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TOEFL Academic Discussion: how long a response should be, and what ETS actually publishes
The figures
- Listed task time
- ~10 min
- Minimum ETS publishes
- 100 words — ETS's wording: "An effective response will contain at least 100 words."
- Maximum ETS publishes
- None. There is no cap and no penalty for writing more.
- Reach120 pacing targetReach120 estimate
- 100–150 words
- What to actually watch
- The ~10 min on the clock, which includes reading the prompt. Length is a pacing signal, never a rule.
How these figures were arrived at
Task instructions and any length statement are transcribed from ETS — TOEFL iBT test overview (2026 task instructions). ETS publishes no maximum word count for either open-response writing task. The 80–120 and 100–150 ranges are optional Reach120 pacing targets for practice — not ETS requirements, limits or caps. ETS publishes no maximum length for either task, and a longer response is not penalised for its length. Listed task times come from the published 2026 blueprint and are shown as listed values — ETS states the specification is subject to minor revision until launch.
Sources last checked 2026-08-11.
Other values on this scale
The next step
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Sourced from the ETS 2026 test specifications, read (link confirmed ). Reach120 is an independent practice tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS; the document is named here only to say what this page practices.