IELTS Writing Task 2 requires you to write an academic-style essay on a common topic. You have 40 minutes to write at least 250 words.

Task 2 can be broken down and thought about more easily in 5 steps:

IELTS Writing Task tips-

Analyse each task properly and spend some time making notes

Highlight or underline key words in the tasks to make sure that you focus on what you have to do

Plan your answers

manage your time; remember, Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1

spend approximately 20 minutes on Task 1 and approximately 40 minutes on Task 2

Use paragraphs clearly; put one idea in each paragraph

keep to the topic; do not write about unrelated subjects

Do not repeat ideas using different words

do not copy whole sentences from the question – you will receive no marks for this

pay attention to the number of words required for each task; you will lose marks if you do not write at least 150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2

learn to recognise how long 150 and 250 words look in your handwriting; you will not have time to count during the test

you must write your answers in full; answers written in note form or in bullet points will lose marks

pay attention to spelling, grammar and punctuation; you will lose marks for mistakes

do not memorise model answers; examiners are trained to recognise them and your test will be invalid

spend several minutes re-reading and correcting your answers

avoid informal language