Academic Discussion Task Pack

About the task

Academic Discussion is the third task in the TOEFL Writing section (format effective January 21, 2026). You see a professor's question in an online class discussion and two short posts from classmates. You write your response in about 10 minutes; ETS says an effective response contains at least 100 words and publishes no maximum. Writing30 practice uses an optional 100-150 word target — enough room to develop one point without eating your revision time. The task is scored on a 0-5 rubric; the score rewards a clear position, a developed reason, and — the part most students miss — a distinct point that the peer posts have not already made.

How to use this pack:

• Set a 10-minute timer per prompt; spend the first minute planning.
• State your position in sentence one.
• Reference at least one peer by name — agree, disagree, or extend.
• Add one idea neither peer mentioned, and develop it with an example.
• Count words: at least 100 (the optional practice target is 100-150).

The position-reason-example framework

1. Position (1 sentence): "I believe optional attendance helps most students, though not for the reason Priya gives."
2. Engage a peer (1-2 sentences): name them, then push the conversation forward — do not summarize both posts.
3. Your distinct point + example (2-4 sentences): the idea neither peer raised, grounded in something concrete.
4. Close (1 sentence): one line that ties the point back to the professor's question.

The 8 prompts

1. Course: Business
   Professor: More companies now let employees work from home most days. Overall, does remote work benefit or harm a company?

   • Lena: It benefits companies. People skip long commutes and use that energy for actual work, and companies can hire talent from anywhere.
   • Marcus: I disagree. New employees learn by watching experienced colleagues, and that almost disappears when everyone is remote.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

2. Course: Education
   Professor: Some universities have made lecture attendance optional, since recordings are available. Is optional attendance good for students?

   • Priya: Optional attendance treats students like adults. If a recording teaches me better at midnight, why force me into a 9 a.m. seat?
   • Jonas: Most students overestimate their discipline. Recordings pile up, and by week six they are three lectures behind.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

3. Course: Environmental Science
   Professor: If an individual wants to reduce their environmental impact, what single change makes the biggest difference?

   • Amara: Diet. Cutting most meat from your meals reduces emissions every single day, three times a day.
   • Tom: Transportation matters more. One flight can undo a year of careful eating, so flying less is the real lever.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

4. Course: Technology and Society
   Professor: Do smartphones in the classroom help or hurt student learning?

   • Yuki: They hurt. Even a silent phone on the desk splits attention — everyone checks it the moment a lecture slows down.
   • Daniel: They help when teachers plan for them: instant polls, looking up sources, photographing the whiteboard.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

5. Course: Sociology
   Professor: Is it better for a child to grow up in a big city or a small town?

   • Sofia: Big cities. Children meet people from many cultures and get museums, libraries, and events small towns cannot offer.
   • Ben: Small towns give children independence earlier — they can walk to school and know their neighbors, which builds confidence.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

6. Course: Economics
   Professor: Should governments spend public money on space exploration, or is that money better used elsewhere?

   • Hana: Better used elsewhere. Housing and healthcare have immediate returns; rockets mostly have prestige.
   • Igor: Space programs pay off indirectly — satellite weather data and GPS came from them and now support whole industries.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

7. Course: Education
   Professor: Do students learn more from group projects or from individual assignments?

   • Chloe: Individual work. You cannot hide behind teammates, so every mistake is your own lesson.
   • Ravi: Group projects. Explaining your idea to teammates is itself a test of whether you understand it.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

8. Course: Public Health
   Professor: Should universities require all students to take at least one physical education course?

   • Maya: Yes. Study habits form in college, and so do health habits — a required course starts that early.
   • Leo: No. Adults should choose. A required gym class mostly produces resentment and minimum effort.

   Your response: at least 100 words (target 100-150), add a point neither peer made.

Model response — prompt 1 (remote work, 127 words)

I believe remote work benefits companies overall, but not mainly for the reasons Lena mentions. Commute time matters, yet the bigger effect is measurement: when teams work remotely, managers are forced to judge output instead of presence, and that discipline improves how work is assigned and reviewed for everyone. Marcus raises a real cost — new employees do lose casual learning — but that is an argument for structured onboarding and regular in-person weeks, not for abandoning remote work entirely. My cousin’s design firm pairs every new hire with a mentor and meets in person one week per month, and their junior staff progress reviews now look stronger than before the change. Managed deliberately, remote work trades a hallway habit for clearer expectations, which serves companies better.

Why this works: the position is immediate; both peers are engaged by name without being summarized; the distinct point (remote work forces output-based management) appears nowhere in the peer posts; a concrete example develops it; the close answers the professor directly. Note what it avoids: five-paragraph essay structure — this is a discussion post, not an essay.

Model response — prompt 4 (smartphones, 115 words)

In my view, smartphones hurt classroom learning more than they help, and Daniel’s examples actually show why. Polls and whiteboard photos are useful, but each one gives students a legitimate reason to unlock a device built to keep them there. Yuki is right about split attention; what neither post mentions is the effect on note-taking. Typing or photographing notes replaces the slower handwriting process that forces you to compress ideas into your own words, and that compression is where much of the learning happens. In my study group, the two students who take handwritten notes consistently explain concepts best. Unless a task truly requires a phone, classrooms teach more when the devices stay in bags.

Common pitfalls

• Echoing a peer. Restating Lena's commute point in new words adds nothing — graders look for a new contribution.
• Writing a formal essay. No "In conclusion" paragraphs; this is one focused discussion post.
• Position without development. A stance plus three thin reasons scores below one stance with one developed reason and example.
• Chasing length. ETS sets no maximum, but inside 10 minutes every extra sentence competes with planning and revision time. Under 100 words the idea is usually underdeveloped — ETS itself describes an effective response as at least 100 words.

Related free material: the distinct point concept, Academic Discussion topics, and lesson 4 of the Teacher Kit.