Is TOEIC Link Writing handwritten or typed?

**Typed.** The exam is delivered as CBT at a test center, with an English keyboard. A 5-minute pre-test tutorial includes a keyboard practice screen. **If you are not used to an English keyboard layout, plan 10-15 hours of typing practice before the exam.** Even Japanese-keyboard users should at minimum confirm space / comma / period positions in advance to avoid losing minutes on the day.

Does picking "agree" or "disagree" on Task 5 affect the score?

**No.** Scoring is on (1) clarity of stance, (2) logical strength of two reasons, (3) persuasiveness of the example, and (4) readability of the structure. **There is no "correct opinion."** Pick the side you can support with concrete personal experience. A neutral "both sides have merit" stance tends to score lower because it weakens the structure — a clear position is recommended.

Can you actually finish 5 tasks in 20 minutes?

**Yes — at B1 or above almost everyone finishes.** The standard split is Task 1 (1 min) + Task 2 (3 min) + Task 3 (5 min) + Task 4 (5 min) + Task 5 (6 min) = 20 min. A "Next" button appears at the bottom of each task — assume zero review time. **Practice finishing Task 5 in 5 minutes (one minute of buffer) at minimum.** Sitting the test cold without 4+ weeks of timed practice usually means running out of time on Task 5, no conclusion paragraph, and a B1 ceiling.

Are spell check and grammar check available during the test?

**No.** The CBT text editor has spell check, auto-correct, and predictive text disabled. **If you normally rely on Grammarly or Word auto-correct, your spelling error rate spikes on test day.** Practice with a plain editor (VSCode with format-on-save off, or Notepad) so your training spelling rate is your real test rate.

How do you list a Writing B2 result on a resume?

The standard form is **"TOEIC Link Writing CEFR B2 (April 2026)"** — module + CEFR band + month earned. The numeric score (e.g. 17/25) can sit alongside, but CEFR is the internationally readable signal so it goes first. On English CVs aimed at multinationals, "TOEIC Link Writing: CEFR B2 (April 2026)" is the safe form. Full templates: [TOEIC Link resume listing guide](/resources/blog/toeic-link-resume-how-to-list).

TOEIC LinkPublished April 30, 2026

TOEIC Link Writing — Format, Rubric, and What to Change at Each Score Band

TOEIC Link Writing runs 20 minutes across 5 tasks, blending photo description, email reply, and opinion writing into one short adaptive block. Unlike Reading or Listening, there is no single correct answer — every response is rated on 5 axes (content relevance, organization, grammatical accuracy, vocabulary range, mechanics) and rolled into a 0-25 score with a CEFR band. That makes it the hardest module to "study by drilling answer keys." This page distills what actually moves the score, with band-specific changes from Pre-A1 to C1, derived from the official ETS rubric plus four full sittings of behavioral logs.

The Writing module — 4 task types, 5 prompts, one rubric

Writing is 5 tasks in 20 minutes: one one-sentence photo description (about 1 minute), one paragraph-length photo description (about 3 minutes), two email replies (5 minutes each), and one opinion essay (about 6 minutes). Each task is scored independently, but the totals roll up into one 0-25 score per module with a CEFR band from Pre-A1 to C1.

Scoring uses a 5-axis rubric × 4-5 levels per axis: (1) content relevance — does the response satisfy the prompt requirements; (2) organization — does the structure carry the reader through the argument; (3) grammatical accuracy — error frequency in tense / agreement / articles; (4) vocabulary range — accuracy and variety of word choice; (5) mechanics — spelling, punctuation, capitalization. For B2 and above (1) and (2) are decisive; for A2-B1 (3) and (5) dominate — the asymmetry matters when planning prep.

Module shape: 5 tasks (1-sentence photo + paragraph photo + 2 email replies + 1 opinion essay)
Total time: 20 minutes (each task has its own clock)
Score: 0-25 plus CEFR Pre-A1 through C1 (direct mapping)
5 rubric axes: content relevance / organization / grammar / vocabulary / mechanics
B2+ decision drivers: content relevance + organization (requirement coverage + flow)
A2-B1 decision drivers: grammar + mechanics (basic error reduction)

Task-by-task — what you actually have to write

Task 1: one-sentence photo description (1 min) — one photo, one sentence. Something like "A man is wearing a blue shirt and reading a newspaper at a cafe." Subject-verb agreement, articles, and progressive aspect dominate the rubric — this is an A2-band task.

Task 2: paragraph photo description (3 min) — one photo, 30-50 words. Standard format covers location, number of people, action, and a plausible inferred context (3-4 elements). B1 hinges here. Under 30 words or back-to-back simple sentences usually keeps you under B1.

Task 3 + 4: email replies (5 min each) — read a short business email and reply in 60-100 words to a stated requirement (e.g., confirm stock, reschedule a meeting, respond to a complaint). The prompt explicitly lists 2-3 things you must address, and coverage of those items is the dominant content-relevance signal. Hitting only 2 out of 3 reliably drops you from B1 to A2 on that task.

Task 5: opinion essay (6 min) — for a prompt like "Which is more productive, working from home or working in an office?" you write 150-200 words: opinion + two reasons + concrete example. This is the decisive task for B2-C1. Lose the structure (intro → reason 1 → reason 2 → conclusion) and C1 is mechanically out of reach.

Task 1: 1-sentence photo / 1 min / SV agreement + articles + progressive
Task 2: paragraph photo 30-50 words / 3 min / 3-4 elements per paragraph
Task 3, 4: email reply 60-100 words / 5 min each / requirement coverage decides
Task 5: opinion essay 150-200 words / 6 min / opinion + 2 reasons + example
Task 5 weight: largest of the five tasks; decides B2-C1
Time map: 1 + 3 + 5 + 5 + 6 = 20 min, no review buffer

What to change at each score band — A1 to C1

A1-A2 band (0-9 points): prioritize fundamental grammar reduction. If Task 1-2 accuracy on third-person -s, past tense -ed, and a/the articles is under 70%, you will not break A2. Five hours per week for four weeks on Cambridge Grammar in Use Elementary, completing all 30 units to 100% on the unit exercises. For email replies, use a five-sentence template ("Thank you for your email. / Regarding X, ... / I would like to ... / Please let me know. / Best regards.") to cover requirements mechanically.

B1 band (10-15 points): organization and requirement coverage are the lever. Always lock Task 5 into a 4-paragraph structure (opinion → reason 1 → reason 2 → conclusion), 2-3 sentences each. One discourse marker per paragraph (However / Therefore / In addition / For example) alone is often enough to cross from B1 into B2 territory. For Task 3-4, jot the prompt requirements as a bullet list before writing — never leave one untouched.

B2 band (16-21 points): vocabulary range and complex sentence structure decide. Avoid repeating the same word — synonyms across the essay (e.g., "important" → "crucial / significant / essential"). Plant one relative clause, one participial construction, and one conditional somewhere in Task 5. Replace abstract examples with personal experience plus a number ("In my previous role, remote work increased my output by about 30%") to push into C1 territory.

C1 band (22-25 points): structural sophistication and tightness of logic. Drop the formulaic 4-paragraph template and switch to a 5-paragraph structure with counter-argument acknowledgment → rebuttal → strengthened claim. Add 3-5 idiomatic collocations (e.g., "strike a balance / address the trade-off / mitigate the downside"). Grammar accuracy is essentially zero-error baseline; finishing within 20 minutes is itself a scored signal.

A1-A2 band: lift third-person -s / past / articles accuracy from 70% to 95%
B1 band: lock Task 5 into 4 paragraphs + one connector per paragraph
B2 band: rotate vocabulary + plant relative clause + participial + conditional
C1 band: counter-argument + rebuttal + 3-5 idiomatic collocations
All bands: bullet the prompt requirements before writing Task 3-4
Time discipline: assume 0 minutes of review across all five tasks

12 weeks at 5 hours per week — a practice schedule that works

Week 1-4 (foundations): 1 hour each weekday. Mon: grammar drill (one Cambridge Grammar in Use unit, fully completed). Tue: 10 Task 1 photo descriptions. Wed: 2 Task 3-4 email replies. Thu: one Task 5 opinion essay. Fri: act as the rater on Mon-Thu output, AI-self-grade, log next week's weak points.

Week 5-8 (application): shift weight toward Task 5 (50% of practice time). Mon-Tue: one Task 5 every day (8 essays). Wed: 2 Task 3-4 (8 emails total). Thu: re-read your past two weeks of writing and build a list of 30 reusable expressions. Fri: one full mock (5 tasks back-to-back, 20 minutes).

Week 9-12 (test format): two mocks per week (Tue + Fri) + AI feedback / revision cycles on the other three days. From two weeks before the real exam, strict timer + plain text editor without auto-correct (e.g., VSCode with formatting off, or Notepad). The final week is dedicated to error-pattern lists (e.g., "since" vs "for", "a" vs "the") for targeted cleanup.

Week 1-4: 1 hour × 5 days / grammar + one task type per day
Week 5-8: Task 5 = 50% of practice / build a 30-expression reusable list
Week 9-12: 2 mocks per week + AI feedback revision cycles
Materials: Cambridge Grammar in Use + ETS official practice sets + AI rater
Environment: strict timer, no auto-correct
Tracking: one full mock every 4 weeks to confirm band transition

Score-band priorities — what to change to gain one CEFR level

CEFR	Score	Decision driver	What to change to move up
Pre-A1 to A1	0-5	Basic grammar / spelling	Subject-verb / 3rd-person -s / past tense to 70% accuracy
A2	6-9	Articles / progressive / simple sentences	Finish Task 1 in 8-12 words at speed
B1	10-15	Structure / paragraphs / requirement coverage	Lock Task 5 into 4 paragraphs + connectors + 2-3 sentences each
B2	16-21	Vocabulary range / complex sentences / examples	Synonym rotation + relative/participial + numeric example
C1	22-25	Logical sophistication / idiomatic phrasing	Counter-argument + rebuttal + 3-5 idiomatic collocations

* Score band reflects the 0-25 module-level scale. CEFR maps directly via the ETS Pre-A1 to C1 scale. Decision drivers were derived from the ETS Sample Response Bands (published 2025) plus four full sittings of behavioral logs.

Three checks when Writing stalls

Re-read your last 5 Task 5 essays — do all of them have 4 paragraphs + connectors?
On Task 3-4 are you covering all stated requirements (typically 3) — even one miss costs content-relevance points
On Task 1-2 are 3rd-person / article / past-tense errors under 3 per 100 words?

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Frequently Asked Questions

TOEIC® and TOEIC Link™ are registered trademarks of ETS. EnglishBlitz is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with ETS. Score-band decision drivers and the practice schedule are guidelines based on the ETS Sample Response Bands (published 2025) and four full sittings of behavioral logs — actual scores vary by individual. Confirm the latest specifications on the official site.