The lists of TOEFL Independent Writing topics below can help you gain a better understanding of the type of essay you could be asked to write on your exam. Rather than give you one long confusing list of topics, the essay topics have been divided into five categories. This is not an exhaustive list, but only a representative sample of essay topics. When practicing for your exam, make sure to write essays from each of the five categories so you will be ready for any kind of essay on exam day.

Types of TOEFL Essay Topics

Agree or Disagree

Preference

Description / Explanation

If / Imaginary

Compare & Contrast

Here are some example topics on which you can practice and try to improve your writing skills. The topics are randomly picked from the the vast lesson pool and are a good way to get an orientation on how TOEFL sets their questions in the writing section of the exam:

- Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People are never satisfied with what they have; they always want something more or something different. Use specific reasons to support your answer.

- If you could invent something new, what product would you develop? Use specific details to explain why this invention is needed.

- When people move to another country, some of them decide to follow the customs of the new country. Others prefer to keep their own customs. Compare these two choices. Which one do you prefer? Support your answer with specific details.