IELTS Writing Tips
This lesson tests whether you can apply a clear, repeatable strategy to both IELTS Writing tasks rather than relying on generic advice or memorised phrases.
What this question looks like
IELTS Writing has two tasks in one 60-minute session: Task 1 (a report describing a graph, chart, map, process or diagram, minimum 150 words, recommended 20 minutes) and Task 2 (an essay responding to a viewpoint or problem, minimum 250 words, recommended 40 minutes, worth twice the marks of Task 1). Both are marked on four criteria: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
Step-by-step approach
- 1Diagnose your weak areas first: get a recent essay or Task 1 report marked (or mark it yourself) against the four criteria so you know whether your problem is task achievement, coherence, vocabulary or grammar, then spend your prep time there rather than practising everything equally.
- 2Fix your paragraph structure before your language. For Task 1, use: overview paragraph naming the two or three biggest trends, then two body paragraphs grouping the data logically. For Task 2, use: introduction with a clear position, two or three body paragraphs each with one main idea, a conclusion that restates your position without new content.
- 3Build a small bank of flexible language rather than memorised sentences: linking words that show contrast, cause and addition (whereas, this is largely due to, in addition to this), and topic-neutral vocabulary for common themes like education, technology, environment and government. Examiners penalise obviously memorised strings, so practise adapting phrases to new questions rather than reusing fixed chunks.
- 4Practise timing in blocks that match the real exam: 20 minutes for Task 1 (including 5 minutes planning and checking) and 40 minutes for Task 2 (including a firm 5-minute plan). Write full essays under time pressure at least twice a week; untimed practice builds bad habits because band 6 candidates often run out of time on the conclusion.
- 5Proofread with a fixed checklist in your last 2 to 3 minutes: subject-verb agreement, article use (a/an/the), tense consistency, and whether every paragraph actually answers the question asked. Reading silently is not enough; check one category at a time.
- 6Review past scripts against the public IELTS band descriptors, not just a teacher's gut feeling, so you understand precisely why a script is band 6 rather than band 7, for example vague examples (Task Response) versus a missing overview (Task 1).
Worked example
A student scores band 6 overall on a practice Task 2 essay about whether university education should be free. The essay has good grammar and vocabulary but only discusses the advantages of free education, even though the question asked the student to discuss both views and give an opinion.
The priority fix is not vocabulary or grammar but planning: before writing, the student should convert the question into a checklist (view one, view two, personal opinion) and tick off each part while writing, since this single change (fully answering the question) would likely move the essay from band 6 to band 7 overall.
Grammatical Range and Lexical Resource are already solid, so more grammar drilling won't raise the score. The essay is capped by Task Response because it ignores half the question. According to the band descriptors, an essay that addresses only part of the task cannot score above band 5 for Task Response, which pulls the overall band down even though three of the four criteria are strong.
Try it yourself
Write a full Task 2 response in about 270 words. Give yourself 40 minutes, spend 5 of them planning, and check your work against the criteria before finishing.
Some people believe that unpaid community work should be a compulsory part of every school's curriculum. Others think schools should focus only on academic subjects. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Common mistakes
- !Memorising whole introductions or 'template' sentences for Task 2; examiners are trained to spot this and it caps Lexical Resource and Task Response scores even if the rest of the essay is strong.
- !Treating Task 1 as a list of numbers rather than a description of trends; candidates who mention every data point but never state the overall pattern lose marks on Task Achievement regardless of how accurate the numbers are.
- !Writing a beautiful essay that doesn't answer the actual question asked (for example discussing only one side of a 'discuss both views and give your opinion' prompt), which limits Task Response to band 5 no matter how fluent the English is.
- !Over-editing grammar while ignoring coherence, spending all checking time hunting for spelling errors and leaving unclear paragraph logic or missing linking words untouched.
- !Running out of time on Task 2 because too long was spent perfecting Task 1, leaving under 30 minutes for the essay that carries double the marks.
Quick quiz
1. In Task 1, what is the most common reason a well-written report loses marks on Task Achievement?
2. A student has strong grammar and vocabulary but only answers half of a two-part Task 2 question. What should they prioritise in their next practice essay?
3. Why do examiners penalise memorised template sentences in introductions?
4. What is the recommended time split for the 60-minute Writing test, and why does it matter?
Practise this in a real IELTS test
Take a free Writing test with expert evaluation and apply the technique under exam conditions.
Take a free Writing testIELTS Writing Tips — FAQ
How many words should I actually write, and does going over help?
Write at least 150 words for Task 1 and 250 for Task 2; going under loses marks directly. Writing extra words doesn't earn bonus marks and often hurts you, since more text under time pressure usually means more errors and a rushed conclusion, so aim for roughly 170 and 270 words rather than maximising length.
Should I use complex vocabulary and sentence structures even if I'm not fully confident with them?
Use a genuine range of grammar and vocabulary, but only structures you can control accurately. A correct simple sentence scores better than an ambitious complex one with errors, because Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards both range and accuracy together, not range alone.
Is it worth learning fixed phrases for the introduction and conclusion?
A few flexible linking patterns are useful, but fixed, unchanged sentences that appear regardless of the question topic are flagged as memorised language and can lower your Lexical Resource and Task Response scores. It's safer to practise building introductions freshly from the question wording each time.