The TOEFL email task, and how to answer it

What you are given

A short scenario, a recipient, a subject line, and three bullet points. Something like this:

Those three bullets are the heart of the task. Tone, vocabulary and length all matter, but the scorer looks first at whether your reply does each of the three things.

Doing all three things is what matters most

Write an Email is scored holistically. The scorer judges how well your whole reply achieves its purpose for the reader: does it do each of the three things the task asks, develop them, use clear language, and fit the recipient and situation?

Leaving out, or barely touching, one of the three points means the reply does less of its job, so it usually scores lower, however polished the English is. There is no published mechanical rule such as “miss one point and your score is a fixed maximum” - but a fluent email that answers only some of the task will not reach the top bands, because it has not fully done the task.

Mentioned is not addressed

This is the distinction that separates a weak reply from a strong one, and almost nobody is told it explicitly. A point counts as addressed only when you add a reason, a detail or an example of your own. A bare clause is only mentioned, and an email where most points are only mentioned tends to score lower.

You do not need impressive English to do this. You need one concrete thing per bullet.

The trap: the email that reads well but scores low

“Dear Ms Hall, I wanted to write and say how much the library has meant to me this year. The staff are unfailingly helpful, the reading rooms are quiet and well lit, and I have done some of my best work there. I am grateful to everyone who keeps it running so well. With warm regards.”

This is the best-written English on the page. Varied sentences, precise word choice, flawless punctuation, a proper greeting and closing. It still scores low.

It never says which booking. It never says why the time fails. It proposes nothing. All three points are missing, so however fluent it is, it has not done the task. If you take one thing from this page: read the three bullets last, before you submit, and point at where each one is answered.

A band 5 answer

“Dear Ms Hall, I am writing about my Tuesday booking for Reading Room C. The 4pm slot no longer works because my statistics seminar was moved to 3.30 and runs until 5. Could I move to Thursday at the same time? The room appeared free when I checked the portal. Thank you for your help.”

Sixty-one words. No idioms, no impressive vocabulary, nothing you could not write under time pressure. It scores 5 because each bullet is answered with something specific: which room, which seminar, which alternative. Notice it is also shorter than the email that scored 1.

Length, register and conventions

• There is no required word count. ETS does not publish a target length. Write enough to develop each point clearly; very short replies rarely give enough development for a high score, and extra length on its own earns nothing.
• Match the recipient. A committee, a professor or a company gets formal register. A classmate does not. Raters judge whether the register fits the reader, not whether it is maximally formal.
• Use normal email conventions. A greeting, a closing and a tone that fits the reader are part of writing an appropriate email. Use them as you naturally would.
• Do not fear small errors. A few errors that do not obscure meaning still allow a good score. What costs you is errors dense enough to make the reader work, or a point you never answered.

A checklist that takes 30 seconds

1. 1. Point at the sentence answering bullet one. Then two. Then three.
2. 2. For each, ask: is there a reason, detail or example of my own, or have I only mentioned it?
3. 3. Is there a greeting and a closing?
4. 4. Would the recipient find the tone appropriate?

If all four pass, you have done the things that matter most. Nothing else you can do in the remaining time will move the score as much.

Common questions

How long should the TOEFL email be?

ETS does not publish a required word count for Write an Email. Focus on completing the task clearly and developing the important points enough to communicate effectively. Very short replies often lack the development a strong score needs, and extra length on its own earns nothing.

What happens if I miss one of the three bullets?

Write an Email is scored holistically, so there is no published fixed cap. But the three points are the heart of the task: leave one out or barely touch it and the reply does less of its job, so it usually scores lower however well the rest is written.

Do I need a greeting and a closing in the TOEFL email?

Use normal email conventions: a greeting, a closing and a tone that fits the recipient are part of writing an appropriate email. Focus first on doing the three things the task asks and developing them clearly.

Should the TOEFL email be formal or informal?

Match the recipient. Writing to a professor, a committee or a company is formal; writing to a classmate or a friend is not. Raters judge whether the register fits the person you are writing to, not whether it is maximally formal.