The two tasks
You have 60 minutes for two tasks. Task 1 needs at least 150 words. In Academic, you describe a chart, table, process or map; in General Training, you write a letter, which may be formal, semi-formal or informal. Task 2 is an essay of at least 250 words on an opinion, discussion, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages, or two-part question. Task 2 counts for more of your Writing band, so give it around 40 minutes.
The four criteria
Both tasks are marked on four equally weighted criteria:
- Task Achievement / Task Response: did you answer the question fully, with a clear position and developed ideas (Task 2) or an accurate overview of key features (Task 1)?
- Coherence and Cohesion: logical paragraphs and linking that feels natural, not forced.
- Lexical Resource: a range of precise vocabulary, used correctly.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: a mix of sentence structures, with few errors.
Knowing your weakest criterion tells you what to work on. A student stuck at 6.0 because of Task Response needs different practice from one stuck because of grammar.
This matters for Nashik's engineering and medical graduates in particular. Years of answer-sheet writing in university exams train you to write a lot, quickly, and to list points. IELTS rewards fewer ideas, each explained fully with a reason and an example. Shorter, deeper paragraphs usually score higher than long lists.
Habits worth fixing first
These are common among Indian writers, including very capable ones. None of them is a lack of intelligence; they are habits from school and office English.
- Memorised openings such as "In this modern era of globalisation" or "This is a burning issue". Examiners recognise them, and they add words without meaning.
- Over-long introductions. Two sentences are enough: paraphrase the question and state your position.
- Indian-English usages: "revert back" (just "reply"), "discuss about" (just "discuss"), "since five years" ("for five years"), "do the needful", and "kindly" in every letter.
- Articles. Marathi, like Hindi, has no words for "a" and "the", so Marathi speakers often drop or overuse them: "Government should invest in public transport" needs "The government".
- Formal letters for informal tasks in General Training. A letter to a friend should sound like one.
- Copying the Task 1 data line by line instead of giving an overview of the main trends.
Ideas you already have, from Nashik
Students often say they have nothing to write about. Nashik gives you plenty. Task 2 topics on agriculture, food prices, water management, tourism, pilgrimage and crowds, industrial growth and pollution, or young people leaving smaller cities for work all connect to things you have seen: onion prices at the Lasalgaon market making national news, the Godavari in monsoon, the Kumbh Mela crowds, or the growth of the MIDC estates.
For Academic Task 1, process diagrams are a common worry. If you know how grapes become wine, or how a car component moves through a production line, you already understand stages and sequence; the task is to describe them in clear passive sentences with good sequencing words.
Use local knowledge for ideas and examples, but keep the language general. Examiners do not need place names; they need a clear argument.
AI feedback and teacher review
On IELTS Learning you can practise any of 104 prompts for your track, timed if you choose. After you submit, you get an AI-estimated band for each of the four criteria, with feedback on what lowered each one. Fix the issues, rewrite the same essay, and compare.
AI feedback is fast and useful for daily practice. For a human view, Book a Teacher gives you about 20 minutes 1-to-1 online from ₹299: bring two or three essays, and ask the teacher to focus on the criterion that is holding you back.
A weekly Writing routine
- Twice a week: one timed Task 2 essay (40 minutes), then review the feedback.
- Twice a week: one Task 1 (20 minutes).
- Once a week: rewrite your weakest essay of the week.
- Every fortnight: a full mock, so you practise Writing after Reading, when you are tired.
Keep all your essays in one folder, with the feedback. After a month, read the first and the latest side by side; seeing the change is a good reason to keep going.
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