What the Writing test asks for
You have 60 minutes for two tasks.
- Task 1 (at least 150 words, about 20 minutes). Academic: describe a chart, graph, table, process or map, picking out the main trends and comparisons. General Training: write a letter (formal, semi-formal or informal) that covers three bullet points.
- Task 2 (at least 250 words, about 40 minutes). 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 than Task 1, so never let Task 1 eat into its time.
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 the actual question fully, with a clear position and developed ideas?
- Coherence and Cohesion: are your ideas organised logically, with clear paragraphs and natural linking?
- Lexical Resource: do you use a range of vocabulary accurately and appropriately?
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: do you use a variety of sentence structures with few errors?
Knowing these criteria changes how you write. A beautiful vocabulary will not save an essay that answers half the question.
Habits from Patna exam halls that cost marks in IELTS
Many students here have practised answer writing for BPSC or UPSC mains, or long theory answers for university exams. That gives you speed and confidence, which is valuable. But some of those habits work against you in IELTS Writing Task 2:
- Headings, bullet points and underlining. IELTS essays need continuous paragraphs. No headings, no bullets.
- Covering everything. Mains answers reward breadth. IELTS rewards depth: two well-developed ideas beat five listed ones.
- Very long introductions. Two sentences are enough: paraphrase the question and state your position.
- Writing far beyond the limit. 260 to 300 words is plenty. A 400-word essay usually means more errors and less time to check.
- Quotes and statistics. You do not need them, and invented numbers weaken your argument.
Common language mistakes, and better choices
These are common in Indian English generally, not just in Bihar. They are perfectly understood at home, but examiners count them as errors:
- "Revert back" → "reply" or "get back to you". "Revert" already means "go back".
- "Discuss about" → "discuss" the topic (no "about").
- "Cope up with" → "cope with".
- "Since three years" → "for three years".
- "Each and every" → "every".
- "Prepone" → "bring forward".
- "Do the needful" (GT letters) → say exactly what you want: "Please could you send me the form?"
- Missing articles: "Government should..." → "The government should...". Hindi, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magahi have no direct equivalent of "a" and "the", so articles need deliberate attention.
Memorised phrases
"In this modern era", "every coin has two sides", "it is a burning issue" and "last but not least" are recognised immediately by examiners as memorised. They do not raise your Lexical Resource score and can lower it. Use plain, precise language that fits your topic.
How to practise IELTS Writing on IELTS Learning
There are 104 Task 1 and Task 2 prompts covering Academic charts, tables, processes and maps, General Training letters, and all essay types.
- Write under time: 20 minutes for Task 1, 40 for Task 2, typed with a word count, as on the computer test.
- Get an AI-estimated band for each of the four criteria, with feedback on what to change.
- Rewrite the weakest paragraph using that feedback. Rewriting teaches more than writing a new essay.
- Check the Study Notes for Writing, which explain how to plan each essay type and describe each chart type.
When to add a teacher
AI feedback is quick and consistent, so it is ideal for daily practice. Once a week or fortnight, a 1-to-1 session with an IELTS teacher (about 20 minutes, from ₹299) lets a human read your essay, explain why a paragraph is not working and answer your questions. Students aiming at 7+ in Writing usually benefit most from combining both.
A weekly Writing routine for busy Patna students
- Monday: one Task 1 (Academic chart or GT letter) with feedback.
- Wednesday: one Task 2 essay with feedback.
- Friday: rewrite Wednesday's essay.
- Weekend: both tasks inside a full mock.
That is roughly three hours a week, which fits around college at Patna University, hospital shifts or a job. Register free and try a Writing task in the sample mock first.