IELTS Writing Practice in Delhi: Task 1, Task 2 and Feedback

What the Writing test asks

You have 60 minutes for two tasks. Task 2 counts for more than Task 1, so plan about 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 for Task 2.

• Academic Task 1: describe a chart, table, process or map in at least 150 words. You report and compare what you see; you do not give opinions or reasons.
• General Training Task 1: write a letter of at least 150 words, formal, semi-formal or informal, covering three bullet points.
• Task 2 (both tracks): an essay of at least 250 words responding to a question: opinion, discussion, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages, or a two-part question.

For IELTS Writing practice, IELTS Learning has 104 prompts covering all of these, sorted by track and type.

The four criteria examiners use

Each task is marked on four equal criteria:

1. Task Achievement / Task Response: did you answer the actual question, fully, with a clear position in Task 2 or a clear overview in Task 1?
2. Coherence and Cohesion: are your ideas in a logical order, with clear paragraphs and linking that feels natural?
3. Lexical Resource: is your vocabulary precise and varied, and are words used correctly?
4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy: do you use a mix of sentence structures, with few errors?

Knowing these four is the quickest way to understand why an essay got 6.0 and not 7.0.

Common mistakes by Indian students

These are not about intelligence or effort. They are habits, many picked up at school or work, and they are easy to fix once you see them.

Memorised openings and phrases

Lines like "In this modern era", "It is a debatable topic" or "Every coin has two sides" are recognised instantly. They add nothing and can lower your Lexical Resource score because they are not your own language. Start with a direct paraphrase of the question and your position.

Introductions that eat the essay

An 80-word introduction leaves too little room to develop ideas. Two sentences, paraphrase and position, are enough. Spend the words in your body paragraphs, where Task Response is earned.

Indian-English usage

Some expressions are common in Indian offices and emails but are not standard in international English:

• "revert back" (just "reply" or "get back to you")
• "discuss about" (just "discuss")
• "prepone" (use "bring forward")
• "do the needful" (say what you actually need)
• "today itself" (try "today" or "this very day")
• "pass out of college" (use "graduate")
• "cousin brother" or "cousin sister" (just "cousin")

In a General Training letter, these can also make the tone feel unnatural.

Task 1 opinions

In Academic Task 1, writing "this shows the government should act" is a common slip. Describe and compare; leave the opinions for Task 2. In GT letters, the opposite slip is common: forgetting one of the three bullet points. Each one must be covered clearly, or your Task Achievement score drops.

Writing for Delhi applicants

Many students from Delhi colleges write fluent English but in a style shaped by long-answer university exams, where length and coverage were rewarded. IELTS rewards relevance and clarity instead. Professionals from Gurugram and Noida offices often write good business email, which helps in GT letters, but need to loosen up for informal letters and to develop arguments fully in Task 2.

If you are applying for a UK or Canadian master's, the Writing band is often the one admissions teams look at closely, so it is worth giving it the most time. Always check the exact score your university asks for.

How AI feedback and teacher sessions help

Every essay or letter you submit gets an AI-estimated band for each of the four criteria, with comments. That makes patterns visible: you might find your grammar is solid but your Coherence score keeps dragging you down because paragraphs mix two ideas.

When you want a human opinion, Book a Teacher gives you about 20 minutes one-to-one online with an IELTS teacher, from ₹299. Students often bring one Task 2 essay that has had AI feedback and ask the teacher to go through it in detail.

A weekly IELTS Writing practice routine

1. Two Task 2 essays a week, timed at 40 minutes.
2. One Task 1 response, timed at 20 minutes.
3. Rewrite one essay after feedback, fixing the weakest criterion.
4. Keep a list of your own repeated errors and check it before every essay.
5. Every two weeks, compare your criterion scores with your first essay to see real progress.

Full Access is ₹999 for 2 months. Sign up free and try a Writing task in the free sample mock first.