TOEFL Writing Part 1: Responding to a Question (Difficult)
Responding to Question
The task format is straightforward: you must arrange the given words to form the most appropriate response to a question prompt.
In Writing Part 1, you will be asked to do one of two things: either form a question or provide a response to a question. Recognizing which type of sentence is required is crucial.
If you need to form a question, the sentence must begin with a question-forming element, such as a to-be verb (e.g., is, was) or a 5W1H word (what, why, how, etc.).
Luckily, if the task requires a response rather than a question, the process is simpler. You can arrange the words using standard active-voice word order to create a grammatically correct statement.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Explanation
The response begins with “Yes,” so the sentence should confirm that the team finished the project on time.
First, identify the subject and verb. Among the words in the word bank, “they” is the only possible subject, and “completed” is the only verb. This gives us the following:
they completed
Next, the verb “complete” needs an object. The pronoun “it” refers to “the project” in the prompt, so it must come after the verb.
they completed it
The remaining words form the time expression:
before the deadline
Putting everything together gives the following:
Yes, they completed it before the deadline.
This sentence directly answers the prompt because “before the deadline” means the project was finished on time.
Question 2
Explanation
This sentence explains why the passage was difficult to interpret. The subject is already given as “It,” which refers to “the passage” in the prompt.
The first word after the subject must be the main verb. Among the words in the word bank, “contained” is the only verb, so it must come immediately after “It.” This gives us the following:
It contained
The remaining words must form a noun phrase that functions as the object of “contained.” The noun is already provided at the end of the sentence: references.
So the words before “references” must modify that noun. The word “several” is a quantity word, so it must come before the adjective phrase.
several references
The words “culturally specific” work together as an adjective phrase. “Culturally” modifies “specific,” and “specific” modifies “references.” So the object phrase becomes,
several culturally specific references
Putting the verb and object together gives us the answer.
Question 3
Explanation
This sentence explains why the manager reopened the discussion. The subject “He” is already provided, so the first word after it should be the main verb.
Among the words in the word bank, “realized” is the only verb that can directly follow “He.”
He realized
You may notice that the relative pronoun “that” is omitted in this sentence. However, even though it is simply omitted, what comes after the relative pronoun must be a clause. From the remaining words in the word bank, we can form the clause below.
one concern had been overlooked
Here, “overlooked” means that the concern was missed or not considered. Putting the parts together gives the following:
He realized one concern had been overlooked.
Question 4
Explanation
The response explains why the committee delayed the vote. The subject “They” is already given, so the first word after it should be the main verb.
Among the words in the word bank, “found” is the only verb that can directly follow “They.”
They found
The remaining words form an object + complement structure:
the proposal still incomplete
Here, “the proposal” is the object of “found.” The adjective “incomplete” describes the condition of “the proposal,” so it functions as the object complement.
The word “still” modifies “incomplete,” showing that the proposal remained incomplete at that point.
Putting everything together gives the following:
They found the proposal still incomplete.
This is an SVOC sentence.
