TOEFL Writing: Write an Email
A functional email with a purpose and a register to match — new in January 2026. It is judged on whether the message does its job for the person receiving it, which is a different standard from the essay writing most TOEFL preparation drills.
Purpose first, in the first line
The reader should know why you are writing before the end of the opening sentence. An email that arrives at its point in the third paragraph has failed at the thing it is being marked on, however well written the paragraphs are.
- State the purpose immediately — requesting, apologising, asking, explaining.
- Give whatever context is genuinely needed, and no more.
- Say clearly what you want to happen next.
- Close in the register you opened with.
Register
| Writing to | Register | So |
|---|---|---|
| A professor or an office | Formal | Full forms, no slang, a clear sign-off |
| An administrator you deal with regularly | Semi-formal | Polite and direct; contractions acceptable |
| A classmate | Informal | Natural and brief |
Over-formality is as much a register error as under-formality. An email to a classmate written like a legal notice is wrong in the same way a casual message to a professor is.
Write an Email — FAQs
2 questions
Long enough to do its job. This task rewards completeness and clarity, not length.
Follow whatever the prompt asks for. The substance is the message.
More writing question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.