Everything You Need to Know About IELTS Writing Section

The IELTS writing test is an important component of the examination. It assesses how the candidate writes a response correctly, how they organise their ideas, and finally how they good their English grammar and vocabulary are. 

Comprised of two tasks, Task 1 and Task 2 for which 20 minutes and 40 minutes are given respectively, IELTS Writing, in total, takes 60 minutes to complete. The ideas incorporated in this section should be clearly organised and comprehensible and follow a certain acceptable style. The basics need to be clear given that the exam tests your ability to link words with sentences that are meaningful and coherent.

The IELTS is one of the most widely-recognised English proficiency tests like the TOEFL, PTE Academic and Duolingo English Test. Around 3 million IELTS tests are taken by candidates from over 140 countries not only for immigration purposes but also for university admissions across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, among others. Here in this article, we will hold a detailed discussion of the writing section of IELTS academic writing and general training writing.

The best way to go ahead here is to take help from experts who have years of experience not only in getting students admitted to colleges but also in preparing them for IELTS. 

Overview of IELTS Writing Section

Let us see an overview of the writing section of the IELTS Exam:

IELTS Academic & General Writing Question Types

The writing section of the IELTS exam comprises two sectional tasks in both IELTS Academic Writing and IELTS General Training Writing. First, we will discuss the IELTS Academic Writing tasks.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: In the first IELTS Task, the duration is 20 minutes. Here, you will have to write in your own language about what you process from the visual information provided. The visual information can be in the form of a chart, table, diagram, or graph. You may get the question to explain and describe the data provided, or the description of an object or event, or how something works, or the stages of a process are asked to recount in detail. 

The word limit for task 1 is 150 words but if a candidate writes too short an answer, they will be subject to a penalty. However, the examinees should not write irrelevant information and should not fill the sheet with facts not relatable to the topic. In addition, plagiarism is not tolerated at any cost in IELTS writing and it should be ensured that the writing style is academic and semi-formal.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 2: The time allotted for IELTS task 2 is 40 minutes. The task here is to write an IELTS essay. You can also get an idea of the same by referring to IELTS essay writing samples.

An argument, view, or problem is presented wherein one has to write an essay on the same in 250 words. The answer should be in discursive style. In task 2 of the IELTS, you need to write almost double of task 1. So, time management becomes very important here. Task 2 interprets how clear you are with your thought process and how you have put it down on paper. Copying from some sources or plagiarising is again highly discouraged in the examination.

Let us now look at the question types asked in IELTS General Training Writing in detail:

IELTS General Writing Task 1: A situation will be provided wherein you will have to write a letter about it. It may be informal, formal, or semi-formal style. The word limit is 150 words and the time limit is 20 minutes.

IELTS General Writing Task 2: Here, they need to write an essay in discursive style, semi-formal or formal style. The word limit is the same as task 2 of academic writing although the duration is 40 minutes and you need to write the essay in 250 words. 

Assessment and Marking of IELTS Writing Section

The IELTS score report provides your overall band score and band scores for each of the four sections including Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The papers are thoroughly scrutinised by the examiner and you will be marked on the basis of the following:

• You task achievement

• Cohesion and coherence of language

• Lexical wealth

• Grammatical accuracy

20 Quick IELTS Writing Section Preparation Tips

IELTS Writing is one of the most difficult parts for non-native speakers, but we are sure that our expert IELTS tips will help you to score well in the examination:

1. Include one or two overview statements in your answer if you want your overall IELTS band score to be high according to the IELTS band score chart.

2. Study the graph/table/chart with care and describe all that is given in the visual information. 

3. You must focus on the key similarities and differences represented by the visuals.

4. Drawing inferences is not necessary for IELTS Writing Task 1 even if you have thorough knowledge about it.

5. You must adhere to the word limits given in the examination or else your score will reduce.

6. You can use an informal style in the letter of IELTS general training writing if you are writing to a friend or relative but you need to use semi-formal style to are writing to colleagues and a formal style if you are writing to any newspaper or authority or organisation.

7. For IELTS Writing Task 2, there is essay writing for both the papers which are common you will have to pre-plan all the points in your mind.

8. The IELTS writing essay should have a proper introduction, body, and conclusion.

9. Your essay word division can be 50 words each for introduction and conclusion and 150-160 words for the body. 

10. If your opinion is asked in an IELTS Writing task, cite examples from your personal life and experiences.

11. Make separate paragraphs for each idea. This will help in the clear organization of your essay. 

12. The introduction should briefly address the topic or introduce the topic whereas the conclusion should be a summary of your arguments and opinions.

13. Your vocabulary should be understandable and not ornamented.

14. There should be a flow in the writing style. 

15. Proofread your essay and make sure to revise and correct the errors.

16. Practice previous years' topics so that you get an idea of what topics can come for examination.

17. Be efficient in your time management as there is time restriction.

18. Read a lot of newspapers, articles, magazines, and books to get ideas about how to write and what to write. 

19. Take mock sessions.

20. Practice writing the topics in an hour so that you get the real feel of the examination.

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