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TOEFL Build a Sentence: how long a response should be, and what ETS actually publishes

Written by the Reach120 research teamReviewed
Build a Sentence has no word count. The task supplies the words and asks you to arrange them, so the only thing to pace is how quickly you work through the items inside the listed ~6 min.

The figures

Listed task time
~6 min
Word count that applies
None. Build a Sentence gives you the words and asks you to arrange them, so there is nothing to count and no length to aim for.
Minimum ETS publishes
None — the task has no free-writing component.
Maximum ETS publishes
None.
What to actually watch
Speed. The listed ~6 min covers a run of items, so the skill is arranging quickly rather than writing at length.

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.

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Other values on this scale

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Every tool here is free and needs no account. Each is reviewed 90 days after it ships: a tool that earns no measurable use is retired rather than left to rot, and its page says so on the way out. This one shipped on 2026-08-11, so its kill-rule review falls due on 2026-11-09.

This page does not issue or predict an official score; official TOEFL® scores are issued only by ETS. Reach120 is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS; TOEFL is a registered trademark of ETS, used here only to name the test this page is about.

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.

Reach120 is an independent practice tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by ETS, and it does not provide official TOEFL® test scores.

TOEFL® is a registered trademark of ETS. This product is not endorsed or approved by ETS.