Quick answer
The TOEFL email task gives you a situation and three explicit required points, and about seven minutes to write roughly 100 to 150 words. Use a five-part structure: greeting, purpose, problem in detail, specific request, signed closing. One required point per body paragraph.
The prompt tells you the answer structure
The email task hands you a situation paragraph, a recipient, a subject line that is already filled in, and a numbered list of things your email must do. That list is not advice. It is the scoring key, and the band descriptors for this task are written directly around it.
Here is a real prompt. You are taking an online course in twentieth-century history. Over the past week you have tried several times to upload your final essay through the class portal, but every attempt ends with the same error message. The essay is due tomorrow morning and Professor Mitchell has said it counts for thirty per cent of your course grade. Write an email to Professor Mitchell doing each of the following:
1. Explain why you are writing and how important the essay is.
2. Describe the problem you have had while trying to upload the file.
3. Ask about another way you can submit the essay in time.
Three instructions, three body paragraphs. You do not need to plan a structure, because the prompt has already given you one. What you need is a frame around those three paragraphs and the discipline to give each one a real sentence rather than a gesture.
The five-part frame
| Part | Words | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting | 3 to 5 | Dear Professor Mitchell, on its own line. Formal, with the reader named where the prompt gives you a name. |
| Purpose and stakes | 25 to 35 | Why you are writing, in the first sentence. Then why it matters, using the detail the situation gave you. This is required point 1. |
| The problem in detail | 30 to 45 | What you tried, how many times, and what happened each time. Specifics are what separate a described problem from a mentioned one. This is required point 2. |
| The request | 25 to 40 | A concrete question with at least one alternative you are proposing. This is required point 3 and it is the one most often left vague. |
| Closing and name | 4 to 6 | Thank you for your time, then Sincerely or Best regards, then your name. |
Word counts are guides, not rules. The task targets roughly 100 to 150 words total.
Why the first sentence carries so much
An institutional reader opens your email and decides in one line what it is about. The band descriptors call this a clear purpose, and the fastest way to have one is to put it in your opening sentence rather than building up to it.
Compare two openings. I am a student in your twentieth-century history course and I have been having some difficulties recently. That is a warm-up, and it spends fifteen words saying almost nothing. Now: I am writing because I have been unable to upload my final essay to the class portal, and the deadline is tomorrow morning. Same length, purpose established, deadline established, and the reader already knows what kind of reply is needed.
Get purpose into sentence one and the rest of the email becomes easier to write, because everything after it is elaboration rather than preamble.
The seven minutes, allocated
- 1
Minute 1. Read and mark
Read the situation once. Then read the three required points and hold them as three concrete jobs: say why and why it matters, describe what went wrong, ask for a specific alternative. Do not plan sentences. Plan the three jobs.
- 2
Minutes 2 to 3. Greeting, purpose, stakes
Type the greeting and the first paragraph without stopping to improve anything. The first paragraph is short and its shape is fixed, so it should take under ninety seconds. If you are still editing sentence one at minute three, you will not finish.
- 3
Minutes 3 to 5. Problem and request
These are the two paragraphs that carry the most content. Give the problem specifics (how many attempts, what the error said, over what period) and give the request an actual proposal (email the file directly, submit through the department office, a short extension).
- 4
Minute 6. Closing and name
Thank you for your time. Sincerely, your name. Ten seconds, one full band of protection against the band 2 descriptor.
- 5
Minute 7. The completion check
Point at the sentence that does required point 1. Then point 2. Then point 3. If you cannot point at a specific sentence, write it now instead of fixing anything else. Only after all three are pointed at should you look for grammar to correct.
Why that scores a 2
Hi Professor, The greeting is present but the register is wrong for an institutional reader, and the reader is not named even though the prompt gave you the name. This is a register slip, and the band 2 descriptor names register problems explicitly.
I cannot upload my essay. Purpose is clear, which is the one thing this response does well. Nothing here is wasted.
The system is not working and I have tried many time. Required point 2 is gestured at rather than described. What did you try, how often, what did the screen say? A reader could not act on this. many time should be many times.
It is very important for me because it is thirty percent. Required point 1 is half done. Thirty per cent of what is never stated.
Please help me because tomorrow is the deadline. This is where the response loses its band. Required point 3 asked you to ask about another way to submit. Please help me asks for nothing specific, so the point is effectively omitted rather than vague, which is the difference between a 2 and a 3.
Thank you, Marta. A closing and a name, and it is the one piece of framing this response gets right. It also matters more than it looks. The band 1 descriptor is written for a response missing two or more required points or a missing closing on top of that, so this sign-off is what holds the response at a 2 instead of dropping it a band further.
Length: 47 words. Well under the 100 to 150 target, which is a symptom rather than a cause. There was not enough content to reach it.
Why that scores a 3
Dear Professor Mitchell, Correct greeting, reader named, formal register. That alone lifts this above the band 2 example.
I am writing about my final essay for the history course. Purpose present, though about is weaker than a verb that says what has gone wrong. Compare I am writing because I have been unable to upload my final essay.
This essay is very important because it is thirty percent of my grade and it is due tomorrow morning. Required point 1 fully covered. The stakes and the deadline are both there, taken from the situation and rephrased rather than copied.
I tried to upload the file on the portal but there was an error message. I tried again several times but the same thing happened. Required point 2 is adequately covered. It could be sharper (the same error message appeared each time is better than the same thing happened) but a reader knows what went wrong.
I am not sure what the problem is. Filler. It adds no information and it costs you words you needed elsewhere.
Please tell me what I should do. This single sentence is why the response is a 3 and not a 4. Required point 3 asked for another way to submit. This asks the professor to do the thinking. The band 3 descriptor is written for exactly this: addresses most points but one may be vague or underdeveloped.
Thank you. Marta Closing and name present, so the framing is safe. A sign-off word like Sincerely above the name would be more standard, but its absence is not what caps this response.
The fix is one sentence. Replace the request with: Would it be possible for me to email the essay to you directly, or should I submit it through the department office tomorrow morning? That change alone moves this to a 4.
Why that scores a 4
I am writing about my final essay, which I have not been able to upload to the class portal. Purpose in sentence one, and the relative clause carries the problem rather than leaving it for later. About is still weaker than a verb that states the problem outright, which is the first thing that separates this from the band 5 version below.
The essay is due tomorrow and it is worth thirty percent of my grade. Required point 1 covered. Both facts the situation gave you are here and neither is copied word for word. What it does not do is connect them to a reason for writing now, so they sit as two facts rather than an argument for acting quickly.
I tried to upload the file several times this week but an error message always appear and the file is not in the submission list. Required point 2 is adequately covered: a reader knows what went wrong and roughly how often. Several times this week is the ceiling on this paragraph, though. It is enough to be understood and not enough to be acted on, and a reader still has to ask whether you tried another browser. Note also an error message always appear, which should be appears. That is exactly what band 4 means by a minor grammar issue that does not impede understanding.
Could you tell me if there is another way to send it before the deadline? I can email the file to you if that is acceptable for you. Required point 3 is covered and a concrete alternative is offered, which is what stops this being a 3. Acceptable for you should be acceptable to you, a second small slip of the same kind.
Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Marta Oliveira. Full closing, sign-off word, full name.
So why not a 5? All three points are present and the framing is correct, which is the definition of a 4. What is missing is on two fronts. The detail is adequate rather than specific, so the reader can understand the problem but cannot rule anything out. And the language is correct but plain, with two small agreement and preposition slips on top. Band 5 asks for accurate grammar and precise, well-chosen vocabulary throughout, on top of everything a 4 already has.
Why that scores a 5, line by line
I am writing to let you know that I have been unable to upload my final essay to the class portal, and since the paper is due tomorrow morning and carries thirty percent of the course grade, I did not want to leave the problem unreported. One sentence, three jobs: purpose, stakes, and a reason for writing now. The since clause is subordination rather than another and, which is the beginning of the sentence variety the descriptor asks for. Carries thirty percent is more precise than is thirty percent. I did not want to leave the problem unreported shows judgement, which is the quiet thing that makes a reader take a student seriously.
Over the past week I have attempted the upload five times, on two different browsers and once from my phone. Opening with a time phrase instead of the subject varies the rhythm. Present perfect is the right tense for a problem that started in the past and is still true.
Each attempt fails at the same point, returning an identical error message, and nothing appears in the submission list afterwards. The participle phrase returning an identical error message is the kind of structure that separates a 5 from a 4. It packs a second fact into the same sentence without another clause.
The file itself opens normally on my computer, so I do not believe the document is corrupted. This sentence is not required by the prompt and it is the best line in the email. It anticipates the reader's first question and answers it. Nothing signals control of a task like eliminating the obvious explanation before the reader has to ask.
Would you be willing to accept the essay by email as an attachment, or would you prefer that I deliver a printed copy to the department office first thing tomorrow? Required point 3, fully addressed. Two concrete alternatives, phrased so that the reader only has to choose. Would you be willing and would you prefer are more deferential than can you, which is what a consistently polite tone means in practice.
I am happy to do either, and I can send it the moment you let me know which you would rather have. Removes any friction from the reply. Also demonstrates a subordinate clause with a time meaning, adding one more structure to the range on display.
Length: 168 words. Slightly above the 100 to 150 guide, which is fine. Every sentence is doing a job and none of it is padding. What you cannot do is reach 168 words by writing 60 words of content twice.
Before you submit an email response
- Sentence one says why I am writing, not what my email is about.
- I can point at one sentence for each of the three required points.
- My request names at least one specific alternative rather than asking the reader to decide everything.
- The greeting names the reader if the prompt gave me a name.
- There is a sign-off word and my name at the bottom.
- If the reader is a professor, an office or a manager, there are no contractions anywhere in the message.
- At least one sentence uses a subordinate clause (because, since, although, while) rather than another and.
- Nothing is copied word for word from the situation paragraph.
Mark three real emails: which part is missing?
Each email below was written inside the seven minutes and reads like a real person wrote it. Each one drops exactly one part of the five part frame. Find it before you read the reasoning. The part that goes missing most often in real submissions is not the one people expect.
Task: Write to your professor. Your laptop failed during the online quiz, you were logged out, and you want to be allowed to retake it.
Student email: Dear Professor Ellis,
I am writing about the online quiz on Tuesday evening. My laptop shut down partway through and when I restarted it the quiz had closed, so my answers were not submitted. I had answered around fifteen of the twenty questions at that point. The quiz is worth twenty percent of the module, so losing it would affect my final grade significantly. I tried to reconnect twice and the system would not let me back in.
Best regards,
Amara
Which part of the five part frame is missing?
The email explains the problem thoroughly and then never asks for anything. It never says "may I retake it", never proposes a time, and never asks what the professor would like her to do. This is the most common missing part in real submissions, and it is easy to miss when you proofread because the email feels complete: the story has been told. A rater is checking whether the task was done, and the task was to request a retake. Describing a problem is not requesting a remedy.The greeting is present and correctly addressed to a named professor.The purpose arrives in the first sentence and the stakes are stated explicitly, that the quiz is twenty percent of the module.The problem is the best developed part of this email. The failure, the timing, the fifteen answers and the two reconnection attempts are all there.Task: Write to the accommodation office. Your room has had no hot water for four days and you want it fixed.
Student email: There has been no hot water in room 214 since Saturday morning. I reported it through the online portal on Saturday and again on Monday and have not had a reply. I have been washing in cold water for four days, which is not reasonable in November, and I have a placement interview on Thursday. Could someone come and look at it before Thursday, or tell me which other building I can use in the meantime? I am in most afternoons.
Thank you,
Daniel Osei
Which part of the five part frame is missing?
There is no greeting at all. The email opens straight into the complaint. This costs a mark on a task that explicitly rewards appropriate register, and it costs nothing to fix: "Dear Accommodation Office" is three words and about four seconds. When you do not know a name, address the office rather than skipping the line.The purpose is clear from the first sentence and the stakes are concrete: four days, November, an interview on Thursday.The problem is detailed and includes the two previous reports, which is exactly the detail that makes a complaint credible.The request is present and unusually well made. It offers an alternative and gives availability, which is what turns a complaint into something the reader can act on.Task: Write to your tutor. You want to change your presentation date because it clashes with a hospital appointment.
Student email: Dear Dr Nakamura,
I hope you are well. I wanted to get in touch about my presentation. I know the schedule was set a while ago and I do not want to cause any difficulty for you or the other students, and I realise everyone has commitments at this time of year. Would it be possible to move it? I could do any day the following week and I am happy to take the last slot if that is easier.
Many thanks,
Sofia
Which part of the five part frame is missing?
The hospital appointment, which is the entire reason for the email, is never mentioned. The reader is asked to move a scheduled presentation without being told why, and the words that should have carried the reason went to apologising instead. This is a specific and very common failure pattern: politeness expands to fill the space that the substance needed. A tutor reading this cannot approve it, because they have not been given anything to approve.The greeting is present and appropriate.The purpose is stated, that this is about the presentation, even though the reason behind it is not.The request is clear and helpfully flexible, offering the following week and the last slot.Judgement calls a rater makes
Four questions about structure. Each one maps to a band boundary.
Which opening sentence best satisfies the clear purpose requirement?
It names the reason for writing and the specific problem in one line, so the reader knows what kind of reply is needed before reading further.A pleasantry with no content. In a 100 to 150 word email it spends about ten per cent of your budget saying nothing.It identifies you but not your purpose. Having a question is not a purpose, and the reader still has to keep reading to find out what this is about.Dramatic but empty. Serious problem could mean anything, and immediately edges the tone towards demanding, which works against the polite register the descriptors want.Your email covers all three points and is well written, but you opened with Hi Professor and did not sign your name. What is the realistic effect?
The band 2 descriptor lists notable problems with register and a missing greeting or closing as defining features. Framing is cheap to get right and expensive to skip.Content is weighted first, but framing is explicitly named in the descriptors. It is not a stylistic preference.The descriptors do not work in half points at this level. Framing failures are written into a band, not deducted as a fraction.Band 0 is for blank, off-topic, copied or non-English responses. A complete email with an informal greeting is not remotely in that territory.Which version of required point 2 (describe the problem) would a rater call adequately addressed?
It gives the number of attempts, the time span, the different methods tried, and the outcome. That is a described problem, and the reader could act on it without a follow-up question.A single vague clause. It names that something is wrong but nothing about what happened, so the point stays underdeveloped.Technical difficulties is a category, not a description. It sounds more formal than option A but carries the same amount of information.This describes your feelings rather than the problem. Frustration is not one of the required points and it does not help the reader solve anything.You are at six minutes and forty seconds with twenty seconds left. You notice your third paragraph asks the professor to advise you but never proposes an alternative, and you also notice a missing article in paragraph two. What do you fix?
A vague request is the difference between a 3 and a 4. A missing article is a minor error that a band 4 descriptor explicitly tolerates. Fix the criterion that is capping you.Minor grammar issues do not impede understanding and are named as acceptable at band 4. Spending your last seconds there is spending them on the wrong criterion.In twenty seconds you will do one thing properly or two things badly. Choose the one that moves a band.Twenty seconds is enough for one clause, and one clause is exactly what a vague request needs.The habit that fixes most email responses
Write your next three practice emails with the three required points copied onto a scrap of paper in front of you, and tick each one off as you write the sentence that covers it. It feels mechanical and that is the point. After three or four repetitions the tick becomes automatic and you stop losing bands to a point you meant to come back to.
Then, once completion is reliable, spend your improvement effort on the request paragraph specifically. It is the point students weaken most often, it is the easiest to strengthen (name an alternative), and it sits at the exact boundary between a 3 and a 4.
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Take a Writing practice testCommon questions
Around 100 to 150 words. That is enough for a greeting, three short body paragraphs covering the three required points, and a signed closing. Going much longer usually means you have lost your checking minute.
Yes. A missing greeting or closing is named in the band 2 descriptor. They take ten seconds and they protect a full band.
No. The subject line is given to you already filled in. Your job starts at the greeting.
Paraphrase, do not lift. A response copied verbatim from the prompt scores 0. Reusing a single concrete noun like the class portal is fine, reproducing whole sentences is not.
A vague request. The third required point usually asks you to ask for something, and Please tell me what to do does not count as asking. Name a specific alternative and you have covered the point.
Three body paragraphs, one per required point, plus the greeting and closing lines. The prompt structure and the answer structure are the same shape, which is what makes this task manageable in seven minutes.