IELTS Writing – Overview

The IELTS Academic and General Writing Modules are similar in some ways and different in others.
Whichever test you do, you have one hour to complete two tasks. It is the nature of the tasks that makes
them different. You can see this clearly in the chart below:

General Academic

Task 1 Minimum 150 words Minimum 150 words

Writing a letter in response to a situation Interpreting, describing, or comparing
– informal, semi-formal, or formal information presented in graphic form -
a diagram, bar chart, line graph, pie
chart or table

Task 2 Minimum 250 words Minimum 250 words

Writing a more personal essay – Writing an essay on a general academic
possible informal style topic – formal style

In both cases, your score is based on three fundamental criteria:

 Content: How well do your present your arguments, ideas and evidence?
 Quality: How effectively are you able to communicate your ideas and thoughts?
 Technical Aspects: How correct is your grammar? How rich is your vocabulary? How varied are
your sentences?

To complete an organized, coherent piece of writing, you need to take 2-5 minutes to plan. During this
time, you can consider what position you will adopt, how you're going to expand on the topic and in what
order you will present your ideas. You should skip the planning activity only if you have very little time
left. In such a case, you can work directly on the task itself.
Of course, grammar and vocabulary will also be assessed. Make sure you check your writing for verb
tense agreement, prepositions, word order, sentence patterns, sentence structure, and range of
vocabulary. Avoid using the same verbs, nouns, or adjectives more than once. Do not use slang at all. In
the academic section of the IELTS, avoid contractions, which are a clear symbol of informal writing.

IELTS General Writing

The IELTS General Writing section measures your ability to communicate about common, practical
issues and expand on topics of personal interest. You may be asked to provide factual information, make
suggestions, express likes and dislikes, or present complaints, opinions, or views.

This section lasts for 1 hour and includes 2 tasks. Task 2 carries more marks than Task 1. Therefore, you
may wish to divide your time as follows:
 Task 1 – 150 words – 20 minutes
 Task 2 – 250 words – 40 minutes

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 According to the makers of the IELTS exam, assessment of General Writing tasks is based on the
following criteria:
 Task Achievement - how thoroughly you do what is asked
 Coherence and Cohesion - how organized your letter is
 Lexical Resource - the range of vocabulary you use
 Grammatical Range and Accuracy - how correct your grammar is

IELTS GENERAL WRITING - TASK 1

You are asked to write a letter to a friend, government agency or interest group. The level of formality
depends on who you are writing to and how well you know them, so the style may be formal, semi-formal
or informal. You are given a brief description of a problem or situation, followed by bulleted instructions
on what to include in your letter. Make sure you write about each and every one of the points mentioned.
Also use appropriate grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.

It will also help to read through several sample tests in order to both familiarize yourself with the type of
situations presented, and to learn how to write these types of letter answers easily, correctly, and quickly.

IELTS GENERAL WRITING - TASK 2

You have to write a minimum 250-word essay on a topic of general interest. You might have to solve a
problem, present your opinion, or compare differing viewpoints on a given topic.
The usual rules of good essay writing apply. Plan before you write, use varied sentence structure, utilize
linking words to connect ideas, use dynamic and rich vocabulary to put your thoughts across, be careful
of your spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, and organize your essay into about 4-5 paragraphs. A
sample structure is shown below:

Paragraph 1 Introduction Restate the topic, indicate your position

Paragraph 2 Body Main idea, supporting idea, examples

Paragraph 3 Body Main idea, supporting idea, examples

Paragraph 4 Conclusion Summarize ideas, restate position

Write as many practice essays as possible, within the 40-minute time limit, so you can do so with ease
and confidence on the day of your exam.

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IELTS Letter Writing Tips -
10 Ways to Get Higher Marks on the IELTS Letter Writing
Task
1. Identify the type of letter you are being asked to write. Is it a formal, semi-formal or informal letter?
The entire tone of your letter is based on your answer to this question. Adjust your style and choice of
words according to the type of letter you have been asked to write.

2. Begin and end the letter correctly. Remember that each type of letter requires a different opening and
closing. The chart below will help you remember this:

Style Characteristics Opening Ending

To someone you have not met, whose name you

Formal Dear Sir / Madam Yours faithfully
don't know

Semi- To someone you may or may not have met, Dear Mr Brown,
Yours sincerely
formal whose last name you know & use Dear Ms Stone

To someone you know well, whose first name Dear John Best regards
Informal
you know and use Dear Anita Warm wishes

3. Open a formal and semi-formal letter with a formal sentence. Don't try to be friendly, as you do not
know the person you are writing to. Get right down to business and indicate the reason you are writing, as
shown below:

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing to inquire about / I am writing in connection with...

Dear Mr Jones,
I am writing to inform you ... / I am writing in connection with...

4. Open an informal letter with a general, friendly paragraph. With friends whom we know, we care
about the whole person. We have a broader relationship in the context of which this communication is
taking place. So it is best to acknowledge that friendship first, before getting down to the reason for your
letter. In fact, the first paragraph could be purely friendly small talk, unrelated to the reason for your
writing. Look at the example below:

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Dear Jane

I hope you and your family are all well. It was such a pleasure to see you again last summer. We sure
had a great time catching up with each other after so many years. You have always been a cherished
friend, no matter how much of a gap there has been since we met.
Anyway, the reason I'm writing is that I have some good news - I am getting married this summer...

5. Identify the main purpose of the letter. Are you asking for help, apologizing, inviting someone,
complaining or thanking someone? Learn appropriate and polite expressions that will support what you
need to say.

6. Learn and use standard written phrases. Students sometimes struggle to finish their writing in time.
This happens when you are trying to write every sentence from scratch. The fact is, in conventional letter
writing in English, we use a number of standard expressions and phrases and add on to them the specific
information we wish to communicate. By learning how to use these expressions, you will find the letter
writing task much easier and will never have to fight for time.

7. Make sure you write at least 150 words. Practice writing letters till you know what 150 words feels
like and looks like. You will lose marks if you write less. You will not lose marks if you write more; the
only restriction on writing more is in terms of time, not the number of words.

8. Learn the correct spelling of commonly used words. It is surprising how many IELTS students make
a mistake when spelling words such as "sincerely", "faithfully", "in connection with" and so on. You can
prevent yourself from losing marks by learning the correct spelling of these words and expressions which
you are highly likely to use on your exam.

9. Stay on topic. In order to complete your letter within 20 minutes or less, practice writing letters where
you stick to the point. The General IELTS Task 1 does require you to make up a bit of a story to complete
your letter, but don't make your story so complicated that you run out of time.

10. Include all three bulleted points. If you exclude even one of the points given to you in the question
prompt, you will lose valuable marks. Practice writing letters that include the three points and go back
and check that you have included them in each practice exercise you do.

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IELTS Letter Writing - Useful Words & Expressions
To complete your IELTS letter writing task within 20 minutes, it is helpful to know some common
phrases and set expressions. Being able to use these will allow you to express your ideas quickly and
effectively, without thinking about each and every word. While you're learning their meaning, also make
sure you can spell them perfectly. Finally, try the quiz at the bottom of the page to see how well you
know these important expressions.

Apologizing
I'm sorry about...
I am sorry that...
I'm very sorry about...
I'm very sorry for...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize for...
Please accept my apologies.
Please accept my sincere apologies. (very formal)

Asking for Help

I'd be grateful if you could...
I would be grateful if you could...
I would appreciate it if you could...
Could you please...
I was wondering if you could help me.(informal)
I would like to know...

Asking for Information

I am writing to inquire about...
I am writing to find out about...
What I am looking for is...
I would like to know about/if...

Closing
I look forward to seeing you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I look forward to meeting you.

Complaining / expressing dissatisfaction

I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction with...
I'm writing to express my annoyance with...
I am not happy about...
...was very disappointing.

Conveying regards
Please give my best regards to your family.
Please pass on my best wishes to your wife and children.
Please give my regards to your parents.

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Expressing satisfaction
I was delighted to hear that...
I was very happy to learn that...
I was thrilled to find out that...
I was glad to hear that...
...was very enjoyable.

Expressing concern / sympathy

I was sorry to hear about... (your accident/ illness)
I am writing to express my concern about...

Giving bad news

I regret to inform you that...(semi-formal)
I am sorry to tell you that...(informal)
I regret to advise you that...(formal)
I am afraid I have some bad news.(informal)

Giving good news

I am pleased to inform you that...(semi-formal)
I am delighted to tell you that...(informal)
I am happy to advise you that...(formal)
I thought you might like to know that...

Giving reasons
This is because...
This is because of...
This is due to... (formal)
This is as a result of...(formal)
This is owing to...(formal)

Making suggestions
Would it be a good idea to...
Perhaps it would be a good idea to...

Thanking
Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you kindly.
I can't thank you enough.
No words can express my gratitude.
I am extremely grateful for...
I very much appreciate your ______ing

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