The Writing test in one minute
You have 60 minutes for two tasks.
- Task 1 (at least 150 words). Academic: describe a chart, table, process, diagram or map. General Training: write a letter, which may be formal, semi-formal or informal.
- Task 2 (at least 250 words). An essay giving your opinion, discussing two views, explaining causes and solutions, or weighing advantages and disadvantages.
Task 2 counts for more of your Writing band, so give it about 40 minutes and Task 1 about 20. Writing less than the minimum word count costs you marks.
The four criteria examiners use
Each task is marked on four equally weighted criteria:
- Task Achievement (Task 1) / Task Response (Task 2): did you answer every part of the question, with a clear position and developed ideas?
- Coherence and Cohesion: are your paragraphs logical, and do your linking words do real work?
- Lexical Resource: do you use a range of accurate, natural vocabulary?
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: do you use a mix of sentence types, mostly without errors?
Knowing the criteria changes how you write. A beautifully worded essay that answers only half the question still loses marks on Task Response.
Habits examiners notice in Indian scripts
These are habits, not failings, and every one is easy to fix once you can see it.
- Memorised openings. Lines such as "In this modern era of globalisation" or "This is a burning issue nowadays" are recognised instantly and add nothing. Paraphrase the question in your own words instead.
- Over-long introductions. Two sentences are enough: the topic and your position. Save your ideas for the body paragraphs.
- Indian-English usage. "Revert back", "discuss about", "return back", "cope up with", "pass out of college" and "prepone" are common in conversation in India but are marked as errors. Write "reply", "discuss", "return", "cope with", "graduate" and "bring forward".
- Overused linkers. Starting every sentence with "Moreover" or "Furthermore" lowers your Coherence score. Vary them, and sometimes use none.
- Task 1 opinions. In Academic Task 1, you describe data; you do not explain why it happened or say what you think.
- No overview. Academic Task 1 needs a clear overview of the main trends. Without one, it is hard to score above 6 on Task Achievement.
The office-English habit in Patiala
Patiala is a government city. PSPCL has its headquarters here, and many families have a parent or grandparent in a state department, a bank or a university office. That background often shows in General Training letters and Task 2 essays: phrases such as "kindly do the needful", "I am in receipt of your letter", "the undersigned" or "with reference to the above-mentioned subject".
This style is correct in a Punjab government office but sounds stiff and old-fashioned to an IELTS examiner. A formal letter in IELTS should be polite and clear, not bureaucratic: "I am writing to ask about…", "I would be grateful if you could…", "I look forward to hearing from you." Informal letters need even more care, since many students write to a friend in the same formal tone they would use with a manager.
For Academic students from Thapar or Punjabi University, the opposite risk appears: report writing for engineering labs or research papers encourages passive, dense sentences. In IELTS, clarity beats complexity.
How AI feedback and teacher sessions work together
IELTS Learning has 104 Writing prompts covering Academic charts, tables, processes and maps, General Training letters and every Task 2 essay type.
When you submit a response, you get an AI-estimated band for each of the four criteria, with feedback that points to specific sentences. That lets you practise often: you can write three essays in a week and see which criterion is holding you back.
When you want a human view, book a 1-to-1 online teacher session of about 20 minutes, from ₹299. Teachers are especially useful for:
- Checking whether your position is clear enough for Task Response.
- Explaining why a band is stuck, when the AI feedback says "range" but you cannot see how to add it.
- A final check on your Task 1 overview and paragraph structure before the test.
A weekly Writing routine
- Monday: one Task 2 essay, timed at 40 minutes.
- Wednesday: one Task 1 (chart or letter), timed at 20 minutes.
- Friday: rewrite Monday's essay using the feedback, then compare the two bands.
- Weekend: a full Writing section inside a mock.
Use the English Improvement section for grammar points the feedback keeps flagging, and the weekly tips blog for model structures. Full Access is ₹999 for 2 months; register here or try the free sample mock first.