IELTS Writing Practice in Chandigarh: Task 1 and Task 2

The Writing test in brief

You have 60 minutes for two tasks.

• Task 1, at least 150 words. Academic candidates describe a chart, table, process or map. General Training candidates write a letter, which may be formal, semi-formal or informal.
• Task 2, at least 250 words. An essay responding to a point of view, argument or problem. Task 2 counts for more of your Writing band than Task 1, so give it about 40 minutes.

IELTS Learning has 104 prompts covering Academic charts, tables, processes and maps, General Training letters, and every Task 2 essay type: opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, and two-part questions.

The four criteria, in plain words

Every response is marked on four equal criteria:

1. Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2): did you answer the exact question, fully, with a clear position or overview?
2. Coherence and Cohesion: is the writing logically organised, with paragraphs and linking that help the reader?
3. Lexical Resource: do you use a range of accurate, natural vocabulary?
4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy: do you use varied sentence structures with few errors?

On our platform each response gets an AI-estimated band for each criterion with written feedback, so you can see, for example, that your ideas are fine but your grammar accuracy is pulling the score down.

Common mistakes we see from Indian students

These are habits, not failings. Many come from school writing styles or everyday Indian English, which is perfectly understood at home but reads as unnatural or wrong to an IELTS examiner.

• Memorised templates. Opening lines like "In this contemporary era, it is a debatable topic..." are recognised instantly and add nothing. Examiners reward language that responds to the actual question.
• Over-long introductions. Two sentences are enough: paraphrase the question and state your position. A six-line introduction steals time from your body paragraphs.
• Indian-English usage. Watch for "revert back" (just "reply"), "discuss about" (just "discuss"), "return back", "cope up with" (should be "cope with"), "do the needful", "pass out of college" (use "graduate") and "since three years" (use "for three years").
• No overview in Academic Task 1. Many students describe every number and forget the two or three main trends, which caps Task Achievement.
• Wrong tone in GT letters. A letter to a landlord should not open with "Respected Sir" and close with "Yours obediently"; a simple "Dear Mr Brown" and "Yours sincerely" is right.
• Very long sentences. Punjabi and Hindi allow long, flowing sentences joined with "and" or "which". In English, mixing short and complex sentences reads better and reduces errors.

Writing practice that suits a tricity routine

Writing needs uninterrupted time, so it rarely works on the bus to Mohali or between classes at PEC. Try this instead:

• Two Task 2 essays a week, each in 40 minutes, at a fixed time such as Tuesday and Friday night.
• One Task 1 a week, in 20 minutes, alternating chart types or letter types.
• A 15-minute rewrite the next day, fixing only the criterion with the lowest score.

Students applying to Canadian colleges, Australian universities or UK master's programmes often need at least 6.0 or 6.5 in Writing, sometimes more; requirements vary, so check with the institution. Nursing registration routes can ask for higher Writing scores, so confirm the current rule with the relevant board.

AI feedback and teacher sessions together

AI feedback is fast: you can write an essay at 11 pm in your Sector 15 PG and see your estimated criteria bands within moments. That speed lets you practise far more than waiting a week for a teacher's red pen.

There are times a human view helps more, though, such as when you keep getting the same score and do not know why. Book a Teacher gives you about 20 minutes one-to-one, from ₹299, to go through two or three essays in depth. Many students book one session after their first few essays and another two weeks before the test.

Tools that support your writing

• Study Notes chapters on Task 1 overviews, essay structure and paragraphing.
• English Improvement lessons for articles, prepositions and tenses, the most frequent grammar slips.
• Spaced-repetition flashcards for topic vocabulary, from environment to technology.
• The free IELTS tips blog for weekly advice.

Register free and try a sample Writing task, or unlock all prompts with Full Access, ₹999 for 2 months.