TOEFL Write an Email: format, scoring and a method for the seven minutes

Write an Email is a seven-minute task with a clear job: read a scenario, work out who you are writing to and what they need, and write one message that does all of it. Most lost marks come from the same few places. A goal gets missed, the tone is wrong for the reader, or the first half of the time goes on warm-up sentences.

What is the Write an Email task?

ETS describes it as a scenario presented in text, set in either an academic or a social situation. You are asked to share information in writing for a specific communicative purpose, for example making a recommendation, extending an invitation or proposing a solution to a problem. ETS says test takers have 7 minutes. You type your response on a computer keyboard.

What does ETS's own sample prompt look like?

ETS's sample scenario: a new poetry magazine has asked readers for submissions, you submitted two poems, you had a problem with the online submission form, and you are not certain they were received. The prompt asks you to write to the editor and do three things: say what you like about the new magazine, describe the problem you had, and ask about the status of your submissions. It adds "Write as much as you can and in complete sentences." In the sample, the To line shows the editor's address and the Subject line is already filled in.

Three points follow. There are specific goals, so completeness is checkable. The reader is named, so register is a choice you have to make. And the instruction is to write as much as you can, with no stated minimum or maximum, so a one-line answer will not do.

How is Write an Email scored?

ETS scores Write an Email from 0 to 5. Its scoring guide for the top score describes a response that is effective, clearly expressed and shows consistent facility in the use of language. Typical features at that level include elaboration that effectively supports the communicative purpose, effective syntactic variety and precise word choice, consistent use of appropriate social conventions, and almost no errors beyond those expected from a competent writer working under timed conditions.

ETS's guide names the social conventions it means: politeness, register, organisation of information, and the formulation of actions such as requests, refusals and criticisms. A score of 0 is for a response that is blank, rejects the topic, is not in English, is entirely copied from the prompt, is entirely unconnected to it, or consists of arbitrary keystrokes. At the bottom of the scale, ETS describes language that is mostly borrowed from the stimulus.

ETS's blueprint lists the task as AI scored, with a maximum of 5 points. Scores on ScoreFluent are practice estimates, not official results.

What does a score of 4 look like?

ETS's sample email to the poetry magazine is scored 4. ETS's comment says the response is mostly effective and easily understood, and that its verb tense errors are consequential enough to prevent a 5. The sample covers all three goals in a warm, informal voice. It also contains several spelling slips and a tense error, which shows that a response does not need to be flawless to score well, and that tense control is what ETS names as the gap to the top score.

What is the best method for the seven minutes?

1. Mark the goals and the reader (first minute). Underline each thing the prompt asks you to do, and note who you are writing to. Decide the register in one word: casual, polite or formal.
2. Open with the purpose. The first sentence should tell the reader why you are writing. Greeting, then purpose, with no preamble.
3. Give each goal its own sentences. Cover the goals in the order the prompt gives them, with one concrete detail for each. Elaboration is what the scoring guide rewards, and detail is what elaboration looks like.
4. Phrase requests politely. "Could you please let me know..." and "I would be grateful if..." are safer than a bare command, and the guide names requests as an example of social conventions.
5. Close and sign off. Thank the reader or state what you will do next, then sign off in the register you chose.
6. Proofread (last minute). Check each goal against your draft, then tenses, verb agreement and spelling.

Treat the split above as our suggestion for practice. ETS publishes only the seven-minute total.

How does the method work on ETS's sample?

Take the poetry-magazine prompt. The plan is three short paragraphs, one per goal, in a polite semi-formal register. Paragraph one opens with the purpose and names one specific thing you like about the magazine. Paragraph two says exactly what happened on the form: what you did, what you saw, when it stopped working. Paragraph three asks the status question directly, with a polite request for a reply. A one-line thank-you closes it.

That plan covers every goal in the order given, spends the most words on the problem (which needs the most detail), and leaves time to proofread.

What mistakes cost the most marks?

• Missing a goal. Tick each goal off before you stop writing.
• Wrong register. An email to a lecturer written like a text to a friend, or an invitation to a classmate written like a business letter, loses on social conventions.
• A long preamble. Spending the first minute on background leaves too little time for the goals.
• Copying the prompt. ETS's guide describes the weakest responses as borrowing most of their language from the stimulus. Say it in your own words.
• Tense slips and spelling. ETS's comment names verb tense errors as what kept its own sample at 4.
• Never asking the question. If a goal is to ask something, ask it in a sentence with a question mark.

Write an Email practice items

Practice items from the ScoreFluent bank (not real exam questions). Three scenarios, with the reader and the goals listed, and a model answer in each. Write your own email in seven minutes before opening the model. The model answers run from 104 to 151 words; that is a benchmark from our bank, not an ETS word target.

Scenario 1

Scenario. You missed English class this morning because your bus was late. Write an email to your teacher.

You are writing to: Ms. Alvarez, your English teacher

Cover these three goals:

• Say that you missed class today and explain why
• Say that you are sorry
• Ask what homework you should do

Model answer and explanation

Dear Ms. Alvarez,

I am sorry that I missed English class this morning. My bus was very late, and I arrived after the class had finished. I left home at the usual time, but there was a lot of traffic on the road. I waited for the bus for thirty minutes, and then it moved very slowly.

I am sorry about this. I know that class is important, and I do not want to fall behind. I will leave home earlier from now on, so this will not happen again.

Can you please tell me what homework I should do? I can also read the lesson at home if you send me the page numbers.

Thank you very much for your help.

Kind regards,
Maria

Why it works. Covers all three sub-goals in simple, correct sentences, gives a clear reason for the absence, and keeps a polite formal register (Dear, Thank you, Kind regards) suited to a teacher.

Scenario 2

Scenario. A classmate you often study with is going to be alone in the city over the upcoming long weekend. Write an email inviting them to join your group’s trip to the lake.

You are writing to: your classmate Jordan

Cover these three goals:

• Invite them to join the lake trip over the long weekend
• Give one or two details about the plan, such as when and who is going
• Ask them to let you know by a certain day if they can come

Model answer and explanation

Hey Jordan,

A few of us from class are driving out to the lake for the long weekend, and I thought you might want to come along! We're leaving Friday afternoon and coming back Sunday evening, and Priya and Marcus are joining too.

We're planning to rent a cabin and split the cost, so it shouldn't be too expensive. There's a hiking trail nearby and apparently the lake is great for swimming this time of year.

Let me know by Wednesday if you're in, so I can tell the cabin owner how many people to expect. Hope you can make it!

Take care,
Sam

Why it works. Uses genuinely informal register throughout (contractions, an exclamation point, "Hey"/"Take care" framing) appropriate for a classmate rather than an institution, and still lands all three sub-goals — the invitation, concrete plan details, and a specific reply-by date — showing register and content are not in tension.

Scenario 3

Scenario. You work part time in a university laboratory. You made a mistake last week that damaged an expensive sample. Write an email to the lab supervisor before the next team meeting.

You are writing to: Dr. Ibarra, a lab supervisor

Cover these three goals:

• Admit the mistake and explain exactly what happened
• Say what you have done or will do to prevent it happening again
• Offer to help fix the consequences

Model answer and explanation

Dear Dr. Ibarra,

I want to inform you about a mistake I made last Thursday. While preparing the samples for the afternoon analysis, I placed one of them in the incubator at the wrong temperature because I misread the label on my notes. By the time I noticed the error, the sample had been damaged and could not be used.

I take full responsibility for this, and I am very sorry for the cost and the lost time. Since then, I have started to double-check each label against the protocol sheet before I begin, and I now ask a colleague to confirm the settings on any equipment I am unsure about.

I would like to help recover from this as much as I can. I could repeat the preparation over the weekend, or I could assist with reordering the materials. Please tell me what would be most useful.

Sincerely,
Kwame Mensah

Why it works. Takes ownership without excuses, describes the cause precisely, and shows that the writer has already changed a routine. The offer to help is practical rather than only apologetic, which is what a supervisor needs to see.

How do you practise Write an Email on ScoreFluent?

On ScoreFluent, Write an Email gets an examiner report, bought with credits, with feedback on content, language, register and errors against ETS's published 0 to 5 scale. New accounts start with 40 free credits. Credits never expire and there is no subscription. Start practising TOEFL free →

Where do these facts come from?

Task description, timing, scoring guide and sample come from the ETS Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview, the ETS TOEFL iBT Writing page and the 2026 Test Blueprint and Specifications. Checked 15 and 16 October 2026. ETS notes that the blueprint was subject to minor revisions until launch, so check ets.org before test day. ScoreFluent is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS, and the scores we give are practice estimates, not official results.

Keep going with the rest of the Writing section: Write for an Academic Discussion and Build a Sentence. For the whole section, see TOEFL Writing, or return to the TOEFL hub.