TOEFL Writing: three task types, and none of them is the old essay
TOEFL iBT Writing is roughly 12 items in about 23 minutes, across three task types. The integrated read-listen-write task and the independent essay are both gone. Only Write for an Academic Discussion carried over from the previous test, and the other two are new.
The three task types
| Task type | What it asks | New or carried over |
|---|---|---|
| Build a Sentence | Controlled items testing structure | New |
| Write an Email | A functional message with a purpose and a register | New |
| Write for an Academic Discussion | A contribution to a thread | Carried over |
If a guide tells you to summarise a lecture that contradicts a reading passage, it is teaching the TOEFL before 21 January 2026. That task is not set any more.
What twenty-three minutes means
Twelve items in twenty-three minutes is not an essay section. Most of it is controlled and quick, and the extended writing is one contribution to a discussion rather than a 300-word essay. Preparation built around producing long pieces of writing at speed is aimed at the wrong target.
- Accuracy in short, controlled items now carries real weight.
- Register — matching how you write to who you are writing to — is tested directly by the email task.
- The discussion task rewards engagement with the thread, not length.
Every Writing question type
TOEFL iBT Writing — FAQs
3 questions
No. The read-listen-write summary task was removed in the January 2026 change.
About 23 minutes of base time for roughly 12 items, varying because the test adapts.
No. All writing is typed.
Writing on the other exams
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.