TOEIC Writing Test Practice

Questions 1-5: Write a sentence based on the picture

Directions:
In this part of the test, you will write ONE sentence that is based on a picture. With each picture, you
will be given TWO words or phrases that you must use in your sentence. You can change the forms of
the words and you can use the words in any order. Your sentences will be scored on:
the appropriate use of grammar and
the relevance of the sentence to the picture.
You will have 8 minutes to complete this part of the test (questions 1-5)

Question 1

play / catch
Answer

The two football players are trying to catch a ball.

Question 2

investigate / group
Answer

A group of three people are investigating something with their laptops.

Question 3

serve / guest
Answer

A man is serving drinks to his guests.

Question 4

play / under the

Answer

A girl is playing with the rain under the umbrella.

Question 5

full of activity / avenue

Answer

This avenue is full of activity.

Questions 6-7: Respond to a written request

Directions:
In this part of the test, you will show how well you can write a response to an e-mail.
Your response will be scored on:
the quality and variety of your sentences,
vocabulary, and
organization.
You will have 10 minutes to read and answer each e-mail.

Question 6
Directions: Respond to the following email as if you are a customer of a certain airline company. In your
email, list down TWO inconveniences that you experienced while on board their aircraft and tell them what
you want them to do about these incidents.
FROM: Jim Hudson, Northeastern Airlines
TO: Jane Stewart
SUBJECT: complaint
SENT: November 10, 10:24 A.M.
Dear Ms. Stewart,
We were informed of the unfortunate incidents that you experienced while on board
Northeastern Airlines. Please, we encourage you to air out your concerns in order for us to
properly address what happened. In this way, we will be able to avoid similar incidents in the
future. Thank you.
To : Jim Hudson, Northeastern Airlines
Re:
Dear Mr. Hudson,
Hello.
I would like to explain what I experienced and that made me felt feel1 uncomfortable in your
airplane.
First, I asked a cabin attendant for 2 cold water but she gave me really hot water, which
almost burnt me.
Second, another attendant spilt orange juice on me but she never apologised at all!
I understand they are too busy to concentrate on everything on board but I was really
disappointed with this.
I need a cleaning coupon for my clothes and proper apologies from the attendants.
1

The revisions made in this part makes the idea the sentence is trying to present clearer. The that clause was able

to modify the experience that you had in the airplane.

2

Please use proper prepositions when they are necessary.

I look forward to your reply.

Regards,
Jane Stewart

Question 7
Directions: Respond to this email as a division head. In your email, mention TWO reasons why you are
not satisfied with the presentation and tell your staff what you want him or her to do.
FROM: James Gordon
TO:

Michelle Kurt, Division Head

SUBJECT: presentation
SENT: August 9, 2:55 P.M.

Dear Ms. Kurt,

Good day. I have attached a copy of the presentation for your perusal. Please let me know if
you desire to make any changes or if you want to clarify something. Thank you.

To : James Gordon
Re: presentation

Dear Mr. Gordon,

Hi. Thank you for your work.
I read through the copy you sent me but there are two things I dont do not3 like.
First, I think you should use shorter sentences in your presentation. Long ones could make
listeners confused.
Second, we need some more some graphics to show what we want to say in a clear and
simple way.
Apart from those, you did a great job.
Please correct what I have suggested and send the new version of this presentation4 until
tomorrow.
When you send it to me, I would like you to send it to Mrs. Smith as well.
Thank you.
Warm regards,
Michelle Kurt

Questions 8: Write an opinion essay

Directions:
In this part of the test, you will write an essay in response to a question that asks you to state,
explain, and support your opinion on an issue. Typically, an effective essay will contain a minimum of
300 words. Your response will be scored on:
whether your opinion is supported with reasons and/or examples,
grammar,
vocabulary, and
organization.
You will have 30 minutes to plan, write, and revise your essay.

Question 8
A gossip culture pervades most companies. Employees like to talk about their bosses or other
employees. Is there any advantage to this? What do you think are the disadvantages? Provide
reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Please avoid using contractions in academic and formal writing. Spell out the words.

The pronoun this does not have a proper noun to refer to. Avoid using pronouns that refer back to nouns in

previous paragraphs; remember that each paragraph in your essay should be understandable and able to stand on its
own; furthermore, it should have a central topic introduced in your topic sentence and supported by supporting sentences
through proper and extensive explanations or appropriate examples

Everyone talks about others. Some people really love gossiping. People may talk about coworkers, bosses, or celebrities. Do you think gossiping is good because it is fun, or it is bad
because it is just meaningless chat? In my opinion, Tthere are some pros and cons about
gossiping gossiping has both benefits and drawbacks. I will discuss both effects of
gossiping in this essay.
What is a the5 good aspect of gossiping? People can get familiar with each other when they talk
about the same topic. Especially, when they get so much stress from a person, work, or a
circumstance, they really want to make complaints about that and they need someone to agree
with what they say because it makes them feel what they feel like6 it is not wrong what they feel
like that. It doesnt does not mean people want to hurt others with the complaints. They just
want to reduce the stress by that. Sometimes, unless we are able to tell somebody about
our woes, we remain stressed out. In addition, people just want to share information they
are interested in. Therefore, a gossip culture can make people get closer by sharing something
with each other.
However, gossiping has a bad aspect as well. Sometimes gossips contain stories which are not
true. When people hear something from here and say that to others, the story could be changed
from the original one. For example, a person who suffers from his hard work tells his coworker I
am so tired. This work almost makes me to quick quit7 this jobresign from this job. Next day,
he may hear from another coworkercolleague, Are you really quitting this job next month?. It
is a kind of exaggeration, but it could happen. Therefore, we should be careful who we
gossip with. We must make sure that the people we talk to are trust-worthy.
Sharing something with others is fun. I think that is one of the biggest reasons why people like a
gossip culture, which can be just a time-consuming job. However, we should not take the gossip
so seriously 8 because it is not the story from the person who actually didoes or said that.
Considering thatWith that in consideration, enjoying a little chat with others can be helpful in
your social life.9
In conclusion, sharing gossips can be good as long as we do it with care. We just need
to keep in mind that whatever we say can be held against us. Being careful about how
we talk about others or about our plans will do no harm to anybody. As long as nobody
is hurt or affected in a bad way, gossiping can be fun. 10

*note
BlueHighlights:AlternativeExpressionsforhigherwordsresourcelevel.
YellowHighlights:Improvingsupportingdetails
GrayHighlights:Distractingsentences.

Please do not forget to use articles on your sentences when necessary. Articles modify nouns and indicate their

definiteness in the sentence.

6

Please consider the proper positioning of words. The position of the words in a sentence affects it meaning so you

have to be careful to arrange them in an order that you will deliver the correct idea.
7

Be careful with your spelling. Some words have similar sounds but their denotations are different.

Construct modifiers properly.

The added supporting details in yellow add more strength to your paragraphs.

10

This part serves as a conclusion to your essay. A concluding paragraph should summarize the ideas you presented

and point your main idea again.

Part 1

Score

Comments

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Partial Score

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Part 2

Score

Comments

Q6

On your first response, you were able to fulfill all the

requirements of the task. Some grammar errors were also

present

though

they

did

not

necessarily

impeded

communication. Be careful with the proper formation of words

Q7

and the proper construction of different sentence structures.

On the second response, you were able to fulfill all the

requirements of the tasks. There were also some grammar
errors but they did not necessarily impeded communication.
Just be careful when constructing complex sentences and
make sure the idea you present is clear and complete.
Partial Score

Part 3

Score
4

Q8
Essay

Overall Score

Comments
-

Total number of words = 311 (More than adequate; ideal

number of words for an opinion essay is 300 words)

The response was able to address the requirements of the

task though not sufficiently. It was good that you were able to
present an opinion and state ideas without bias. However,
explanations can still be developed. Also, don't forget to put a
conclusion to your essay. In the conclusion, the writer should:
a. restate important points (summarize) mentioned in the
essay b. may restate opinion (optional) c. give suggestions d.
never introduce a new topic
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