Task 1 and Task 2 at a glance
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 needs at least 250 words. It is an essay responding to an opinion, a discussion, a problem and solution, or a two-part question, and it counts for more than Task 1.
Most students should spend about 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 minutes on Task 2. Starting with Task 2 is allowed, and some students prefer it because it carries more weight.
The four criteria examiners use
Both tasks are 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 ideas in a logical order, with clear paragraphs and natural linking?
- Lexical Resource: is your vocabulary precise and varied, with accurate spelling and collocation?
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: do you use a mix of sentence structures, mostly without errors?
Knowing the criteria tells you where to spend your effort. A brilliant vocabulary cannot rescue an essay that does not answer the question.
Habits worth unlearning
These patterns are very common among Indian candidates, including strong English users. None of them is a disaster on its own, but together they keep many essays at 6 or 6.5.
- Memorised phrases. Openers such as "In this modern era of globalisation" or "This is a highly debatable topic" are recognised immediately and add nothing. Examiners reward language that fits your argument.
- Over-long introductions. Two sentences are enough: paraphrase the question and give your position. Save your words for the body paragraphs.
- Indian-English usage. Phrases like "revert back", "discuss about", "return back", "cope up with", "do the needful" and "prepone" are understood in India but count as errors in IELTS. Write "reply", "discuss", "return", "cope with".
- Overusing "moreover" and "furthermore". Starting every sentence with a linker can lower Coherence and Cohesion rather than raise it.
- Listing ideas without explaining them. One idea, explained with a reason and an example, beats three ideas in one line.
- Task 1 opinions. In Academic Task 1, do not explain why the data looks the way it does. Describe it, compare it and give an overview.
Writing for the future you are planning from Siliguri
Your Writing practice should match where you are going.
If you are a nurse from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim or the North-East preparing for registration abroad, you will usually need Academic Writing. Practise process diagrams and tables as well as bar charts, and choose Task 2 topics on health, ageing and technology, which come up often.
If you are a University of North Bengal graduate applying for a master's, practise essays on education, environment and work, and pay particular attention to Task Response, as universities increasingly look at the Writing band separately.
If you work in tourism or hospitality and are taking General Training, letter writing is your Task 1. Practise complaint letters, requests and letters to a manager. Getting the tone right, formal for a hotel chain and informal for a friend, matters as much as the vocabulary.
How feedback works here
IELTS Learning has 104 Task 1 and Task 2 prompts covering Academic charts, tables, processes and maps, General Training letters and every essay type. When you submit, you get an AI-estimated band for each of the four criteria and feedback explaining what to improve.
A good weekly cycle:
- Write one Task 2 and one Task 1 under timed conditions.
- Read the feedback criterion by criterion.
- Rewrite the weakest paragraph using the feedback.
- Note recurring errors, such as articles or verb tenses, and look them up in English Improvement.
AI feedback is fast and consistent, but it is an estimate. Once a fortnight or before your test, consider a Book a Teacher session (about 20 minutes, from ₹299) to have a teacher go through one essay with you and answer your questions.
Start your IELTS Writing practice
You can browse the free practice area and the IELTS tips blog for essay strategies. For full IELTS Writing practice with feedback on every essay, register for Full Access at ₹999 for 2 months. Study from anywhere in Siliguri, at whatever hour suits you.