The TOEFL iBT Write an Email task is the second writing item in the updated test format, scheduled for under five minutes of writing inside the roughly 23-minute Writing section. Candidates read a brief campus or workplace scenario and produce a short reply of 80–120 words to one named reader. The rubric runs from 1 to 6, and the gap between a 3 and a 5 is almost always about register, not grammar.
What the new Write an Email task actually asks of you
The prompt opens with a short situation: a professor has announced a change to office hours, a roommate has left a note about a missing item, a club administrator needs volunteers, a workplace manager has changed a deadline. You are told who you are writing to and what your reply must accomplish. The constraint is explicit: a single short email, between 80 and 120 words, in roughly five minutes. There is no choice of prompt, no follow-up turn, and no audio.
ETS frames the item as a 'campus or workplace communication' task. In practice this means the named reader is always an instructor, a classmate, a colleague, or a club officer — never a friend, never a family member. The expected tone is neutral-professional: polite, direct, and free of slang or text-message shorthand. Most candidates reading this lose points not because their sentences are broken, but because they under- or over-formalise the relationship to the reader.
The 1–6 band rubric, in language that helps you self-score
The Write an Email item is scored on a 1 to 6 band scale that mirrors the broader Writing section's band descriptors. A 6 means the response fully addresses the task, uses well-organised sentences, and shows consistent control of grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. A 4 means the response addresses the task with generally clear language, occasional lapses in word choice or form, and a mostly appropriate register. A 2 typically means the response is understandable but consistently inappropriate in tone or significantly under-developed.
| Band | What the reader sees | Typical pattern |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Full task coverage, varied and accurate language, polished closing | 3 logical blocks: reason → ask → sign-off |
| 4–5 | Task covered, clear language, light errors or register slip | Same structure, but one phrase reads stiff or casual |
| 2–3 | Task only partially addressed, or tone clearly mismatched | Buried ask, slang, or wrong reader relationship |
| 1 | Almost no connection to the prompt, or heavy language breakdown | Under 40 words or off-topic |
For most candidates, the practical target is a 4–5. A 6 requires more than correctness; it requires that the closing line feel native, that transitions are invisible, and that the ask sits clearly at the end of the email rather than the middle.
The 5-minute budget: how to spend the time
The single most common mistake is treating Write an Email as a warm-up. It is not. Five minutes is short, and the on-screen timer is visible. A workable split for a candidate aiming at band 5 looks like this:
- 0:00–0:40 — read the prompt twice, identify the named reader, and underline the one ask the email must make.
- 0:40–1:20 — draft the opening sentence and the closing sentence in your head, because these are the lines the scorer reads most carefully.
- 1:20–4:10 — type the body, aiming for 90–110 words, leaving roughly 90 words of headroom below the 120 ceiling.
- 4:10–5:00 — read once for tone, once for verb tense, then send.
Notice there is no dedicated 'planning' minute. With only five minutes, planning happens at the keyboard. If you cannot name the ask in 40 seconds, you are not ready to write the email yet.
Tone calibration: where the marks are quietly won or lost
Register is the single dimension where a 4 and a 5 separate. Three small moves will usually lift a candidate from the upper-3 range into band 5 without any change to grammar.
Open with the situation, not yourself. 'I am writing regarding the shift in the lab schedule announced on Monday' works better than 'I hope you are doing well' because it tells the reader why the email exists in the first sentence. A reader can recover from a long opener; a scorer reading eight emails in a queue cannot.
Name the ask as a single sentence, near the end. 'I would like to confirm whether I may submit the report by Friday at 5 p.m.' is one sentence, one ask, one deadline. Burying the ask inside a paragraph is a band-3 move regardless of language quality.
Close with one line that confirms next steps or thanks the reader. 'Thank you for your consideration' is acceptable; 'Thank you for your time and guidance on this matter' scores slightly higher because it acknowledges a relationship, not just a transaction.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Writing 60 words and stopping. A 60-word email is almost always a 2 or a 3. The 80-word floor exists for a reason; it gives you space for a clear opening, a body, and a closing without crowding them. If you find yourself at 60, the ask is probably missing.