What is the difference between academic and general training writing?
The main difference is in task one. In the general training test you need to write a letter while in the academic test you need to write a report on a graph, map or a table. The second task in general training and academic test is almost the same. There are slight differences in the difficulty of the topic and its subject. General training task 2 topics are mostly about every day social problems. Academic task 2 topics are a little more complex.
What happens if I don’t write 150 words for task 1 or 250 words for task 2?
If the development of your writing is not enough you will lose mark in the task response section.
Which one should I start with? Task 1 or task 2?
How does an examiner score my paper?
Download the Public Band Descriptors for task 1 and task 2. An Examiner has a similar document and marks you in the four categories described in the band descriptors.
Is it necessary to write a conclusion for the academic task 1 writing?
No. You need to have an overview of the task (which is the most important trends or the most obvious features) in your writing. Some candidates prefer to have this overview in the introduction and some put it at the end as a conclusion. There is no difference and you are not penalized for not having a conclusion in this task.
Is it necessary to write a conclusion for task 2 Writing?
Definitely. Not having a conclusion can reduce your score in Task Response.
How many paragraphs should I write for task 2?
Normally, you need an introduction, at least two body paragraphs and a conclusion. This makes the minimum number of paragraphs 4. However, there is no maximum. The number of your paragraphs in the body of your writing depends on the number of the main ideas that you have. You should have as many body paragraphs as your ideas. Each main idea goes into one paragraph.
Is my handwriting important?
Of course. If your handwriting is so illegible that the examiner can’t understand what you have written, you will get zero for your writing! If your handwriting is bad but understandable, this can make reading your paper difficult and can give the examiner the impression that your writing is not coherent. As a result, it can affect your score in the coherence and cohesion section.
Can I use bullet points in my writing?
Can I use a pen for IELTS writing?
Is it important to give my opinion in task 2?
It depends on whether the question is asking for your opinion or not. If the question requires your opinion and you don’t clearly mention it, you will lose mark.
