’s helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in many scholarly articles , his Master’s Thesis is featured on the Reading with Pictures website, and he’s presented at the WITESOL (link to PDF) and NAFSA conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru. Come join David and the Magoosh team on Youtube , Facebook , and Instagram , or connect with him via LinkedIn !

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45 responses to “TOEFL Writing Task 1: The TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice Task”

u shud have atleast given a sample answer for us to compare our answers to.

Really that you are complaining? This is a great exercises. Just be grateful!

They have given it under the audio. Can’t you see that?

Hello Rabia,

That’s a good point and an excellent request. To meet your request, I’ll write up an example answer ASAP and make a blog post about it. My post will include an explanation of my writing approach, and reference to the TOEFL Integrated writing rubric. As soon as my example is up and posted, I’ll link it to the comments here.

Have a great day, David

Still waiting for the example answer.

You can find the sample answer here: https://magoosh.com/toefl/2015/toefl-integrated-writing-practice-task-model-answer/ 🙂

thanks for share.it helps me.

Thank you so much, I found a PDF file that was so useful.

You’re welcome! 😀

This is a very helpful integrated writing practice, especially with the sample answer. However, I can’t seem to figure out what question the essay should answer. The directions just say to write a response, but they don’t give any direction as to what is expected in this response. Is this typical of TOEFL integrated writing questions?

Hi K.C. The essay question is in this post, but I think I know why you can’t see it— I’ve just realized it’s kind of oddly placed. Or rather, the lecture track is oddly placed in this post. The lecture audio link appears right below the directions and right above the question, so that the question itself is easy to miss. But look carefully below the audio and you’ll see:

“Summarize the main points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they challenge the specific points made in the reading passage.”

This specific task is typical of the TOEFL, but the confusing screen layout is not. The layout was likely my mistake when I wrote and uploaded this. I’ll check with my editor about fixing that. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Hmm…And now I do not see an audio link. Thank you for making the task more visible, though.

Hmm, indeed. I seemed to be having some issue with the external link. I just hosted the file locally, and the sound file should be playable now.

hello sir/Mam I have a question regarding the integrated writing task….will the passage reappear even after the listening part?

Yes, the passage reappears on the screen after you listen to the audio track, and the passage remains available the whole time that you write your response.

Hello Can you please introduce a good source for practicing integrated writing task.

Sadly, there aren’t a lot of good materials out there for TOEFL Integrated Writing tasks, compared to Independent Writing. This is because it’s a lot harder to create an Integrated Writing Task— it requires writing a complete passage and recording a lecture. Still, you get one Integrated Writing Practice task in each and every exam in ETS’s official TOEFL books and materials. And Magoosh TOEFL subscribers get access to quite a few of these practice tasks too.

I’m also happy to tell you that I’ll be putting up a few more Integrated Writing Practice tasks in the next few weeks! Watch this space, Mazdak. 🙂

how to download the given audio? I need to download and copy it in the pen drive so as i can practice when internet connection is not available.

There’s a version of this track on Soundcloud that’s available for download. You can find the link to the track here: https://soundcloud.com/david-recine-1/comics . You’ll need to create a SoundCloud account if you don’t already have one. ( Registering for SoundCloud is fast, easy and free.)

i m not good listening practice and also i have problem in matching and choosing the correct point to reading passage how can i improve score

OK, if I understand correctly, you’re having trouble with the questions that come at the very end of a reading passage question set? The text insertion and prose summary ones? I recommend checking out our blog’s tutorials on those two question types. Here is our guide to TOEFL Reading prose summary strategy , and here’s our tutorial on TOEFL Reading text insertion . 🙂

The reading and the lecture are both about comic medium, which includes newspaper comic strips. The author of the reading believes that the comics are of unique American art form and that scholars all over the globe agree on this. The lecturer casts doubts on the claim made in the article. He thinks that when more study was done, scholars realized that the comic mediums were not uniquely American.

First of all, the author of the reading claims Hogan’s Alley to be the first commercially successful comic strip having first popular cartoon character. He believes that Hogan’s alley focused mainly on the lives of ordinary Americans and that the people involved in making it were all Americans. This point is challenged by the lecturer. He says that Hogan’s Alley was not the first successful comic strip with first famous cartoon character. He adds that during 1790’s many popular comic strips and popular comic character were from Europe, especially from Britain and Switzerland. He adds that the characters and publisher were not uniquely American but were immigrants as well. The publisher of Hogan’s Alley, Joseph Pulitzer was himself an immigrant from Hungary.

Secondly, the author states that the first popular action book comic was American which involved Superman – The first Superhero. He argues that the first popular action comic was American. The lecturer rebuts this argument. He suggests that 16 years before action comic was prevalent, Adventure of Tintin comic from Belgium was popular and it predates superman. He elaborates on this by mentioning that the artist of Superman was not from America but from Canada.

Finally, the author mentions that Americans devised and transferred the art form all around the world. He is of the opinion that Japanese comic strips were influenced by comic from America and that Americans created Disney character that was popular in Europe. The lecturer, on the other hand, feels that Japan and Europe were influenced by various other art forms. He says that Japan was highly influenced by the traditional Asian art and that the Disney characters popular in Europe were drawn in European style and art. He puts forth the idea that the comic strip is from all around the world and not only America.

Normally I don’t approve comments like this, since there isn’t time to review every sample essay that students try to post here. However, in this case, I’ve decided to approve this essay and give some feedback. Sanjay, I think this essay of yours can help other students who read the comments, for two reasons: First, it’s fairly well-written overall. Second, the mistakes you make are common ones. So let’s look at your strengths and weaknesses of this essay.

This essay is incredibly well organized! Sanjay, you did a great job of moving through both the lecture and the essay point-by-point. Also, the grammar and spelling is quite good— you do have a few mistakes in these errors, but the mistakes are so minimal, they’d have little or no impact on your TOEFL score.

WEAKNESSES Your biggest weakness is paraphrasing. Sometimes your wording was way too close to the original source material, so much so that your writing might be judged as plagiarism. This is especially noticeable in the second paragraph. (For more info, see my post on avoiding plagiarism on the TOEFL .) At other times, you misinterpreted information from the sources. For example, Superman was not the first successful action comic; “Action Comics” is the name of a publication, not a description of a kind of comic book.

Your transitions are a bit weak as well. Ideally, TOEFL scorers want to see transitions that are more descriptive— not just numerical words like “first” and “second.” For examples of more varied transitions, see the Magoosh TOEFL Writing Templates ebook, and check out Kate’s tutorial on TOEFL Writing transitions , and mine .

All in all, I’d put this essay in the 3.5-4 point range, per the official TOEFL Writing rubrics . Address those weak points, and you could get your score all the way up to a 5.

how many words should this part have?

The TOEFL doesn’t set any strict, official rules for word count in the TOEFL Integrated Writing Essay. However, ETS reports that most top-scoring Integrated Writing responses are between 150 and 225 words long.

Hey there David or Rachel….I don’t know with who am I talking with …:-) 🙂 But I wanted to ask you about the listening and reading sections. Do paragraphs appear while attending the question ?

Yes, you should be able to see the text (or a relevant portion of the text) when answering questions. 🙂

The passage claims the idea that the comic medium is popularly American, However professor refutes each of the claims by saying that comic medium is not popularly American it is influenced by the whole world.

The passage claims that Hogan Alley the most popular comic of 1890’s was the first successful comic and was developed by Americans, However professor refutes this claim by saying that Hogan Alley was not the first successful comic , In 1970 many comic strips were originated in Europe which were popular and successful.

The passage states that Action comic series which introduced superman as a character was the first popular comic series developed by Americans in 1938, However professor refutes the claim by saying that in 1922 Tin-Tin published in Belgium was the most popular comic ever.

The passage posits that The Japanese comics which are popular throughout Europe are influenced by American art and literature, however professor refutes the claim of the passage by stating that Asterics the most popular Japanese comic was influenced by Canada not from US.

Thus the professor refutes the reading by illustrating some facts and states that the Comic medium is influenced by al over the world it is not popularly American.

Can you please rate this answer

Hi Aakash! Unfortunately, at the moment, we don’t offer a TOEFL essay review service. However, to help you evaluate your response, I recommend the following. First, check out David’s sample essay here . You can compare your structure and the points you make with what David wrote in his essay 🙂 Also, I highly recommend that you check out this page , where we provide some guidelines on how to evaluate your own essays. I hope this helps, at least a little!

One question regarding scoring: although the TOEFL OG recommends essays of 150-225 words for the Integrated Essay, do you think that length correlates with score?

My point is all things being equal (coherency, grammar, vocabulary), would a longer essay tend to score higher than an average one?

In other words, do you think it is worth it to push it to the 250+ words in order to try to get a higher score?

Thank you so much!

Hi Sebastian,

Once again, my statements regarding your identical question for the independent essay apply. In addition, on the integrated essay, including too much (say writing 350 words and covering 6 main points) can demonstrate a lack of concision and an inability to distill the most important points from many. As this test is aimed at demonstrating your ability to handle academic-style writing, you want to showcase this in addition to grammar, argumentation and organization.

I hope that helps! 🙂

Great! I will follow your piece of advice! Apologies for repeating the question. I jut thought that since they were two different tasks, they could yield two different tactics and maybe scoring system. I just wanted to post each question in the appropriate post.

Have a great week and thank you as usual!

No worries, Sebastian! I’m sure these comments will be useful for future students 🙂

Best of luck as you continue studying!

Call me petty, but I would just appreciate Americans like you being totally accurate with facts that you feel you can confidently, expertly provide as subject matter for something that should feel as authoritative as a “lecture”. Joe Shuster was Canadian half by birth and grew up in Canada right into his teens. This time also included his first exploits as a writer for a publication. So it would be nice not to see folks like you casually whitewashing Superman as a wholly American creation. If I tried to claim conversely that Superman was actually just a Canadian creation in basically the exact same way, I’m sure there’d be no end to the uproar. We also helped to give the world the phone and basketball, just in case you planned on overAmericanizing those facts in other tasks too…

Jeffrey, I definitely hear you on that, and I tried to touch on that in the lecture. FYI, although I wrote both the passage and the lecture script, the lecture– which refutes the idea that comics are a purely American art form– reflects my own personal opinions a bit more. On an additional personal note, many of my favorite comic books– and many comics I feel have had some of the greatest influence on the medium worldwide– are made by creators from Canada and other places not in the USA. 🙂

This example has made my day, I’ve spent all evening trying to understand the difference between the lecture and the reading and it has made it more clear than all materials i consulted . Thank you so much, Very helpful.

So glad this tutorial and sample lecture helped, Denis. I had fun putting it all together too. 🙂

Thank you so much Mr. Recine! This example was spot-on! 🙂

Thanks for this sample test. Where can i get more task 1 practice test for my students?

TOEFL Writing Task 1 practice can be a little hard to come by, since it takes a lot of time to put together a proper Writing Task 1 (a passage and a recorded audio lecture). For fast, free TOEFL Writing Task 1 prompts, I recommend TOEFL Quick Prep . The first volume of TOEFL Quick Prep has a Writing Task 1s that come with transcript only, and no actual audio. Fortunately, Magoosh has made unofficial audio for all of the transcript-only lectures in both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Quick Prep. (See our unofficial audio for TOEFL Quick Prep Vol. 1 and TOEFL Quick Prep Vol. 2 .) You can also get access to some additional free Task 1s if you enroll in ETS’s free official online TOEFL course .

Beyond those resources, there are some good paid resources out there, such as ETS’s official TOEFL books: Official TOEFL iBT Tests Vol. 1 , Official TOEFL iBT Tests Vol. 2 , and The Official Guide to the TOEFL . TOEFL Preparation Online (TPO) is another potential source of high quality official ETS Writing Task 1 practice, although it’s a bit expensive.

Last but certainly not least, consider a subscription to Magoosh TOEFL , if you haven’t already. 🙂 We offer six practice TOEFL Writing Task 1s to our Premium students, as well as many other practice questions and video lessons for the test as a whole.

The lecture challenges the points made in reading passage that comics strips and comics books are original art form from America, they started in America and comics created around the world are influenced by American comics.The lecture disputes the following claims made in the passage. First claim made in the passage is that the first famous comics strip was Hogan Alley and was published in 1890, however the lecture claims that it was not the first and further gives example for a comics published in 1790 in Europe. The characters in the Hogan Alley were immigrants and cartoonist RF Outcalt himself was an immigrant which means that the origin of the comics comes from another country. Second claim in the passage is that the first adventure comics published was in 1938 and was about Superman, lecture refutes the argument by giving example of comic book “Adventures of Tin Tin” which as Belgium origin and it predates Superman. Third claim made in the reading passage is that Japanese comics manga was influence by American, but the lecture contradicts it by claiming that it was influenced traditional Asian comics The last claim made in the passage is that European comics is also influenced by American comics, the lecture clarifies that by the example that even though the disney characters are famous in Europe but these characters are written as European disney characters by the Europeans. In conclusion, the lecture says that comics art were not first originated in America but they did exist in the world much before the comics became famous in America and that the comics around the globe is not influenced by American comics.

The passage and the lecture are both about the originality of comics. The author of the text states that all comics have been influenced by early American art forms. The lecturer, however, strongly disagrees with this idea. To begin, the text points out that the Japanese version of comics, called ‘manga’ were derived from the American comics. They had been taken to Japan after World War two. The lecturer contradicts this claim. He says that the manga relates more to Asian arts than American . Secondly, the author details how Disney inspired the many famous European comic series. He gives examples of Smurfs and Asterix, and how they are very popular. To this, the lecturer differs explaining how the writings, like hash-tag are European styled. Finally, detailing the studies made by scholars on America’s role in early comic industry, the author stamps comics as America’s undeniable creations. Despite this, the professor shuts down these data as rubbish. He explores the history of comics, and how there were many European comics before the start of American ones. In addition, he says that many original American comics were created by immigrants.

Both the reading and the lecture discuss the real origin of comic books and their history. The auther of the reading suggests that comics originally are an amercican art. However the proffesor explains that comics medea is an art actually shared by the whole world. First of all, according to the reading hongn’s aley is the fist popular strip figure disigned by an american. But the lecture opposes to this statement and explains that in fact alley was not the firt influencial strip caracter know world wild but actually lots of caracters made by imigrants from switserland had been there befoor him Secondly, the reading states that popular action comics books were invented by americans. Though the lecture points out that exion comics such as tintin, written in 1922 predated befoor the outcomming of for example spiderman. Finally, the author suggests that american comic strips as for example disney inspiered the creation of mangas on the other side of the world. Oposing to this, the speaker explains that disney had american caracters but the comics are actually made by europeens and traditional asian art developd on its own

Hi, would like to have some feedback. Here’s my response: The reading and the lecture are about comics. The reading as well as the lecture have specific mentions and opposing views about the origin and spread in popularity of comics The writer of the passage puts forth the point that comics are a purely American art form. In contrast, the lecture provides proofs against this idea. Firstly, the passage mentions the first commercially successful comic strip Hogan’s Alley. According to the passage, it dealt with ordinary Americans, was set in New York and published by American publishers. However, the lecture mentions that it was not the first commercially popular comic strip and that its publisher was an immigrant from Hungary. Second, the passage refers to “Action comics”, which featured Superman, as the first popular comic book in the world. The lecture refutes this point by saying that “Action comics” was not the first popular comic book. Tintin was published in Belgium 16 years before it and it is still popular. Also, even the artist of Superman was from Canada. Lastly, the passage mentions that comics were invented in America and then exported to the rest of the world. But the lecture opposes this idea by saying that traditional Asian art has more influence on comics than any other art has. Moreover, though the Disney characters were written in America, they were written and drawn by European creators. Thus, they were not truly American. This is how the lecture refutes the key points in the passage.

Hi Rk! Unfortunately, at the moment, we don’t offer a TOEFL essay review service. However, to help you evaluate your response, I recommend the following. First, check out David’s sample essay here . You can compare your structure and the points you make with what David wrote in his essay 🙂 Also, I highly recommend that you check out this page , where we provide some guidelines on how to evaluate your own essays. I hope this helps, at least a little!

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EnglishPost.org

125 Exercises to Pass the TOEFL

If you are interested in passing the TOEFL Test, the best way to get ready for it is by completing TOEFL exercises.

The more exercises that you do, the better.

What’s the TOEFL?

The  TOEFL ®  test is a high-quality, high-standard test that assures admissions officers of your readiness for the classroom and beyond.

The  TOEFL iBT ®  test has 4 sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. During the test, you’ll perform tasks that combine these 4 English communication skills, such as:

• read, listen and then speak in response to a question
• listen and then speak in response to a question
• read, listen and then write in response to a question

The total test takes about 3 hours to complete, but you should plan for 3½ hours, allowing 30 minutes for check-in.

Table of Contents

TOEFL Practices ( 1 to 3)

Toefl practices ( 4 to 11), toefl practices ( 12 to 23), toefl practices (24 to 29), toefl practices (30 to 36), toefl practices (37 to 45), toefl practices (46 to 55), toefl practices (55 to 66), toefl practices (67 to 75), toefl practices (76 to 83), toefl practices (83 to 94), toefl practices (95 to 101), toefl practices (101 to 108), toefl practices (109 to 115), toefl practices (115 to 120).

Now that you know more about the TOEFL, take some time to complete these exercises that will help you get ready for it.

I am sure they will keep you entertained.

These are exercises that will help you prepare for the different sections of the TOEFL

These are exercises that will help you prepare for the reading section of the TOEFL

These are exercises that will help you prepare for the listening sections of the TOEFL

These are exercises that will help you prepare for the conversation section of the TOEFL

• TOEFL Grammar: Modals Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Comparatives & Modifiers Exercise 1
• TOEFL Grammar: Comparatives & Modifiers Exercise 2
• TOEFL Grammar: Comparatives & Modifiers Exercise 3
• TOEFL Grammar: Connectors Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Choose The Correct Sentence Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Parallel Structures Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Word Choice Exercise 1
• TOEFL Grammar: Word Choice Exercise 2
• TOEFL Grammar: Word Choice Exercise 3
• TOEFL Grammar: Word Choice Exercise 4
• TOEFL Grammar: Negative Multiple Choice Exercise: Negatives
• TOEFL Grammar: Verbs & Tenses Exercise 
• TOEFL Grammar: Verbs & Tenses Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Noun Phrases Exercise 
• TOEFL Grammar: Noun Phrases Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Pronouns Multiple Choice Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Preposition Multiple Choice Exercise 
• TOEFL Grammar: Preposition Multiple Choice Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Much/Many Multiple Choice Exercise 
• TOEFL Grammar: Some/Many Multiple Choice Exercise 
• TOEFL Grammar: Last/Latter Multiple Choice Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Superlatives Multiple Choice Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Past Tense Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Conditionals Matching Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar: Gerund/Infinitive Exercise
• TOEFL Grammar Practice Tests 1
• TOEFL Grammar Practice Tests 2
• TOEFL Grammar Practice Tests 3
• TOEFL Grammar Practice Tests 4
• TOEFL Grammar Practice Tests 5
• TOEFL Grammar Practice Tests 6
• TOEFL Test Prep 7
• TOEFL Test Prep 8
• TOEFL Test Prep 9
• TOEFL Grammar Prep 10
• TOEFL Grammar Prep 11
• TOEFL Grammar Prep Test 12 – Modals Past Participle
• TOEFL test: Vocabulary Words: English Adjectives
• TOEFL vocab test: Increase Vocabulary: English Verbs
• TOEFL verbal test: Teachers Games for Vocabulary
• TOEFL preparation test: Activities for Teaching
• TOEFL verbal preparation: Vocabulary Games
• TOEFL verbal word list: Improving Vocabulary
• TOEFL practice test: Improve Your Vocabulary: Nouns
• TOEFL verbal test: Vocabulary Answers: Adjective…
• TOEFL test: Vocabulary Exercises: Noun Adjective…
• TOEFL verbal preparation: Vocabulary Tests…
• TOEFL verbal test: Take a Vocabulary Quiz: Noun Tests
• TOEFL verbal word list: Vocabulary Sentences: Verb…
• TOEFL test: English Vocabulary Words: Verb Noun…
• TOEFL practice test: Study English Vocabulary…
• TOEFL test: Vocabulary Words: English Verbs Nouns…
• TOEFL prep test: Word Vocabulary Games: English…
• TOEFL vocabulary test: Vocabulary Building: English Nouns
• TOEFL vocab test: Increase Vocabulary: English…
• TOEFL verbal test: Teachers Games for Vocabulary…
• TOEFL preparation test: Activities for Teaching…
• TOEFL verbal preparation: Vocabulary Games…
• TOEFL verbal word list: Improving Vocabulary: English Verb
• TOEFL practice test: Improve Your Vocabulary…
• TOEFL test: Vocabulary Test: Noun Vocabulary List
• TOEFL preparation test: Vocabulary Exercise: Verb…

I am Jose Manuel, English professor and creator of EnglishPost.org, a blog whose mission is to share lessons for those who want to learn and improve their English

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TOEFL Prep Online Guides and Tips

Ultimate guide to toefl integrated writing: tips and practice.

Writing English essays can be difficult for non-native speakers—especially on TOEFL Integrated Writing. For this task, you must compose a short essay comparing a lecture with a reading passage. And to get a high Integrated Writing score, you’ll need to know which resources to use as well as how to prepare effectively for the task.

In this guide, we’ll explain what TOEFL Integrated Writing entails and go over the best resources you can use for quality TOEFL Integrated Writing topics and practice. In addition, we give you six key tips to help you get the Integrated Writing score you deserve.

What Is TOEFL Integrated Writing?

There are two Writing tasks on the TOEFL: an Integrated Writing task and an Independent Writing task. The Integrated Writing task, which comes first, requires you to combine multiple skills. You must not only be able to write in English but also be able to read and listen to it. By contrast, the Independent Writing task only requires you to read a brief prompt and then write an essay explaining your opinion on the topic.

So what exactly does the Integrated Writing task entail? You’ll start by reading an academic passage. This passage is about 300 words long, and you’ll have  three minutes to read it.

Next, you’ll listen to an audio clip of a professor giving a lecture on the same topic as that of the passage. This lecture will usually be about two minutes long and will either agree or disagree with points made in the passage.

Finally, you’ll have 20 minutes to plan and compose a short essay of about 150-225 words. This essay must summarize the points made in the lecture and explain how they support or challenge what’s written in the passage. You will not write about your own opinion for this task (though you will for the Independent Writing task).

As you write, you’ll be able to look at the reading passage again if you need to. (You can also finish reading it during this time if you didn’t get to do so before.) However, you may not listen to the audio clip again. This is why it’s best to take notes while you listen to the audio clip (we’ll talk more about how to do this later).

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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Now, let’s turn our attention to scoring. The Integrated Writing task—like the Independent Writing task—is scored on a scale of 0-5. According to the official rubric , a 5 response “successfully selects the important information from the lecture and coherently and accurately presents this information in relation to the relevant information presented in the reading.”

On the other hand, a 1 response “provides little or no meaningful or relevant coherent content from the lecture.” (Note that a score of 0 means you did not fulfill the prompt correctly—for example, you copied sentences from the passage, wrote in a foreign language, or didn’t write anything at all.)

After, your Integrated and Independent scores are combined and converted to a scaled Writing score on a scale of 0-30 (i.e., the same scale used for all sections of the TOEFL).

Here is an example of a complete TOEFL Integrated Writing task :

Read the following passage and the lecture which follows. In an actual test, you would have 3 minutes to read the passage. Then, answer the question. In the test, you would have 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. Test takers with disabilities may request additional time to read the passage and write the response.

READING PASSAGE

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.

14 Resources for TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice

Now that you understand what a TOEFL Integrated essay entails, let’s take a look at some of the best resources you can use for TOEFL Integrated Writing topics and practice.

Note that most of these resources are geared toward the entire TOEFL test and therefore will contain practice questions and tips for other TOEFL sections as well.

Official Prep Materials

Official resources (i.e., those created by ETS) are far and away the best resources to start with when you want to find quality TOEFL Integrated Writing practice questions. All official TOEFL resources offer authentic test questions and prompts similar to those you’ll see on test day. And the best part is that many of these resources are entirely free!

TOEFL Online Practice (TPO) Tests

By far the most authentic TOEFL Integrated Writing practice you can get is through official TPO tests. These full-length TOEFL practice tests are real, retired exams and thus offer a highly realistic TOEFL Integrated Writing test-taking experience.

Once you finish a test, your Integrated essay is immediately graded by a computer. However, I’m not a huge fan of this scoring system since it isn’t clear why the computer grader assigns certain scores.  By contrast, on the actual TOEFL, your Integrated Writing task will be graded by a combination of human raters and a computer .

Unfortunately, each TPO test is quite costly:  45.95 USD.  So don’t buy one of these tests unless you’re 100 percent sure it’ll help you on the Integrated Writing task and other sections of the exam as well.

TOEFL iBT Interactive Sampler

One of the best TOEFL practice resources you can use is the TOEFL Interactive Sampler. This free, downloadable software contains an abbreviated TOEFL test, complete with a full Writing section.

What’s especially great is that the Integrated Task comes with  three sample responses: a high-level response, a mid-level response, and a low-level response. These are helpful in that they show you what kinds of details, structures, grammar, and vocabulary you’ll be expected to use in your own essay.

There are a couple of downsides to this resource, though. For one, the sampler doesn’t work with Macs. Another issue is that you can’t write your essay directly in the program. Rather, once the prompt is shown, all you’re given are the three sample responses. But you can still complete the task by opening Microsoft Word or another writing program and typing your essay there.

Once you’ve finished writing your essay, I suggest either using the TOEFL Integrated Writing rubric to score your response or asking a native English speaker to grade your essay for you.

TOEFL iBT Quick Prep

This free set of four PDFs offers a ton of high-quality sample TOEFL questions, including two Integrated Writing tasks (in Volume 1 and Volume 3 ).

Volume 1 provides you with a transcript of the lecture instead of an audio clip, so it’s not the most realistic test-taking experience you can get. But Volume 3’s TOEFL Integrated Writing task uses an MP3 for the lecture, making it far more similar to what you’ll get on the actual test.

Since these volumes are both PDFs and not software programs, you’ll once again need to use a separate computer program to type out your responses.

TOEFL iBT Writing Sample Responses

Another free resource by ETS, this PDF presents  a number of TOEFL Integrated Writing sample responses, from low- to high-scoring ones.

With this resource, you’ll get one TOEFL Integrated Writing task  with a passage and lecture transcript. And as for sample essays, you’ll get:

• Two level-5 essays
• Three level-4 essays
• Three level-3 essays
• Three level-2 essays
• Two level-1 essays

What I particularly love about this PDF is that it includes  detailed feedback on why certain essays received the scores they got.  Therefore, I strongly suggest reading these explanations to learn more about how ETS expects you to write and organize your Integrated essay on test day.

Official TOEFL Prep Books

Another solid option is to buy an official TOEFL prep book. Official books are excellent, comprehensive resources for TOEFL Integrated Writing practice, as well as Reading, Listening, and Speaking practice.

The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test  is perhaps your best bet. This resource offers a CD-ROM with three full-length practice tests in addition to 600 practice questions.

However, its Integrated Writing information isn’t all new. For example, many of its sample scored responses are the same as those in the TOEFL iBT Writing Sample Responses PDF above. Moreover, its first practice test uses the same Integrated Writing prompt contained in the free TOEFL Interactive Sampler.

Other official prep books include Official TOEFL iBT Tests Volumes 1 and 2 . Each volume contains five unique full-length practice tests, giving you a grand total of 10 Integrated Writing tasks  to practice with. Unlike The Official Guide, though,   which offers several sample responses for each scoring level,   each Writing task here comes with just one high-scoring sample response.

Official TOEFL prep books are usually reasonably priced at around 25 USD a piece.

TOEFL iBT Sample Questions

This free, handy PDF is similar to Quick Prep but contains far fewer practice questions. With this resource, you get one Integrated Writing task  (which we used above as an example).

Unfortunately, this PDF doesn’t contain any audio files, so you’ll need to read a transcript for the lecture. This, along with the lack of additional TOEFL Integrated Writing practice questions, ultimately makes this resource less realistic and less useful than some of the other ones on this list.

Unofficial Prep Materials

While official materials are hands down your best bet for quality TOEFL Integrated Writing practice, some unofficial resources offer a solid array of TOEFL Integrated Writing practice questions as well.

The problem, however, is that most unofficial TOEFL resources are low quality, so you’ll need to learn how to distinguish the ones that are worth using from the ones that aren’t. Generally speaking, a solid TOEFL resource is one that offers realistic practice questions, comprehensive answer explanations, and useful test-taking strategies.

Below are our top picks for the best unofficial resources for TOEFL Integrated Writing topics. Like our list above, the majority of resources here are completely free to use!

Unofficial TOEFL Prep Books

There are many high-quality unofficial TOEFL prep books available on the market. The key is to know which ones are worth buying—that is, which ones will offer you the most authentic TOEFL Integrated Writing tasks you can practice with. Our guide to the best TOEFL prep books  includes three unofficial TOEFL prep books to consider incorporating into your prep.

As with any dense resource, unofficial TOEFL prep books come at a price. However, they’re not normally that expensive, with prices typically hovering around  10-30 USD.  (That’s cheaper than one TPO test!)

Strictly English

This website offers one free Integrated Writing task as well as several additional tasks you can only access if you are a paid member. Both the passage and audio clip for the free task are extremely high quality, making it an ideal resource to include in your prep.

Strangely,  the free Integrated task doesn’t include a prompt.  That said, you don’t actually need a prompt to write an Integrated essay anyway, as the prompt is always the same: compare a lecture with a passage.

Another convenient feature of this website is a box that you can type your essay in. Once you finish typing, though, ignore the “Submit My Essay” button below. This feature only works for paid members, so nothing will happen if you click it.

Like Strictly English, BestMyTest offers one free Integrated Writing task, though you can access many more Integrated Writing tasks with paid membership. The free task is high quality and consists of a decent reading passage and a clear, easy-to-follow audio clip.

One especially helpful feature is the timer,  which makes it easier to keep track of how much time you have left for each part of the task.

A solid choice, Magoosh offers one TOEFL Integrated Writing task that’s fairly high quality. The reading passage is very similar to those on the TOEFL, especially in length, and the audio clip is crisp and easy to understand.

While you won’t get a lecture transcript, you will get  a sample level-5 essay  with an in-depth analysis of what makes this essay strong.

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PrepScholar TOEFL is online and it features thousands of practice questions and 1-on-1 Speaking and Writing review and feedback.

English Club

This free website offers one TOEFL Integrated Writing task with a passage, audio clip, and sample response. You’ll also get a transcript of the lecture, which is helpful if you’re struggling to understand any parts of it (though you won’t get a transcript on test day).

There are two drawbacks to this website, however. First, the reading passage, though good quality, is quite short.  Integrated Writing passages are generally around 300 words, but the passage here is only about half that length, making it not as realistic as it could be.

In addition, the audio clip quality isn’t particularly good. The voice often sounds muffled, making it difficult to understand at times.

PrepScholar

At PrepScholar, we offer   an original TOEFL Integrated Writing task,  complete with a reading passage, lecture transcript, and prompt similar to what you’ll get on test day.

As with any TOEFL task, make sure to abide by the official time limits so that you’re getting as realistic practice as possible. For Integrated Writing, this means you’ll have:

• Three minutes to read the passage
• About two minutes to read the lecture transcript
• 20 minutes to plan and write a response

After you finish typing your essay on a computer, use our analysis of two high-scoring essays to grade your response and give yourself a rough idea as to how you can improve your spelling, grammar, organization, time management, and overall writing skills for the test.

Study.com offers one TOEFL Integrated Writing task, which you can access (mostly) via a free lesson preview. Included is an entire reading passage and lecture transcript—but no prompt, as that’s where the preview gets cut off.

In reality, though,  you don’t actually need a prompt  since all Integrated tasks require you to do the same thing: compare a lecture with a passage. Nonetheless, if you’d like to see the full TOEFL Integrated Writing lesson, you can make an account by signing up for a free five-day trial.

TOEFL Resources

Though TOEFL Resources doesn’t offer any original Integrated Writing tasks for you to practice with, it does contain a large assortment of sample Integrated Writing essays,  which you can compare with your own responses to get a better understanding of what a high-scoring TOEFL essay looks like.

Many of this website’s sample essays are based on Integrated tasks from popular TOEFL prep books, including The Official Guide and Official TOEFL iBT Tests, so if you’ve got any of these and want to see more high-scoring sample responses, this resource is definitely helpful!

What’s more, all sample essays were written by native English speakers, so you can be sure they’re grammatical and structurally solid.

How to Prepare for TOEFL Integrated Writing: 6 Tips

So far, we’ve gone over all of the major resources you can use to strengthen your TOEFL Integrated Writing practice. Now, let’s take a look at our top six tips to help you get the Integrated Writing score you want.

#1: Strengthen Your Reading & Listening Skills

Since you must read a passage and listen to an audio clip for the TOEFL Integrated Writing task, it’s important to hone your reading and listening skills in addition to your writing skills.

To get better at reading, make sure you have a broad knowledge of  English vocabulary , particularly academic vocabulary.  I recommend reading real-life newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times  and  The Atlantic .  Additionally, try reading introductory notes and paragraphs in university-level textbooks. For more tips on what to read, take a look at  our guide to TOEFL Reading resources .

As for listening practice , take time to listen to spoken English by watching  YouTube videos and English news channels or listening to English podcasts. Some free, helpful resources for English-listening practice include VOA Learning English and EnglishClass101 .

#2: Keep a Journal

To do well on TOEFL Integrated Writing, you need to be a good writer. And to be a good writer, you need to write!

One great way to practice writing in English is to write in a journal (almost) every day. This allows you to consistently practice your writing skills and learn how to write more quickly and with better grammar.

Because you’ll be typing your Integrated essay on a computer, I recommend keeping a digital journal. You can do this online through a free website called Lang-8 . On this website, users write diary entries and other notes in their target languages. These entries are then posted and corrected by native speakers of the target language.

I myself have used Lang-8 many times while studying Japanese. All in all, it’s an incredibly fun and supportive resource that also offers a convenient way to connect with others studying English like you.

#3: Memorize Useful Transitions

The best writers are those who can effectively connect their thoughts to make their writing compelling. And one of the easiest ways to do this is to use transitions.

Transitions are words and short phrases that connect ideas in writing (as well as in speech). They often come at the beginning of paragraphs and sentences and can be used to:

• Link similar ideas
• Contrast different ideas
• Emphasize ideas

We’ve compiled an extensive list of 54 transitions  to use in your Integrated and Independent Writing essays. Briefly, though, here are some of the most common transitions you should know:

• In addition
• Additionally
• For example
• For instance
• In conclusion

#4: Do Timed Writing Exercises

You can’t expect to do well on TOEFL Integrated Writing unless you actually sit down and practice. This is why you should use the resources above (particularly the official ones) to  carve out time to practice answering TOEFL Integrated Writing questions.

Each time you practice,  time yourself using the official time limits for Integrated Writing. In other words, give yourself:

• About two minutes to read the lecture transcript (if not available as an audio clip)
• 20 minutes to plan and type your response

Once you’ve finished reading the passage and listening to the audio clip, begin to type your response on a computer. Although you may write out your response on paper, a computer is preferable, as it more accurately recreates the TOEFL test-taking experience. After you’ve completed a task, use the official Integrated Writing rubric to score yourself and determine what you did well—and what you could improve.

If your Integrated task comes with any sample essays, use these to help score your response. High-scoring essays can help you understand what specific details to include in your essay and what stylistic or structural features ultimately make an essay more compelling.

If possible, ask a native English speaker to offer feedback on your practice essays as well. This will give you a more objective view of the overall strength and quality of your writing.

#5: Use Scratch Paper Wisely

You’ll have scratch paper to use throughout the exam, so make sure to use it wisely on the Integrated Writing task, too.

Since you’ll only get to hear the audio clip once, use your scratch paper to  take notes as you listen. (You can reread the passage, so you don’t need to take notes on it.)   As you listen,   write down the main point of the lecture and any important terms, concepts, steps, or examples the professor mentions.

Then, once your writing time begins,  spend the first three minutes or so outlining your essay on your scratch paper. Try to jot down the three main points you want to discuss as well as any key details or examples you can use to illustrate them. Don’t get too elaborate with your outline—just get the main points down and let the rest of the details come naturally as you write.

We cover more TOEFL note-taking tips in our in-depth guide (coming soon).

#6: Follow a TOEFL Writing Template

Finally, if you’re worried about your ability to coherently structure an essay, consider practicing with a TOEFL Writing template . A template offers you a basic framework to start with, which you can then modify to suit any Integrated Writing prompt.

The benefits of a template are numerous. For one, you’ll always have a sentence opener or transition to fall back on in case you’re unsure what to write next, giving you more confidence on test day. You’ll also have a clearer idea as to how to structure your thoughts and will therefore spend less time worrying about your essay’s organization and flow.

Recap: What Is TOEFL Integrated Writing?

The TOEFL Integrated Writing task is the first of two Writing tasks. For this task, you must combine your reading, listening, and writing skills to produce a compelling essay that compares a passage with a lecture on the same topic.

In order to get a high score on TOEFL Integrated Writing, try to practice with high-quality resources. Several official resources are free and offer a broad assortment of Integrated Writing prompts. Unofficial TOEFL resources, too, can be helpful, though you’ll need to be careful with what you choose since most unofficial materials are not as reliable as official ones.

As you prepare for TOEFL Integrated Writing, be sure to do many timed writing exercises and  get feedback on your practice essays. You should also:

• Strengthen your reading and listening skills
• Keep an English journal to further hone your writing skills
• Memorize transitional words you can use in your essays
• Use scratch paper to take notes on the audio clip and to outline your essay
• Consider practicing with an Integrated Writing template to help you feel more prepared for test day

What’s Next?

Want more TOEFL Writing practice? Then check out our original list of 13 TOEFL Writing topics  as well as  our picks for the best TOEFL Writing resources .

Aiming for a high TOEFL Writing score?  Read our guide to learn what a good TOEFL Writing score is (coming soon), and then get a rundown of everything you need to know in order to ace the TOEFL Writing section .

Looking for more general TOEFL tips?  Learn how to prepare for the TOEFL with our eight expert tips.

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

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How to use cause and effect in the TOEFL essay

Struggling to ace your toefl essay well, understanding the power of cause and effect can unlock a path to impactful writing. join us as we share some tips to master the art of incorporating this technique in your and enhance your writing score., table of contents.

• Incorporating cause and effect in TOEFL essays 

Practicing cause and effect for TOEFL essays 

Example of cause and effect in a toefl essay , incorporating cause and effect with other writing strategies ,  key takeaways .

TOEFL aspirants often encounter the challenge of integrating different concepts and techniques into their essays. One such concept is the use of cause and effect, a rhetorical strategy that examines the reasons (causes) and outcomes (effects) of situations and events. When applied correctly, this technique can significantly enhance the quality of your TOEFL essay and impress the examiners. 

In this article, we’ll delve deeper into how you can effectively apply the cause and effect technique to your TOEFL essay and improve your writing skills. 

Understanding cause and effect 

The first step in effectively using them in your TOEFL essay is to understand what it entails. Simply put, a cause is a reason why something happens, and an effect is what happens as a result. Using cause and effect in your essay allows you to explore deeper levels of an argument, offering a comprehensive and convincing discussion. 

Incorporating cause and effect in TOEFL essays  

• Identify the cause and effect : Identify the causes that lead to a particular outcome in your essay. For instance, consider a topic like “The impact of digital technology on education.” The cause could be “the advent of digital technology,” and the effects could include “improved accessibility to education,” “increased efficiency in learning,” etc. 
• Use appropriate transitional words and phrases : Words and phrases such as “because,” “as a result,” “therefore,” “due to,” “caused,” “on account of,” and “leads to,” can help articulate the cause and effect relationship in your essay. 
• Organize your essay effectively : There are two main ways to structure a cause and effect essay. You can discuss all the causes first and then move to the effects, or you can discuss a cause and its effect before moving to the next pair. The choice depends on the specific requirements of the essay topic and what makes the most logical sense.

Using cause and effect in the TOEFL essay can greatly enhance the depth and clarity of your arguments, leading to a higher score in the writing section.

Moreover, practicing it in your TOEFL essays can also help you improve your reading comprehension skills. The concept of cause and effect is often used in the passages of the TOEFL reading section. Recognizing this relationship can help you better understand the passage and accurately answer the questions. 

Let’s look at some ways to improve your TOEFL essay and incorporate them into the practice test.

• Practice with sample topics : Start by practicing with sample TOEFL essay topics. You can find various causes and effects in TOEFL essay topics, practice tests and other TOEFL resources. 
• Analyze examples: Analyze sample essays that use them effectively. Look for the transitional words and phrases used and note how the cause and effect relationship is structured and presented. 
• Use a variety of transitional words: To effectively convey relationships between causes and effects, try a variety of transitional words and phrases. A few models incorporate “in light of the fact that,” “due to,” “thus,” “subsequently,” “in this way,” and “coming about in.” Your essay will have more depth and coherence if you use a variety of transitions. 
• Write and review: Write your essays using the cause and effect technique, and then review them. Check whether the cause and effect relationships are clear and logical. You can also have your essays reviewed by others for an objective assessment. 

To help you better understand how to implement cause and effect in a TOEFL essay, let’s consider an example. Suppose you’re tasked with the essay prompt: “Discuss the impact of social media on human interaction.” A cause and effect approach might look something like this: 

Introduction: “In recent years, social media has dramatically shaped how we communicate and interact with each other. The effects and causes of this shift in human interaction will be examined in this essay.” 

Body Paragraph 1 (Cause): “The advent of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has provided new avenues for communication. These platforms have allowed for instant and widespread sharing of information, leading to a transformation in human interaction.” 

Body Paragraph 2 (Effect): “As a result of the rise of social media, communication has become more immediate and global. People can connect with each other across continents in real time, breaking down geographical barriers.” 

Body Paragraph 3 (Effect): “However, the use of social media has also led to a decrease in face-to-face interactions. Studies have shown that many people, especially young adults, prefer online communication, leading to less physical social interaction.” 

Conclusion: “Social media has, without a doubt, transformed the landscape of human interaction. While it has allowed for global connections and information sharing, it has also led to declining personal, face-to-face interactions. As technology continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how these trends will further shape our communication.” 

In this example, the causes and effects are clearly defined, and appropriate transitional words are used to indicate these relationships. 

Using cause and effect as a strategy in your TOEFL essay does not mean you can’t use other writing strategies. In fact, cause and effect can be effectively combined with comparison, contrast, or argumentative styles to provide a comprehensive and multifaceted response. For example, while discussing the effects, you can compare and contrast different outcomes, or while discussing the causes, you can present an argument on the most significant cause. The key is to ensure a smooth transition between different sections of your essay and maintain a logical progression of thoughts. By integrating different strategies, you can enrich your TOEFL essay and demonstrate a range of writing skills, thereby impressing the examiners.

In conclusion, using cause and effect effectively in your TOEFL essay is a powerful way to present logical and in-depth arguments, which can significantly boost your writing score. With consistent practice and careful analysis, you can master this technique and ace the TOEFL writing section. 

• Cause and effect is a rhetorical strategy that explores the reasons and outcomes of situations and events.
• Incorporating cause and effect in your TOEFL essay enhances the depth and clarity of your arguments.
• Identify the cause and effect relationship in your essay by analyzing the topic and its outcomes. 
• Organize your essay effectively by discussing causes and effects in a logical order based on the essay topic. 

We hope this blog helped you understand how to effectively use cause and effect during the TOEFL essay writing test. If you have any doubts or questions regarding TOEFL preparation, feel free to reach out to us or drop your queries in the comment section below. We would be happy to assist you!

Like this blog? Read more : The importance of notes-taking during TOEFL listening section

Q1. Can I use examples to support my cause and effect arguments?

Ans- Absolutely! Including relevant examples can help your essay stand out and demonstrate the relationships between cause and effect better.

Q2. How can I practice using cause and effect for my TOEFL essay? 

Ans- Practice with sample TOEFL essay topics, analyze sample essays that use cause and effect effectively and write and review your own essays using the technique. 

Q3. How can I identify the causes and effects in a given essay prompt?  

Ans- Look for keywords or phrases that indicate causes (such as “reasons,” “factors”) or effects (such as “impacts,” “consequences”) in the essay prompt. Analyze the prompt in detail to determine the primary factors that influence the relationship between cause and effect.

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Athens Turns Orange Under a Saharan Dust Cloud

Taking pictures from the Tourkovounia hills on Tuesday. Credit... Angelos Tzortzinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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By Niki Kitsantonis

Reporting from Athens

• April 24, 2024

The skies above Athens turned orange on Tuesday as clouds of dust from the Sahara blew north, casting an eerie glow over the Greek capital’s landmarks.

The phenomenon isn’t new — sandstorms from North Africa have shrouded Britain, Greece and Spain in the past — but the event led to remarkable scenes around the Acropolis and in other parts of Athens.

That’s because the dust cloud was more concentrated than those that have hit Greece in previous episodes, according to Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the National Observatory of Athens.

“It’s the worst such case in years,” he said.

While the dust had dissipated on Wednesday, the Greek Health Ministry urged people to avoid exercising outdoors and to keep their doors and windows shut.

Here are photos from Athens on Tuesday.

Gazing at the unusual conditions.

The view from Lycabettus Hill, high above the city.

Near the Acropolis.

Strolling past stalls under the orange haze.

The strange hue bathing the city from the Tourkovounia hills.

Niki Kitsantonis is a freelance correspondent for The Times based in Athens. She has been writing about Greece for 20 years, including more than a decade of coverage for The Times. More about Niki Kitsantonis

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