Write an Email gives you a short situation, a named reader and three things your message must do. You have seven minutes to write it. The task looks simple, and the language it needs is everyday English, but it rewards a very specific discipline: matching your tone to the reader, and making sure every requested point is actually done rather than merely mentioned.
The prompt reads like a note to yourself before writing a real message. It names the person you are writing to, often with a role (“housing office manager”, “your housemate”), gives a subject line, and describes what has happened: a fee you think is unfair, a document an office keeps asking for, a weekend trip a friend has not paid for. Under that come three bullet points, each starting with a verb — explain, ask, suggest, describe, propose.
You type the email into a simple editor with a small toolbar (Cut, Paste, Undo, Redo) and buttons to hide the word count and the timer. There is no template to fill in and no minimum length, but the clock includes reading time, so the seven minutes go quickly. The response is the second of the three Writing task types, after the ten Build a Sentence items and before the academic discussion post.
The email is one of only two written responses on the whole test, so a single message carries real weight within the Writing section. Unlike the old TOEFL essay, it is not an opinion piece. It is practical writing with a purpose: getting a particular reader to understand a situation and do something about it.
Write an Email checks whether you can use written English to get something done with a real reader. Specifically:
The recipient line tells you who will read your email, and together with the situation it tells you the relationship. Someone you have not met, or someone who decides the matter, usually gets a formal message: Dear Ms. Lopez, title plus surname, polite request forms, a closing such as Best regards. A friend or housemate gets a first name, contractions and a lighter touch. A person you work with regularly sits in between.
Formal does not mean elaborate. It means complete, plain and polite: full sentences, Could you…? or I would be grateful if you could…, and standard words. Slang, texting forms and rows of exclamation marks are the real register errors — and so is stiff, over-formal language sent to a friend, which sounds cold rather than correct.
Look at the verb that opens each bullet point: it tells you what kind of sentence the reader is owed. Explain why needs a reason with because or so. Suggest or propose needs a change the reader could accept, ideally phrased as a question (Could we…?). Describe what happened needs events in order with times. Ask how needs a real question that keeps the word how — asking when instead means the reader answers a question you were not asked to write.
The situation is not the task. A common slip is to retell the background at length and then touch each requirement in a single vague line, or to state something (the volunteers should be told) where the prompt asked you to ask something. Before you write, convert each bullet into a short plan line: the verb in capitals, your content and one concrete detail.
Covering all three requirements is the starting line, not the finish. A useful email gives each one its own short paragraph of two or three sentences: the point, a specific detail, and why it matters or what should happen next. I need it soon because it is important tells the reader nothing they can act on; I need it by Wednesday because I am printing the programs that afternoon does.
Use the facts in the situation first — the reader already accepts them. Add small invented details only when they fit; a detail that contradicts the prompt makes the whole email less reliable. For a proposal, aim for an easy yes: say who does what and when, so the reader can agree without writing back to ask.
Many prompts involve something that went wrong: a charge, a lost form, a booking that disappeared. Blame feels natural and works badly. Describe what you know, not who is at fault: it seems my application did not reach your office rather than you lost my application. Replace counts and complaints with records the reader can check — a date, a method, a reference — and finish with a precise question such as Could you let me know which form is still missing?
Our course recommends a simple split as a practice target: roughly the first minute to read the prompt and jot keyword notes, about five minutes to write the requirements in order, and the last minute to check. Two mental clock checks help: by about the halfway point you should have started the second requirement, and with about two minutes left you should be on the third. If you are behind, shorten rather than polish.
In the final minute, check only what matters most: the reader’s name and title, that all three requirements are ticked off, verb tenses, and common endings such as look forward to hearing. A complete, plain email beats a longer one that never reaches its last point. Our model emails run roughly 130 to 160 words, but that is an observation about pacing, not a target — the test sets no word count.
These errors cost the most on this task — some in tone, some in completing the task, some in grammar that shows up under time pressure.
Mistake: Dear Professor Maria, to Professor Maria Costa.
Better: Dear Professor Costa,
Why: Use a title (Professor, Dr., Ms., Mr.) with a family name or a full name, never with a first name on its own.
Mistake: Opening with three sentences of backstory before saying what you want.
Better: I am writing to ask whether the club could meet in a larger room.
Why: A busy reader may stop before your request. Put the purpose first, then add only the background that supports it.
Mistake: The requirement says ask how volunteers will be told; the email asks when the change starts.
Better: Could you tell me how volunteers already on the list will be told?
Why: A different question word gets a different answer. Keep the prompt’s question word.
Mistake: I would like to know when will the room be ready.
Better: I would like to know when the room will be ready.
Why: The frame I would like to know already asks, so the question part uses statement order.
Mistake: We can share the work fairly.
Better: You take the charts, and I will write the summary by Sunday.
Why: Fairly names a goal. A proposal says who does what, and by when.
Mistake: I look forward to hear from you.
Better: I look forward to hearing from you.
Why: The to in look forward to is a preposition, which is why an -ing form follows it.
Two prompts from our free practice bank, each with a model email and a note on why it works. The first is to a friend, so the tone is informal; the second is to an office contact, so it is polite and precise. Both models are one good answer, not the only one.
Last month you booked a lake house for a weekend with four friends and paid the full cost with your credit card. Everyone agreed to pay you back within a week. Three weeks later, your friend Tomás still has not sent his share, and your credit card bill is due on the 15th. Write an email to Tomás.
In your email:
Write an email that addresses all three points. You have 7 minutes.
Model response (one good answer — yours can differ)
Hi Tomás, I'm still thinking about that weekend at the lake. The early-morning swim was freezing, but it was one of the best parts of my summer, and your campfire pasta was a hit with everyone. I did want to check in about the house, though. As you know, I put the whole booking on my credit card, and we agreed to split it five ways. Everyone else has sent their share, but I haven't received yours yet. I don't want to make a big deal of it, but my card bill is due on the 15th, and I'd really rather not pay interest on it. If paying the whole amount right now is difficult, that's completely fine. You could send half before the 15th and the rest at the end of the month. Or, if it's easier, just transfer it through the same app we used to split the groceries. Let me know what works for you! Cheers, Ana
Why it works: The email keeps a friendly tone while still making the request unmistakable. It starts with genuine memories of the trip, then states the agreement, the missing payment and the card deadline. It avoids blaming Tomás and offers a split payment and an easy method, so he can respond without losing face.
What the response must do
You have applied to your bank for a small loan to buy a used car. The loan officer has twice asked for your latest pay statements, and both times you uploaded them through the bank's website. This morning a third request for the same documents arrived. The seller will hold the car only until Friday. Write to the loan officer.
In your email:
Write an email that addresses all three points. You have 7 minutes.
Model response (one good answer — yours can differ)
Dear Mr. Oduya, I received your message this morning asking again for my latest pay statements. I want to sort this out quickly, because I have already uploaded them twice through the online document portal, first on May 3 and again on May 9. Both times I got an on-screen confirmation, and I saved screenshots of those pages. Could you please check whether the files reached you and let me know exactly what is missing? If the problem is the file format, or if you need statements covering a longer period, I am happy to provide them, but I need to know which it is. The seller has agreed to hold the car only until Friday, so I would like to avoid another delay. If it would help, I could bring paper copies to the branch on Wednesday morning or email them to you directly as PDF files. Thank you for your help, Grace Liu
Why it works: The email documents both uploads with dates and proof, which makes the problem clear without accusing anyone. It then asks the officer to identify exactly what is missing and allows for a legitimate reason. Finally, it ties two practical delivery options to the seller's Friday deadline. The tone is formal, efficient and polite.
What the response must do
Our free Write an Email practice page has all 6 sets (6 questions) from the same bank as the examples above, with answer checking and an explanation for every option. For a short mixed session each day, try the Writing questions of the day.
The strategies on this page come from the Write an Email module of the Test Ninjas TOEFL course. Each lesson teaches the English behind the task, then drills it:
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