Integrated Writing: Reading and Listening Synthesis

TOEFL Integrated Writing Task 1 gives you 3 minutes to read an academic passage of approximately 230–300 words, then plays a 2-minute lecture on the same topic. The lecture almost always challenges, casts doubt on, or refutes the reading's main claims — this adversarial relationship between sources is the task's defining feature. You then have 20 minutes to write a response of 250–300 words. The prompt is always a variation of: 'Summarise the points made in the lecture, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in the reading passage.' Scoring (0–5 scale, then converted to 0–30) rewards: accurate and complete summary of the lecture's three main counter-points, explicit connection of each lecture point to the corresponding reading claim it challenges, and correct attribution language ('The lecturer argues that...' vs 'The reading claims that...'). A common Band 3 error is summarising only the reading — the lecture must be foregrounded. A score of 4+ (targeting 24+ on writing) requires that all three lecture counter-points are represented accurately with their supporting details.