In 2023, TOEFL dropped the long independent essay and added “Writing for an Academic Discussion.” Instead of a five-paragraph essay, you’re shown an online class discussion: a professor poses a question, two students reply, and you add your own contribution — usually in about ten minutes and roughly 100 words or more. Shorter, faster, and honestly more realistic.
A simple, reliable structure
State your position clearly
Open by taking a side on the professor’s question. One direct sentence. The graders need to know where you stand immediately.
Give a specific reason
Back your position with one well-explained reason. Specific beats broad every time — a concrete example or a personal experience reads as genuine and developed, while a vague generalisation reads as filler.
Engage with the other students
This is what makes the task different. Refer to one of the two student posts — agree and extend their point, or politely disagree and explain why. That little move shows you’re contributing to a discussion, not just dropping a monologue, and it’s exactly what the task rewards.
What graders are looking for
Relevant, developed ideas
You don’t need many ideas — you need one or two that you actually explain. A single reason with a real example outscores three reasons left hanging.
Natural, accurate language
A range of sentence structures and accurate grammar matter more than rare vocabulary. Don’t force big words; clear writing with few errors wins.
Time management
Spend the first minute reading the prompt and both student replies and deciding your angle. Write for seven or eight minutes. Save the last minute to fix typos, verb endings and articles. Because the task is short, those last-minute corrections have an outsized effect on your accuracy score.
One habit to practise
Find old discussion prompts online and write a timed response every day for a week. Keep them under ten minutes. You’ll quickly internalise the rhythm — position, reason, response to a classmate — until it feels automatic on test day.