The TOEFL Writing section has two tasks—Academic Discussion and Write an Email (are you up to date with the new TOEFL changes in 2026?)—and they work very differently. One asks you to jump into a classroom debate. The other asks you to write a professional email. The language you need for each is genuinely different, so that’s why we’ve created two free TOEFL Writing Templates: one for each task.
More than just templates, these are downloadable phrase-menu guides. Each guide gives you a response skeleton that works on any prompt, plus dozens of ready-made phrases organized by function—so you’re not building every sentence from scratch under time pressure.
This article shows you exactly what’s inside each guide. You’ll see the core structure, a sample response with template phrases highlighted, and a practice method that helps you move from relying on phrases to writing on your own.
Table of Contents
How Templates Fit Into TOEFL Writing
Let’s be clear about what templates can and can’t do.
Templates give you structural language—phrases for opening your response, transitioning between ideas, making a polite request, or wrapping up an argument. They save time, help you sound natural, and give your writing built-in variety.
But templates can’t think for you. The ETS scoring rubric at Score 5 rewards “relevant and well-elaborated explanations” and “effective use of a variety of syntactic structures and precise, idiomatic word choice.” The phrases handle the scaffolding. The ideas, examples, and details have to come from you.
Think of these guides as training wheels, not a permanent ride. The more you practice, the more you’ll swap in your own phrasing. When that happens, the templates have done their job.
Here’s a quick look at how the two tasks compare—and why each one needs its own set of templates:
| Academic Discussion | Write an Email | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 10 minutes | 7 minutes |
| Target length | 120–130 words | 100–120 words |
| Format | Discussion post responding to a professor and two students | Email to a specific recipient with three bullet points to address |
| Tone | Informal-academic (class discussion) | Varies by recipient (peer vs. professor vs. manager) |
| What templates help with | Stating opinions, agreeing/disagreeing with students, supporting claims, transitions | Greetings, openings, task-specific body language (requests, feedback, advice, etc.), closings, sign-offs |
Both guides share the same philosophy: multiple phrases per function, not a single script to memorize. You pick what fits.
TOEFL Writing Templates for Academic Discussion — What’s Inside
The Academic Discussion guide gives you a universal response skeleton and five phrase menus—one for each function you’ll need in your response.
The response skeleton
Every Academic Discussion response follows the same basic structure:
- Opening move (1 sentence) — State your opinion or align with a student. This immediately signals which side you’re on.
- Agreement block (2–3 sentences) — Reference one student by name, paraphrase their idea, and add a new supporting detail they didn’t mention.
- Disagreement block (2–3 sentences) — Reference the other student by name, paraphrase their idea, and explain why you see it differently.
- Support and elaboration (woven throughout) — Explanations, examples, and details that deepen your argument. This is where most of your word count goes.
- Closing move (1 sentence, optional) — Restate your position or tie back to the professor’s question.
The full guide includes phrase menus for each of these functions—six options for stating your opinion, nine for agreeing, ten for disagreeing, thirteen for supporting your claims, and fifteen-plus transition phrases. Here’s what it looks like when they all come together.
Phrases in action
Here’s the prompt from the worked example in the guide:
Dr. Okafor (Economics)
We’ve been discussing the rise of the gig economy, where workers take on short-term, flexible jobs through platforms like ride-sharing and delivery apps rather than holding traditional full-time positions. Some economists argue that the gig economy provides workers with valuable independence and flexibility. Others contend that it exploits workers by denying them benefits and job security. What is your perspective on this issue?
Lena: I think the gig economy gives workers a lot of freedom. People can choose when and how much they work, which is especially helpful for students, parents, or anyone who needs a flexible schedule. Not everyone wants a traditional nine-to-five job, and these platforms offer a genuine alternative.
Jordan: I believe the gig economy takes advantage of workers. Most gig workers don’t receive health insurance, paid time off, or retirement benefits. Companies label them as independent contractors to avoid responsibilities that traditional employers have. The flexibility sounds appealing, but it often comes at the cost of financial stability.
Here’s what a response might look like:
In my opinion, the gig economy is unfair to workers. [Phrase Menu 1: Stating opinion]
I understand Lena’s argument that the gig economy offers valuable flexibility, but I think the costs outweigh the benefits. [Phrase Menu 3: Acknowledging before countering] In practice, however, that flexibility often means unpredictable income. [Phrase Menu 3: Explaining why you disagree] Many gig workers cannot plan their finances because their hours and earnings change from week to week.
I agree with Jordan’s point that companies use the “independent contractor” label to avoid providing basic benefits. [Phrase Menu 2: Citing and paraphrasing] To build on Jordan’s point, this creates a situation where workers take on all the risk while companies keep most of the profit. [Phrase Menu 2: Building on their point] For instance, in my own experience, a friend of mine drove for a delivery app for over a year and never received any health coverage or paid sick days, even though he worked full-time hours. [Phrase Menu 4: Introducing an example]
This is why I believe the gig economy, as it currently operates, needs stronger worker protections. [Phrase Menu 5: Returning to main argument]
Notice: every pink phrase came from the guide’s menus, but the specific details—unpredictable income, the friend who drove for a delivery app—are all invented. The phrases opened doors; the writer’s thinking walked through them. The total length is about 135 words.
Pro tip: You don’t have to follow this exact order. Starting with agreement first, or leading with your overall opinion, both work. Pick an order that feels natural and practice it consistently.
The full guide includes all five phrase menus with multiple options per slot, plus detailed practice instructions.
Download the Free Academic Discussion Templates PDF
TOEFL Writing Templates for Write an Email — What’s Inside
The Write an Email guide gives you a universal email skeleton plus phrase menus for five different task types—because the language you need for making a request is genuinely different from the language you need for giving feedback or navigating a disagreement.
The email skeleton
Every email follows the same five-part structure:
- Greeting — Matched to the recipient’s formality level
- Opening sentence (optional) — One line that sets the context
- Body paragraphs — One short paragraph per bullet point (about two sentences each)
- Closing sentence — Wraps up the email naturally
- Sign-off — Matched to the greeting’s register
The body paragraphs are where the task-type phrase banks come in. The guide covers five categories:
- Requesting Help or Action — explaining your situation, describing what you need, making a polite request
- Giving Feedback and Suggestions — describing an experience, identifying improvements, suggesting changes
- Offering Advice or Perspective — acknowledging someone’s situation, sharing your view, suggesting alternatives
- Recruiting, Inviting, or Recommending — explaining an initiative, why they’re a good fit, calling to action
- Navigating Disagreement or Constraints — acknowledging their position, explaining a constraint, proposing a compromise
Each category includes 10–12 phrases plus transitions. Here’s what a complete email looks like using them.
Phrases in action
Imagine the prompt asks you to write to a coworker who organized a team lunch, give feedback on the event, and suggest an idea for next time. That’s a Type 2: Feedback and Suggestions task.
Here’s what a response might look like:
Hi Sarah, [Standard greeting for a coworker]
I hope you’re doing well. [Opening sentence — universal skeleton]
I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the team lunch last Friday. [Bullet 1 — describe the experience] The restaurant you chose had a great atmosphere, and it was nice to see everyone outside of the office for a change.
That said, I did notice that the seating arrangement made it hard to talk to people at the other end of the table. [Bullet 2 — identify what needs improvement] A few of us ended up only chatting with the same two or three people the whole time, which felt like a missed opportunity.
One idea that might help is reserving a round table next time, or even splitting into smaller groups at different spots. [Bullet 3 — suggest an improvement] That way, everyone gets a chance to mix and connect.
Thanks again for putting this together—I know it’s a lot of work to organize. [Closing sentence: Note that this is a variation of “acknowledging someone’s effort”]
Best regards, [Sign-off — semi-formal]
Alex
Every pink phrase came from the guide’s menus, but the details—the restaurant, the seating problem, the round table idea—are invented. The tone is consistent (semi-formal throughout), each body paragraph is two sentences addressing one bullet point, and the total length is about 120 words.
Pro tip: Don’t spend much time on the greeting, opening, closing, and sign-off. They matter for register, but they don’t earn you points on their own. Spend your time on the body paragraphs.
The full guide includes phrase menus for all five task types, plus a greeting/sign-off formality matrix and detailed practice instructions.
Download the Free Write an Email Templates PDF
How to Practice Without Getting Stuck on Templates
Both guides share the same four-step practice workflow. It’s designed to move you from “looking up phrases” to “writing automatically.”
- Read the prompt and identify your task. For Academic Discussion, choose your side. For Write an Email, identify which of the five task types you’re dealing with. This takes about thirty seconds.
- Write with the phrase menus open. For your first few attempts, keep the guide beside you. Deliberately choose phrases from the menus—don’t just grab the first one every time.
- Rewrite the same prompt with different phrases. Go back and write a second response, but swap out every phrase you used. Same ideas, different structural language. This builds flexibility.
- Write without looking. Close the guide and write a third response from memory. You’ll notice a lot of the phrasing comes out naturally—and some of it will be your own variation.
Three drafts per prompt is the full cycle: guided, then flexible, then independent. Do this with at least five different prompts—that’s fifteen responses total. By the end, you won’t be thinking about which phrase to use. You’ll just be writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I memorize TOEFL writing templates?
You can—but it’s not the best approach. Pick two or three favorite phrases per function, practice with those until they feel automatic, and then experiment with others. A small, flexible toolkit beats a memorized dictionary every time.
Do the same templates work for both Writing tasks?
Not really. Academic Discussion needs phrases for agreeing and disagreeing with classmates, while Write an Email needs phrases matched to specific task types (requesting, giving feedback, advising, etc.) and register levels. That’s why we made two separate guides.
Will graders penalize me for using templates?
Not directly. But if thousands of students open with the exact same phrase, those responses blur together. The ETS rubric at Score 5 rewards “precise, idiomatic word choice”—and idiomatic means language that sounds like you. Use templates to learn the patterns, then develop your own variations.
How many phrases should I memorize?
Two or three per slot is plenty. The goal isn’t to memorize the entire guide—it’s to internalize the patterns behind the phrases so you can generate your own language on test day.
What’s Next?
Templates give you language. Practice gives you skill. Grab the guides, pick a prompt, and start writing. Also, be sure to check out our guide on how to improve your TOEFL Writing score.
Download the Free Academic Discussion Templates PDF
Download the Free Write an Email Templates PDF
Ready for more practice? A Magoosh TOEFL Premium plan includes expert video lessons, official ETS practice questions for every section, and unlimited personalized feedback on your Writing responses—everything you need to go from templates to test-day confidence.
You’ve got the phrases. Now go make them your own!
