TOEFL Academic Discussion: 10-Minute Strategy

Master the Write for an Academic Discussion task with clear goals, focused support, and precise language. This guide distills what examiners emphasize—relevance, elaboration, and accurate, varied English—so you can post confidently in an online class discussion forum.

What is the TOEFL iBT academic discussion task?

This task asks you to state and support an opinion in an online class forum. You read a professor’s post that frames a topic and poses a question, then skim brief student posts that show different viewpoints. Your job: add your own position with relevant support.

How is the prompt structured?

• A professor’s post frames the topic and asks a debate question.
• Short student posts present diverse positions.
• You respond with your own view, not a summary.

How much time and how many words?

• You have 10 minutes to write.
• The recommended length is about 100 words.

What is your main goal?

• Contribute a clear opinion to the discussion.
• Support it with relevant reasoning, personal experiences, or knowledge.

How is your response scored?

The rubrics for this task differ from the Write an Email task. Scoring focuses on how directly and fully you answer the professor’s question and how effectively you develop your ideas.

What criteria matter most?

• Relevance: your post responds directly to the debate question.
• Elaboration: explanations, examples, or details are well developed.
• Variety of syntactic structures: mix simple, compound, and complex sentences.
• Precise idiomatic word choice: natural, accurate expressions.
• Lexical and grammatical accuracy: very few vocabulary or grammar errors.

What does a top score look like?

A sample that scored five effectively states and supports an opinion using personal experience and relevant reasoning. It’s clearly connected to the discussion, well elaborated, and shows varied sentence structures. It contains almost no errors; the only notable mistake is a misspelling of “community” in “community garden.”

What practical tips help you succeed?

Keep the core requirements in mind, then write fast and clearly. Aim for clarity over length, but meet the minimum.

How should you prepare your response?

• Read the professor’s question carefully and follow all requirements.
• Consider the other students’ arguments before you write.
• Use your own words and add your unique perspective.
• Write at least 100 words to be complete.

Which high-value language moves can you use?

• Start with a direct stance: “I agree because…”.
• Add a brief reason: “This approach is practical since…”.
• Include a quick example or experience: “In my course, I…”.
• Conclude with impact: “Therefore, this option better supports…”.

Which keywords should you watch and apply?

• Online class discussion forum: the context and tone to match.
• Professor’s post and student posts: sources to reference.
• Relevance, elaboration, syntactic structures, idiomatic word choice, lexical and grammatical accuracy: core rubric language to guide your choices.

Want targeted feedback on a 100-word practice post? Share your draft and your main argument in the comments.