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Free TOEFL® writing checker (2026 format)
Write a response to the real 2026 prompt below and it is checked on the spot: a band estimate, all four rubric dimensions with the reasoning behind each score, and specific fixes tied to your own sentences. No account, no card, no email — and the report you get is the whole report, not a locked preview of one.
Check a response
Discussion Topic
Online Learning
Online learning encompasses education that is delivered via the internet, allowing students to study from any location. This form of learning has become increasingly popular due to advancements in technology and the need for flexible educational solutions, especially highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor's Question
What is your opinion on the effectiveness of online learning compared to traditional in-person classes? Provide reasons for your perspective.
0 wordsETS asks for at least 100 words and publishes no maximum.
Write at least 40 words so there is something to score.
No account, no card, no email. One scored response per day. Scores are produced by an automated rater against the ETS rubric and are Reach120 estimates, not official ETS scores.
What the checker reports
Each dimension is scored 0–5, the scale ETS publishes for the open-response writing tasks. Each one comes back with its own score, the rationale for that score, and the sentences it was read from.
| Dimension | What it looks at |
|---|---|
| Content | Whether you take a clear position, whether the reasons under it are developed rather than asserted, and whether the examples are specific enough to be worth the words they cost. |
| Organization | Whether the response has a shape a reader can follow — a position, support in a defensible order, and transitions that mark the moves rather than decorate them. |
| Language | Grammar, sentence variety and word choice, reported against specific sentences in your own text rather than as a global impression. |
| Engagement | Whether you respond to what the two students actually wrote — the move the Academic Discussion task is built around, and the one most responses skip. On Write an Email this dimension is Format & Tone instead. |
How the check is run, and what it is not
- Scoring is automated. The rater reads the prompt and your response, scores each dimension, and states the rationale for each score; a second pass then produces the written analysis.
- The band shown next to a single response is a Reach120 estimate. ETS has published no method for combining task rubric scores into a section band, so nothing here is a conversion of one into the other.
- Signed out, the allowance is 1 scored response per day, and nothing you write is saved to an account — the anonymous path returns the report and writes no session row.
- Official TOEFL® scores are issued only by ETS, from a real test administration. Nothing on this page predicts one or speaks for how ETS grades.
Method reviewed 2026-08-06.
Common questions about checking TOEFL writing
- Is this TOEFL writing checker free?
- Yes. You get 1 scored response per day without an account, without a card and without giving an email address. The report you get back is the full one, not a preview of one.
- Do I have to sign up to see my score?
- No. The score sheet renders on this page as soon as the check finishes. The offer to create an account comes after the report, and it is for saving the report and tracking progress — not for unlocking it.
- Which TOEFL writing task does the checker score?
- The prompt on this page is a real Academic Discussion question from the 2026 question bank, which is the task most people mean by "TOEFL essay". Build a Sentence and Write an Email have their own free practice pages, linked below the tool.
- What does the checker actually check?
- Four dimensions — Content, Organization, Language, and Engagement with the discussion — each scored on the 0–5 rubric scale ETS publishes for the open-response writing tasks, plus the rationale behind each score and specific fixes tied to sentences in your own text.
- Is the score an official TOEFL score?
- No. It is a Reach120 estimate produced by an automated rater. Official TOEFL scores are issued only by ETS, and only from a real test administration.
- How does a 0–5 rubric score relate to the 1–6 bands on a score report?
- ETS publishes 0–5 rubrics for the open-response writing tasks and reports section and overall scores as 1–6 bands in half-point increments. ETS has not published how the task rubric scores combine into a section band, so any band figure shown next to a single response here is labelled a Reach120 estimate rather than a conversion.
- How long does a check take?
- Usually under a minute. The score sheet appears first with the band estimate and the four dimensions; the longer written analysis fills in behind it a few seconds later.
- Does it correct my grammar?
- It reports on grammar and vocabulary inside the Language dimension and points to specific sentences, rather than handing back a rewritten version. The aim is a response you could produce yourself under exam timing, not a corrected copy.
- How many words should I write?
- For Academic Discussion, ETS states that an effective response is at least 100 words and publishes no maximum. For Write an Email, ETS publishes no word-count requirement at all — the prompt asks you to write as much as you can in the time given. Any tighter range you see elsewhere is somebody’s practice target, not an ETS rule.
- Is my response stored?
- Not when you are signed out. The anonymous path returns the report and writes no session row, so there is nothing to look up later. Your text is sent to the scoring model in order to be graded, and that is the whole of it. Signing in afterwards is what saves a report.
- How is this different from pasting my essay into a general chatbot?
- A general chatbot answers differently every time and has no fixed rubric to answer against. This checker runs one prompt against the same four rubric dimensions every time, shows the rationale for each dimension, and states what it cannot know. Where it has no basis for a number, it says so instead of producing one.
- What if I want to check more than one response?
- The signed-out allowance is 1 scored response per day. A free account carries the same 1 scored response per day for writing — what it adds is that reports are saved, progress is tracked, and Reading and Listening practice is uncapped. Unlimited scored writing is part of the paid plans.
- Why is my score lower than I expected?
- The most common reasons are a response that answers the prompt only in general terms, one that repeats the professor’s framing instead of taking a position, and one that never engages with the two students’ posts. All three show up in Content and Engagement rather than in Language, which is why the dimension breakdown is worth reading before the tips.
Where to go next
Reach120 is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS; TOEFL is a registered trademark of ETS, used here only to name the test this checker reads responses for.