The short answer
The TOEFL Integrated Writing task, where you read a short passage, listened to a lecture, and wrote a summary of how the two related, was retired in the January 2026 redesign. The independent essay is gone too. The 2026 Writing section is now built from three new task types: Build a Sentence, Email, and Academic Discussion. For every section change in one place, see the TOEFL 2026 format changes guide.
What Integrated Writing was
In the old format you read an academic passage for three minutes, listened to a lecture that challenged or supported it, and then wrote a 150 to 225 word summary explaining how the lecture related to the reading, in about 20 minutes. It rewarded note-taking and a fixed summary structure. Because that task no longer appears on the test, older "integrated writing template" material will not match what you actually sit in 2026.
The 2026 Writing section at a glance
The new Writing section runs 10 Build a Sentence items, 1 Email, and 1 Academic Discussion, 12 items in about 23 minutes, scored on the 1.0 to 6.0 band scale. It moves away from one long summary toward shorter, more practical writing that is harder to template and closer to real communication.
- Build a Sentence · 10 items · construct correct sentences from given parts
- Email · 1 item · write a short, appropriate email for a situation
- Academic Discussion · 1 item · add your view to an online class discussion
Build a Sentence
You assemble grammatically correct, meaningful sentences from given words or fragments. It tests control of word order, grammar and structure rather than ideas, so accuracy and speed are what score. Drilling common sentence patterns until they are automatic is the most efficient prep. See the method in the Build a Sentence guide.
Email and Academic Discussion
The Email task asks you to write a short, suitable email for a given situation, testing tone and practical clarity; the Email template guide shows a reliable structure. The Academic Discussion task is the closest thing to the old essay: you read a professor's question and two classmate posts, then write roughly 100 words adding your own view in about 10 minutes. It rewards a clear position and a concrete reason. Work through scored samples in the Academic Discussion guide and the TOEFL essay examples.
Practise the 2026 Writing format
Build a Sentence, Email and Academic Discussion reward timed reps, not memorised summaries. Take a free Writing practice test in the 2026 format, scored on the 1 to 6 band scale. The first test is free.
Start a Writing practice test