IELTS writing

The IELTS writing section is conducted to assess your ability to write in response to the given situation, your capability to think about a solution and draft it in a coherent way with correct usage of words and grammatical accuracy. This IELTS section is conducted for 60 minutes, where you will be writing 2 essays. 20 minutes is allotted for the 150 words essay in Task 1 and 40 minutes for the 250 words essay in task 2. The IELTS writing test will be scored on the band scale of 0-9 in increments of 0.5 based on the marking criteria. 

The IELTS writing task 2 is similar to the academic and general writing section. Here you will be given a response to the given situation in your own words in a minimum of 250 words. The IELTS writing task 1 is different from the AC test and GT test. In academic writing, you will be reporting about the given visual representation in a minimum of 150 words. In General writing task 1, you will be drafting a letter about the particular situation given to you in a minimum of 150 words.

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IELTS writing exam format

Particulars	Writing exam format
Exam duration	60 minutes (Task 1- 20 minutes, Task 2- 40 minutes)
Number of tasks	2 (Task 1- 150 words & Task 2- 250 words)
Band score	0-9
Band descriptors	Coherence and cohesion Grammar range and accuracy Lexical resources Task response and task achievement
Task 2 question types	5
Academic task 1 question types	6
General writing task 1 question types	3

IELTS writing task types

The IELTS writing test is conducted to evaluate your writing skills, to test how well you can respond to the given situation, and to check your ability to organize your thoughts into words. There are two types of tasks in IELTS writing.

• IELTS writing Task 1 
• IELTS Writing Task 2

IELTS writing task 2

In the IELTS writing task 2, you will be asked to provide a response for the given statement or a premise in your own words. Your essay must cover all the parts of the question and must have a minimum of 250 words. The given answer must express your opinion over the statement by providing appropriate examples and supporting data. 

To score a higher band score you must follow the IELTS writing band score essay structure. Make sure to use the correct vocabulary and grammatically correct sentences that will clearly express your opinion to the examiner. There are 5 IELTS writing tasks 2 essay types. They are 

1. IELTS writing task 2 agree disagree essays
2. IELTS writing task 2 advantage and disadvantage essays
3. IELTS writing task 2 problem and solution essay
4. IELTS writing task 2 discuss both views
5. IELTS writing task 2 double question essay

You can find expert-proven IELTS writing task 2 tips, that will help you in scoring a band 8 in your first attempt. 

IELTS writing task 1

You will be writing a minimum of 150 words of essay in the IELTS writing task 1. The time duration for this task 1 is 20 minutes. This task is different for the GT test and AC test. 

IELTS academic writing task 1

The IELTS academic writing task 1 requires you to summarize or report about the given chart or visual interpretation in a minimum of 150 words. The time duration for this task is 20 minutes. You have to clearly explain the data or information present in the chart in a clear and coherent manner. 

You will be scored based on your response quality, sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary used. Thus you must have clear practice to write the essay in the stipulated time. Based on the type of chart given, the IELTS writing task can be divided as follows. 

1. IELTS writing task 1 pie chart 
2. IELTS writing task 1 line graph
3. IELTS writing task 1 bar chart
4. IELTS writing task 1 maps
5. IELTS writing task 1 process diagram
6. IELTS writing task 1 table

To improve your scores, you can check out our IELTS writing task 1 tip. 

IELTS general writing task 1

The general writing task 2 is used to measure and assess your ability to communicate in your daily life. Here you will be given a situation and asked to write a letter in a minimum of 150 words to a person, family member, organization, school, or college. 20 minutes will be given to accomplish this letter-writing task 1. 

There are three types of letters in IELTS general writing task 1, they are as follows.

1. IELTS general writing task 1 formal letter
2. IELTS general writing task 1 semi-formal letter 
3. IELTS general writing task 1 informal letter. 

The content based on which the letters will be written includes complaints, invitation applications, requests, making arrangements, explanations, information, and apology. Use the IELTS general writing task 1 tips to crack the section with the highest band score. 

IELTS writing marking criteria

There are 4 basic assessment criteria used by the examiners to score your IELTS writing. They are

• Task response / Task achievement
• Lexical resources
• Grammar range and accuracy
• Coherence and cohesion. 

The essays will be evaluated by 2-4 examiners to maintain the accuracy of the given scores. The IELTS writing band score is scaled from 0-9 in increments of 0.5 points. you can improve your band score, by making use of the appropriate IELTS writing vocabulary. 

Summary

We hope you would have got a clear idea about the “IELTS writing” section from this article. You can easily score a band 7 and above in your writing test if you are familiar with the question types and enhance your vocabulary. 

FAQ

1. How can I get a band 8 in IELTS writing?
You can easily score a band 8 and above through regular practice and familiarity with the tasks. Always remember to, 

• Answer all parts of the question
• Use strong vocabulary
• Use examples that will suit the given statement or situation
• Follow the essay structure
• Appropriate tenses and grammatically correct sentences

2. Why is IELTS writing considered to be difficult?
IELTS writing is considered to be difficult because here you will be assessed based on the 4 marking criteria. The use of words, grammar, and task response are all evaluated to score your writing test. However, with regular practice you will be able to clear the task easily. 

3. What is the format for letter writing?
In letter writing, there are three formats, they are 

• Formal letter
• Semi-formal letter, and 
• Informal letter.

4. Can I rewrite IELTS writing only?
If you wish to improve your IELTS score, then you have to appear for the overall IELTS exam. Retaking a particular section alone is not possible. 

5. How to practice for the IELTS writing test?
You can practice for the IELTS writing test by, 

• Familiarize yourself with the task types
• Use standardized study materials to get the practice questions.
• You can take online preparatory tests to evaluate your performance
• Start improving your vocabulary by learning uncommon words