How to Pass the IELTS Writing Exam

There is no pass or fail in the IELTS writing module. You will be awarded a band score for your writing tasks. There are two versions of the IELTS exam. The first version is called the academic version and the second version is called the General training version. The writing module for these two versions is different, so I will describe these two versions separately. Academic version is taken by people who want to study in a foreign university and the General training version is taken by people who hope to settle in a country where English is spoken as a first language.

Academic writing tasks
The IELTS candidate will have to complete two tasks in the writing module. In the writing task 1 the candidate will have to describe a process, chart or graph. The candidate will have 20 minutes to complete this task and this report should not be less than 150 words.

In the writing task 2 the candidate will have to write a persuasive essay. The candidate will be given a statement and he or she will either have to agree or disagree with the statement by stating the reasons for his or her point of view. The writing task 2 has to be completed in 40 minutes and should not be less than 250 words.

General training writing tasks
General training writing task 1
The candidate will have to write a letter for writing task 1 of the general training version. The candidate will be given a situation and he will be required to write a letter keeping in view the given topic. The candidate will also get 3 or 4 questions along with the topic and the candidate will have to respond to all those questions. The candidate will have 20 minutes to write a letter which should consist of at least 150 words.

The candidate will have to write an essay by discussing the statement presented to him or her. The given statement might be point of view or problem. The candidate will have 40 minutes to complete this task and this task should not be less than 250 words.