Academic English preparation Build a Sentence: Order the Words

Build a Sentence is one of the three tasks in TOEFL iBT Writing. The official ETS table lists 12 items in Writing (10 + 1 + 1), with an approximate base time of 23 minutes: Build a Sentence → Write an Email → Write for an Academic Discussion.

How the task works (ETS description). You see two sentences: the first is complete, while the words and phrases of the second are mixed up. The two sentences form a conversation between two speakers. Arrange the pieces to make a grammatical reply that fits the context. You move the pieces into place rather than typing the answer.

Scoring. Each item is correct or incorrect: 1 or 0. According to the ETS Technical Manual, this task is machine-scored against an answer key; AI and human raters are not involved. The 10 items contribute 10 raw points to Writing (the other 10 points come from the Email and Discussion tasks, each scored from 0 to 5).

What the ETS sample shows. In the official overview sample, the first sentence is a question; the first and last words of the second sentence are given; and 7 pieces are offered for 6 blanks, so one piece is unused. Treat this as an observation from one sample, rather than a universal rule. It is useful to be prepared for an extra piece. All the practice items below follow this style: each has one extra piece.

Timing. ETS does not state a separate time limit for Build a Sentence. Subtracting the Email (7 minutes) and Discussion (10 minutes) from Writing's 23 minutes leaves about 6 minutes; this is our calculation, not an official figure. For 10 items, that works out at about 36 seconds per item on average.

What ETS does not specify. The official pages do not say whether two correct arrangements can be accepted for an item or whether you can return to an earlier item. Build the most natural, grammatical sentence that fits the context in each case.

Build a Sentence tests grammar. To find the right order in about 36 seconds, you need a method.

1. Read the first sentence. It may be a question, statement, request or problem. It determines the kind of reply needed: information, a suggestion, agreement or refusal.
2. Anchor the given words. The beginning or end of the sentence may be provided (one ETS sample gives the first and last words; ETS does not say that every item does). These words define the structure: the blanks in The … interesting. need a noun phrase and a verb.
3. Find the verb and the subject. Each sentence needs a subject and a suitable verb. Place auxiliary verbs (do, have, be, will, would, must) before the main verb. In our exercises, the extra piece is often an unsuitable verb form or conjunction.
4. Position conjunctions and pronouns: that, who, which, whether, because, if, so … that. Then read the sentence silently to check whether the order sounds right.

Worked example 1. Speaker A: “Why was the lab session moved to Thursday?” Speaker B: “The professor said ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Thursday.” Pieces: would · until · that · the equipment · not be ready · were

1. The first sentence asks for a reason, and the reply starts with The professor said …: this is reported speech.
2. Reported speech takes the conjunction that here.
3. Subject: the equipment. Verb phrase: would not be ready. Tense: because said is in the past, the reply needs would, rather than will.
4. The last word is Thursday

ETS documents say Build a Sentence tests a variety of sentence structures, but do not publish a list of the structures that will appear. The list below is our selection of common English grammar patterns. Learn how each one works.

Five common mistakes:

1. Subject–verb agreement: The students who wrote it were …, Everything you need is ….
2. Inversion in an embedded question: