IELTS Writing Test: 15 Simple and Frequent Questions

Have you ever noticed that the tetter “b” is just a mirrored “d” or that “p” is just an upside-down “b”?

Welcome to the realm of English writing. Since a lot of us have been trained to write and read English from our childhood, it shouldn’t be difficult to write English – and it isn’t. The difficult part is comprehending the language and writing well under the pressure during writing tests.

Maybe this is the reason why people want to know the questions beforehand or know what goes into each type of writing test. Writing tests for IELTS is no exception as people are genuinely curious about this test and what goes within. Needless to say, this curiosity has given rise to many questions, some of which are quite common.

15 Frequently asked Questions for Writing test of IELTS

As one may expect, people ask a lot of questions, among which some tend to be more common than others. This is applicable to the writing test of IELTS as well. So here we have some questions that are asked rather frequently.

1) How many tasks are there in a writing test?

There are two tasks to IELTS writing tests. Task one covers the report for Academic WritingTest and a General letter for the General Writing Test.

As for Task 2, it covers an essay for both types of writing tests.

2) What is the difference between General Training Writing Module and Academic Writing Module?

In the General Training Module of the IELTS test, you will be required to write a general letter task 1. As for the Academic Writing Module, you will be required to write a report in a Diagram. This writing module is mostly for those who want to immigrate to a foreign country.

As mentioned previously, you will be asked to write an essay on both types of Writing Module for Task 2. As you may have guessed, this writing module is meant for those who want to enter college, university, or possibly for a career.

3) How long is the IELTS writing test?

The total time for the writing tests is 1 hour. We advise you to spend no more than 20 minutes on the first task of the test as you will need a comparatively long time to write an essay.

4) How many words are required?

For task 1, you should write over 150 words. Although this may seem like a lot, it really isn’t and if you are good at writing and reading the point, you should be able to do it quickly.

As for task 2, you should write over 250 words which are slightly longer than the requirement for task 1.

5) What Should one write as an introduction in task 1 of the Academic Writing Module?

The best introduction would be to give a summary of what the diagram consists of and what it shows. Try to include the overall information of the diagram and show all the information that the diagram shows – unless there is a main feature.

While you can show it in the first paragraph, it is better to cover the main feature in the body of the essay and discuss it in detail.

6) Is it a good idea to give one’s opinion on task 2?

This depends on the requirement of the question. If the question is about “discuss the arguments” then you should limit your opinion. At the same time, if the question explicitly asks you to give your opinion, then you are free to give as many opinions as you want, given that they are relevant to the context.

7) How many paragraphs should one write in both tasks?

It is a good idea to write three paragraphs for task 1 which includes introduction, body, and conclusion.

As for task 2, you should write 4 to 6 paragraphs depending on the number of ideas that you have.

8) What is the value of conclusion in the tasks?

While it is a good idea to write a conclusion regardless of the task, you don’t have to write a detailed one in task 1. A few sentences will suffice.

As for task 2, you should put some effort into writing a conclusion and it is better if the conclusion contains the overall gist of all the ideas in the essay.

9) Can we have extra paper for making notes in the writing exam of IELTS?

This depends on the examination center. Normally you are not given extra papers for making notes and you should make notes and plans on the questions paper if you need to.

10) Is it necessary to leave some spaces at the start of a paragraph?

It is not necessary to leave any space at the start of paragraphs. However, we do recommend you leave an empty line after each paragraph to show the segmentation.

11) Which spelling is preferred in IELTS writing Exam – UK or US?

It doesn’t matter which spelling system you use in the IELTS writing exam. You can use either the UK spelling system or the US spelling system. Just be sure to be consistent with the spelling system.

12) How to raise the IELTS writing score?

The concept to raise the score of the IELTS writing test is rather simple. All you need to do is know the types of questions asked in an IELTS writing exam and prepare accordingly.

Additionally, it is a good idea to learn the differences between UK and US spelling systems and ensure that your handwriting is understandable.

13) How much are the tasks worth?

Task 1 is worth 1 third of the entire score while task 2 is worth 2 third. So, you should divide the time accordingly as well.

14) What types of essays are there in task 2?

You can find a few types of essays in task 2. Some of which are:

– Opinion essay
– Discussion essay
– Advantage/disadvantage essay
– Solution essay
– Direct Essay

15) Are spelling and punctuation important?

Yes, they are important. Just be sure to stick to one spelling system (UK or US) and learn the right places where you can punctuate.

Conclusion,

We understand that the questions we included here are not all the questions that people have. These are just some of the frequently asked ones but these do cover the gist of the entire writing test of IELTS.

Did we include your question?

Hope you found this helpful. If you have any suggestions for us, do let us known them in the comments below. And as always, thank you for reading till the end.