IELTS Writing test: Task 1, Task 2, the four criteria and how it is scored

The IELTS Writing test asks for two pieces of writing in one hour, and the second one counts for more than the first. Knowing what each task asks for, how it is marked and where the rules end is the foundation for every other Writing skill. This page is the map: the format, the four marking criteria, how the result is reported, and a short guide to each page that goes deeper.

The format in numbers

IELTS.org’s Academic Writing format page says there are two Writing tasks, that both must be completed, and that the test lasts 60 minutes. The General Training format page gives the same total. The time is shared: IELTS.org suggests about 20 minutes for Task 1 and about 40 for Task 2, a split that follows the weighting.

IELTS publishes no maximum word count. The Academic page says you will not be penalised for writing more than 150 words in Task 1, and adds that a long Task 1 may mean less time for Task 2. The answer on how long the Writing test is covers the timing in detail.

Task 1 in Academic

IELTS.org’s Academic page says that in Task 1 you may be given one or more graphs, charts or tables, or a diagram of an object, device, process or event. You describe, summarise or explain the information in your own words. “In your own words” means copying the wording of the prompt does not show the language the task looks for, and the task is to report what the visual shows.

The page adds that all the information you need is given in the visual, that you must include the most important points, and that some minor points or details may be left out. The task is judged on Task Achievement, and a report that does well gives the reader a clear overview, picks out the key features rather than every figure, and supports them with accurate data. The band descriptors explorer shows what each band looks like on that criterion.

Two pages take Task 1 apart. Charts, graphs and tables covers the data visuals, with a four-paragraph shape and the language of trends. Process diagrams and maps covers the visuals that have no numbers to compare. The earlier post on describing maps, charts and tables works through the overview sentence.

Task 1 in General Training

General Training Task 1 is a different task under the same name. IELTS.org’s General Training format page says you are given a situation and write a response of at least 150 words in the form of a letter, with three bullet points telling you what to include. The style, according to the page, depends on who you are writing to and how well you are supposed to know them, and it can be personal, semi-formal or formal. The page’s examples include writing to a college accommodation officer about problems and writing to a local newspaper about a plan.

Choosing the register and covering all three bullet points are the two jobs. The guide to the General Training letter walks through both, and the post on General Training letters gives the three tones side by side.

Task 2: the essay

IELTS.org’s Academic page says Task 2 gives you a point of view, argument or problem to discuss, in at least 250 words. The General Training page describes an opinion, argument or problem and calls the answer a semi-formal or neutral discursive essay. The Academic page asks for an academic or semi-formal or neutral style in both tasks, written as full sentences.

That is nearly all IELTS.org says about the question’s shape. It publishes no list of essay types, and it never says that one kind of question is more common than another. The labels you see in practice books, such as agree or disagree, discuss both views, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages, and two-part questions, describe the shapes that questions take in practice material. They are a convenient way to plan, not a category in the test, and the four criteria are the same for all of them. Each shape has its own page:

• Agree or disagree essays looks at holding one position from the introduction to the conclusion.
• Discuss both views covers essays that ask for two views and your own.
• Problem and solution essays covers questions that ask what is wrong and what could be done.
• Advantages and disadvantages essays covers weighing two sides without losing a position.
• Two-part questions covers prompts with two questions that both need a full answer.

The post on an essay structure for any Task 2 question gives a four-paragraph plan that adapts to all of them.

The four criteria

IELTS.org’s scoring page says examiners mark each task on four criteria, and the format pages say certificated examiners assess each task. They are Task Achievement for Task 1 or Task Response for Task 2, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. In plain words:

• Task Achievement or Task Response asks whether you did what the prompt required, fully and in the right form. For Task 1 that is a report with an overview and key features, or a letter that covers its bullet points. For Task 2 it is a clear position with developed ideas.
• Coherence and Cohesion asks whether a reader can follow the text, through paragraphing, progression and linking.
• Lexical Resource asks about the range and precision of your vocabulary.
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy asks about the variety of your sentence structures and how few errors they contain.

The criteria are weighted equally, and the score on a task is the average of the four. The descriptor explorer and the answer on how to get band 7 show what each criterion needs at each band, in plain language.

How the Writing band is reported

IELTS.org states that Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1, and that its assessment carries more weight in marking. IELTS.org publishes no formula that turns the two task scores into the final figure, so any worked calculation you find is an estimate. The result is reported as a whole or half band, and the overall band that employers and universities see is the average of your four section bands, rounded to the nearest half band under the rule IELTS.org gives. The answer on how the Writing score is calculated and the band score calculator show how Writing moves the overall number.

What IELTS.org says is penalised

The format pages name four risks. An answer that is too short may not show enough of the language features needed for higher bands. An answer whose content does not relate to the topic is penalised. An answer that is not a whole piece of connected text, meaning notes or bullet points, is penalised. And plagiarism, copying from another source, is severely penalised. That last rule is why a memorised template or a model answer learned by heart is a risk and not a shortcut. How to avoid the first risk without padding is the subject of word count in IELTS Writing.

Typing or handwriting

IELTS.org’s Academic format page says that on IELTS on computer you type your answers on the screen, and that on the computer test with Writing on Paper you write on the answer sheet with the pen provided. Its update of 5 March 2026 says paper-based IELTS is being withdrawn from mid-2026, market by market, and that Writing on Paper is offered in selected markets. Check with your test centre which delivery it offers before you build your practice around one.

Where to go next

How to manage time in IELTS Writing turns the 20 and 40 minute split into a plan. Common mistakes in IELTS Writing collects the habits that lose marks across both tasks. Linking words and coherence looks at the second criterion.

If you are already near your goal, moving from band 6 to band 7 in Writing explains what separates the two. If you have no teacher, practising IELTS Writing at home without a teacher sets out a routine. The answers on improving your Writing score and retaking Writing only cover what comes after a disappointing result, and the essay checker tests a draft against the four criteria.