Writing
Two tasks, sixty minutes, four marking criteria. Free guides to both tasks in both modules.
The IELTS writing test is sixty minutes for two tasks, and it is the paper where candidates most often score below what they expected. Task 1 is worth a third of the marks and Task 2 two thirds, so the time split should be about twenty minutes and forty.
Writing is marked by an examiner against four criteria, and most candidates lose marks on the one they never think about. It is rarely grammar. It is usually task response: answering a slightly different question from the one that was asked.
The test
Task 2 is the same in both modules. Task 1 is completely different.
A letter of at least 150 words, formal, semi-formal or informal depending on who you are writing to. Three bullet points must all be covered.
At least 150 words describing a chart, graph, table, map or process. You report what the data shows; you do not explain why or give an opinion.
An essay of at least 250 words. Worth twice the marks of Task 1, so it should get twice the time and the better half of your attention.
Whether you did what was asked, covered everything, and stayed on the question. The commonest place marks are lost.
Whether your ideas are organised and connected. Paragraphing matters here more than linking words, which candidates tend to overuse.
Range and accuracy in vocabulary and structures. Range matters as much as accuracy above Band 6.
Free guides
Guides to the parts of the writing test candidates ask about most.
Method
Six things examiners see costing candidates marks.
Not a similar question you have practised. Rewriting a memorised essay to fit a new topic is the fastest way to a low Task Response band.
It carries twice the marks. Candidates who overrun on Task 1 and rush Task 2 lose far more than they gain.
Five minutes of planning produces a better organised essay than five extra minutes of writing at the end.
General Training letters lose marks for a tone that does not match the reader, even when the English is accurate.
Under length is penalised, but so is repeating yourself to get there. Examiners recognise filler immediately.
Two minutes catching your own repeated errors is worth more than two more sentences.
Sixty minutes for both tasks. Spend about twenty minutes on Task 1 and forty on Task 2, which carries twice the marks.
At least 150 for Task 1 and at least 250 for Task 2. Under-length answers are penalised, and there is no benefit in writing far more.
Yes, the format is the same. In both modules you write an essay of at least 250 words. Academic topics are sometimes more academic in tone, but the task itself does not change.
Usually because writing is the only paper where a person judges you against four criteria, and the criterion most often holding candidates back is task response rather than grammar.
No. Examiners are trained to recognise memorised material, and an essay that does not answer the specific question scores badly on task response however well written it is.
Full membership
Everything else in IELTS you can check yourself against an answer key. Writing is the one paper where the answer has to be judged rather than checked.
IELTStestONLINE assesses your writing and speaking against the four IELTS criteria, instantly and as often as you like, using a system built by a former IELTS examiner and examiner trainer. It keeps every score in one place with an estimated band, and it carries no advertising.
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