Build a Sentence: how the new TOEFL Writing task works

What the task looks like

You see a short exchange, often a question and the start of a reply. Below it are word tiles. You put the tiles in order to complete a correct, natural sentence.

Each item takes seconds, but there are several of them, and each one is scored right or wrong. Small grammar habits decide the result.

A four-step method

1. 01Read the first line of the exchange so you know what the reply must do.
2. 02Find the main verb among the tiles.
3. 03Find its subject and place it before the verb.
4. 04Attach the remaining pieces: objects, time phrases, then extra detail.

A worked example

Prompt: "Do you know where the seminar is this week?" Reply: "Sorry, I am not sure ___." Tiles: it / held / where / is. The reply ends in an indirect question, so the order is where it is held, not "where is it held".

The common traps

• Question word order inside a statement: "Do you know where the library is?"
• Auxiliaries: do, does and did take the base verb, so "did she go", not "did she went".
• Adverb position: frequency words such as always and often usually sit before the main verb.
• Prepositions that belong to a verb: depend on, interested in, apply for.
• Extra tiles: occasionally a tile looks useful but does not fit. Check every word earns its place.

Check before you move on

Read your finished sentence once in your head. If it sounds wrong to you, it usually is. Then move on quickly; time saved here helps the email and discussion tasks.

How to practise

Ten sentences a day is enough. Mix question forms, negatives and past tenses, and time yourself so the task feels quick on test day. Writing your own scrambled sentences from a textbook is a free way to practise.