TOEFL Build a Sentence: how the 2026 task works, with five practice items

The short answer

Build a Sentence is the first Writing task on the 2026 TOEFL® iBT. You see one person's line, then a row of blanks for a second person's reply, and a set of word chunks to move into the blanks. You use every chunk once, in the one order that makes a correct sentence. There are 10 items in about 6 minutes, and each is worth 1 point if the whole sentence is right and 0 if it is not. Together they are half of the raw Writing score, as much as the email and the academic discussion put together.

What you see on screen

The title is "Make an appropriate sentence." At the top, speaker A's picture and line. Below it, speaker B's picture and a row of 4 to 7 blanks, with any fixed words already in place and the end punctuation shown. Under that, the chunks, each one to three words, all in lower case so the first word of the sentence is not given away. You move the chunks into the blanks, and the first word is capitalised once it is placed.

What it tests

You put words in order to make a grammatical sentence. What the task really tests is word order, above all in questions. Most of the replies are questions:

• wh-questions with an auxiliary: "Where are they playing?";
• yes/no questions with "do": "Do you want to come with me?";
• the present perfect with "yet" or "already": "Have you told your manager yet?";
• embedded questions, where the word order goes back to a statement: "Do you know where she lives?";
• the odd statement with a passive or a modal.

Try it

Click the chunks into speaker B's reply in order. Click a placed chunk to take it back. Each item is marked as soon as every chunk is placed.

How it is scored

Each item is 1 or 0: the whole sentence must be in the right order, with no partial credit. The ten items make 10 of the 20 raw Writing points, and the email and the academic discussion are worth 5 each. So a careful six minutes on these items does as much for your Writing band as both pieces of writing together. They are marked automatically, by the answer key.

A method for each item

1. Read the end punctuation first. A question mark means a question; a full stop means a statement. That decides where the auxiliary goes.
2. Find the verb group. Put the auxiliary and the main verb together: "does … cost", "has volunteered", "is being repainted".
3. Find the subject. It goes after the auxiliary in a question and before it in a statement, except when the wh-word is the subject, as in item 4.
4. Look for embedded clauses. After "do you know", "I wonder", "can you tell me" and similar openings, the rest is in statement order.
5. Place the leftovers. Time words, objects and phrases such as "a month" or "for her email address" usually go last.
6. Read the sentence aloud in your head. If it sounds like something a person would say, submit it.

At about 36 seconds an item, there is time for every step. If an item is not working after a minute, place your best order and move on: a wrong answer costs nothing more than a blank.

The traps

• Moving the main verb instead of the auxiliary. "How much costs the membership?" sounds possible in some languages and is wrong in English.
• Inverting inside an embedded question. "Do you know when does it open?" is the commonest error in the task.
• Forgetting that a statement can sit among questions. One or two items in ten end with a full stop.
• Leaving a chunk out. Every chunk is used once. If one is left over, the order is wrong.

See your Writing band before test day

Build a Sentence is half of the Writing raw score and the easiest half to improve, because the rules are few and the same items repeat their patterns. Skorway's free mock is the full 2026 test, with Build a Sentence laid out as on the test, ten items on a six-minute clock, followed by the email and the academic discussion. Build a Sentence is marked at once; the two pieces of writing are scored and come back marked up and rewritten one band higher. A few minutes after the mock you have a Writing band on the 1 to 6 scale and a band for every other section. The Writing practice sets have more items, and the first two sets of every task type are free. No credit card.

Is there partial credit in Build a Sentence?

No. Each item is 1 point if the whole sentence is in the right order and 0 if any chunk is out of place.

How many Build a Sentence items are on the TOEFL?

Ten, in about 6 minutes, at the start of the Writing section. Writing is not adaptive, so everyone gets the same number.

Are the words capitalised in Build a Sentence?

No. Every chunk is shown in lower case, except "I" and names, so the first word of the sentence is not given away. It is capitalised once you place it.

Correct for the TOEFL iBT as it runs on 6 November 2026. TOEFL® is a registered trademark of ETS. Skorway is not endorsed or approved by ETS.