The TOEFL iBT 2026 Writing section has three tasks — Build a Sentence, Write an Email, and Write for an Academic Discussion — each scored on a 0–5 rubric that feeds into your overall 1.0–6.0 Writing band. Grammar accuracy is assessed differently across these tasks: Build a Sentence tests it directly, while Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion assess it as part of overall communication quality. Here are the errors Indian test-takers most commonly make, and how to fix each one.
Build a Sentence — Word-Order Errors From Indian English Influence
Build a Sentence gives you a set of words/phrases in scrambled order and asks you to reconstruct a grammatically correct sentence. Indian English speakers often default to word orders that are natural in Hindi/regional-language-influenced English but incorrect in standard written English.
| Scrambled elements (example) | Common incorrect order | Correct order |
|---|---|---|
| "only", "the manager", "can approve", "this request" | "Only can approve the manager this request" | "Only the manager can approve this request" |
| "yesterday", "she", "to the office", "did not come" | "She did not come yesterday to the office" (adverb placement) | "Yesterday, she did not come to the office" / "She did not come to the office yesterday" |
| "what time", "the meeting", "starts", "is" | "What time is starts the meeting?" | "What time does the meeting start?" |
| "rarely", "complaints", "the company", "receives" | "The company receives rarely complaints" | "The company rarely receives complaints" |
Key patterns to watch:
- Adverbs of frequency (rarely, often, always, never, usually) go before the main verb but after "to be": "She rarely arrives late" / "She is rarely late."
- Question word order: "What time does X start?" — not "What time X starts?" Indirect-question word order (subject-verb, no auxiliary "does") often leaks into direct questions.
- "Only" modifies the word immediately following it — its position changes the meaning, so place it carefully next to the word it limits.
Write an Email — Formality and Register Errors
The Write an Email task asks you to respond to a situation with three required details, in an appropriate tone (often semi-formal or formal). Common errors:
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "Respected Sir, I am writing this mail to inform that..." | "Dear [Name/Sir or Madam], I am writing to let you know that..." |
| "Kindly do the needful." | "I would appreciate it if you could [specific action]." |
| "Please revert back at the earliest." | "Please reply at your earliest convenience." |
| "I am in receipt of your mail." | "I have received your email." |
| "This is to inform you that..." | "I'd like to inform you that..." (less abrupt for semi-formal tone) |
Why this matters: phrases like "kindly do the needful," "revert back," and "this is to inform you" are common in Indian professional/government English but read as overly formal, archaic, or imprecise in standard international written English — and can cost points on the rubric's "language accuracy" and "purposeful communication" criteria.
Write for an Academic Discussion — Core Grammar Errors
This task requires a 100–130 word response engaging with a professor's question and two classmates' posts. The errors below affect the "language accuracy" component of the 0–5 rubric.
Article Errors (a/an/the)
Hindi and many Indian languages don't use articles, so they're frequently dropped or misused.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "I agree with point made by Maria" | "I agree with the point made by Maria" |
| "Government should provide more funding" | "The government should provide more funding" |
| "It is good idea to..." | "It is a good idea to..." |
Subject-Verb Agreement With Collective Nouns
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "The research team have found..." | "The research team has found..." |
| "Students who attends online classes..." | "Students who attend online classes..." |
Uncountable Nouns Treated as Countable
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "There are many evidences supporting..." | "There is a lot of evidence supporting..." |
| "These informations are helpful" | "This information is helpful" |
Uncountable nouns to remember: evidence, information, research, knowledge, advice, equipment.
Prepositions
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "I disagree with what John said about this topic, but I think different" | "...but I think differently" |
| "This depends on student's individual situation" | "This depends on the student's individual situation" |
| "discuss about this problem" | "discuss this problem" |
A Quick Pre-Submission Checklist (All Three Tasks)
- Build a Sentence: Did I place adverbs of frequency correctly (before main verb, after "to be")?
- Build a Sentence: Does my question use correct auxiliary word order ("does X start" not "X starts")?
- Write an Email: Have I avoided "kindly do the needful," "revert back," "this is to inform"?
- Academic Discussion: Did I check every noun for a missing/incorrect article (a/an/the)?
- Academic Discussion: Are "evidence," "information," "research" used as uncountable (no "an," no plural "-s")?
- Academic Discussion: Do collective nouns ("team," "government," "committee") take singular verbs?
Improve your TOEFL Writing grammar with Gabble — AI-powered feedback on Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion tasks identifies grammar errors at the sentence level with specific corrections.