What the IELTS writing tasks actually ask you to do

The two tasks side by side

Read the last two rows together. Task 2 is worth twice task 1 and needs twice the time, and yet task 1 comes first on the screen, so a large number of candidates spend 30 minutes polishing the smaller task and then rush the bigger one. If you are going to run out of time somewhere, run out on task 1.

The four criteria, each worth 25 per cent

Both tasks are marked against four things, weighted equally:

1. 1Task achievement (task 1) or task response (task 2) — did you actually do what was asked, completely
2. 2Coherence and cohesion — is it organised into paragraphs that follow each other
3. 3Lexical resource — vocabulary range and accuracy
4. 4Grammatical range and accuracy — sentence variety and how many errors

Two of the four are about structure and completeness rather than English. That is where a candidate whose English is already reasonable finds marks quickly.

Task 1: describe, do not explain

The instruction is to summarise the information and report the main features, making comparisons where relevant. Three rules follow from it:

• Include an overview. One or two sentences saying what the data does overall — rises, falls, the biggest and smallest. Leaving it out caps your task achievement mark no matter how good the rest is. It is the most common single loss on task 1.
• Do not explain why. If unemployment rose in 2019, say it rose. Speculating about the cause is outside the task and earns nothing.
• Do not list every number. Select what matters and compare it. A paragraph that recites twelve figures in order has not reported main features.

A workable shape: one sentence rephrasing the question, one overview, then two body paragraphs grouping what belongs together.

Task 2: the question types, and why they matter

Four patterns cover almost everything:

Not answering every part of the question is the largest avoidable loss in the whole writing paper. A discussion essay that presents both views and never gives an opinion has answered two-thirds of the question, and the task response mark reflects that. Underline the parts of the prompt before you write anything.

The five mistakes that cost Bangladeshi candidates most

1. 1A memorised introduction. Examiners see thousands of them and they contribute nothing to any of the four criteria.
2. 2Complicated vocabulary used inaccurately. A long word in the wrong place lowers lexical resource. Simple and precise scores better than ambitious and wrong.
3. 3Writing under the word count. Below 150 or 250 words is a direct penalty. On the computer test there is a live counter, so there is no excuse for guessing.
4. 4One enormous paragraph. Coherence and cohesion is a quarter of the mark and paragraphing is most of it.
5. 5No time to read it back. Leave three minutes. Most candidates fix two or three grammar errors in those three minutes, which is free.

How to spend the sixty minutes

There is no separate timer per task — you get one hour for both and you divide it yourself. A workable division:

Five minutes of planning on task 2 feels like time you do not have and is the reason the essay answers the whole question. The candidates who run out of time are almost never the ones who planned.

How to actually get better, without paying anyone

Writing is the slowest band to move because it needs feedback, and feedback is what studying alone lacks. Three free methods work:

• Score your own essay against the official band descriptors. IELTS publishes them; read the difference between the band 6 and band 7 wording for each criterion and mark yourself honestly.
• Write the same question twice, a week apart. Find your errors on the first, then write it again cold. Improvement is faster here than in any new question.
• Swap with a friend. You cannot see your own errors and you can see theirs immediately.

If you pay for anything, pay for writing assessment alone rather than a full course. The week-by-week routine is in the three-month preparation plan.

And if writing is the only section holding you back

Check the arithmetic before you rebook everything. A single low writing score may be costing you a band condition rather than the overall — the band 6 to 6.5 piece sets out which, and One Skill Retake exists precisely for this case.