IELTS Writing Test – Time Management

You will be given 1 hour for the IELTS writing test. It is up to you how you spend this hour, but we recommend that you spend 20 minutes on writing task 1, and 40 minutes on writing task 2.

IELTS Writing Test Time Management – Task 1

IELTS Writing Task 1 features a graph for you to describe in the academic IELTS writing test and a letter to write in the general writing test. In both tasks, the minimum amount of words to write is 150. If you are not sure about the differences between academic and general IELTS tests, please check out this link.

The first task is ⅓ of the total writing score, so spend 20 minutes on the first task, as it requires to write fewer words than task 2 and has less impact on the total score.

IELTS Writing Test Time Management – Task 2

Writing Task 2 requires you to write an essay for both academic and general tests. The essay counts for ⅔ of the total score of the writing test and requires you to write a minimum of 250 words.

Try to spend 40 minutes on Writing Task 2, as it has a greater impact on the overall score of the writing test, and requires you to write more words.

IELTS Writing Test – Further Studying

For students who plan to take the academic test, we recommend yo study how to describe a graph and write essays. Here you can learn more about writing essays.

Students who plan to take the general test can take a look at this link to learn more about the IELTS General Writing Task 1, and also learn more about the IELTS Writing Task 2.