The two tasks
You have 60 minutes for both tasks, and you manage the time yourself.
Task 1 (at least 150 words, about 20 minutes)
- Academic: describe a bar chart, line graph, pie chart, table, process diagram or map. You report the main trends and key comparisons; you do not give opinions or reasons.
- General Training: write a letter, formal, semi-formal or informal, covering three bullet points.
Task 2 (at least 250 words, about 40 minutes) An essay responding to a statement or question: opinion, discussion of both views, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, or a two-part question. Task 2 counts for more of your Writing band than Task 1, so never let Task 1 eat into its time.
IELTS Learning has 104 prompts across every Task 1 type for both tracks and every Task 2 essay type.
The four criteria, in plain words
Examiners mark both tasks on four equally weighted criteria:
- Task Achievement (Task 1) / Task Response (Task 2): Did you answer exactly what was asked, with a clear position and developed ideas?
- Coherence and Cohesion: Is it logically organised into paragraphs, with ideas that connect naturally?
- Lexical Resource: Is your vocabulary precise, varied and correctly used?
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Do you use a mix of sentence structures, and how many errors are there?
A strong vocabulary cannot rescue an essay that only half answers the question. That is why seeing a separate score for each criterion matters.
Mistakes we often see from Indian candidates
These are common habits, not failings. Many come from school and office English in India, which is perfectly fine in daily life but can cost marks in IELTS.
- Memorised openers and templates. "In this modern era of globalisation..." or "This is a burning issue in today's world" are recognised instantly by examiners. They add words without adding meaning.
- Over-long introductions. Two sentences are enough: paraphrase the question and state your position. Save your words for the body paragraphs.
- Indian-English usages. Phrases such as "revert back", "discuss about", "return back", "cope up with" and "do the needful" are common in Indian offices but are counted as errors. Write "reply", "discuss", "return", "cope with".
- Overview missing in Task 1. Many Academic answers list every number but never say what the overall trend is. The overview is essential for a good Task Achievement score.
- Very long sentences. Formal Bengali and some school essay styles favour long, layered sentences. In English, a run-on sentence with several commas often loses accuracy marks. Mix long and short.
- Article errors. Missing or extra "a", "an" and "the" are among the most frequent grammar errors for speakers of Bengali and Hindi, which do not use articles the same way.
How AI feedback and teacher sessions help
When you submit a task on IELTS Learning, you get an AI-estimated band for each of the four criteria with feedback explaining what pulled the score down. That turns "my Writing is 6" into something you can act on, such as "my Task Response is 6.5 but my Grammatical Range is 5.5".
Use the AI feedback for volume: write often, check, rewrite. Then, when you plateau, book a 1-to-1 online session with a teacher (about 20 minutes, from ₹299). Bring one Task 2 essay; a teacher can go through argument structure and tone in a way that is hard to get from any tool.
A Writing routine for a Kolkata schedule
Writing needs a quiet hour, which can be hard to find in a busy household or a shared PG near Salt Lake or Jadavpur. Many students find early mornings work best.
- Three times a week: one timed Task 2 (40 minutes), then read the feedback.
- Twice a week: one timed Task 1 (20 minutes).
- Once a week: rewrite your weakest essay of the week using the feedback.
- Daily (5 minutes): learn words from Daily Vocabulary and use one in a sentence.
If you will take the computer-delivered test, type your practice; if paper, handwrite at least some of it and count how long 250 words takes you. Many students are surprised by how much slower their handwriting becomes after half an hour, so build up that stamina before test day.
Start writing today
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