The two tasks
You have 60 minutes for two tasks, and you manage the time yourself.
- Task 1 needs at least 150 words. In Academic, you describe a chart, table, process diagram or map, picking out key features and comparisons. In General Training, you write a letter, which might be formal, semi-formal or informal.
- Task 2 needs at least 250 words. It is an essay responding to a point of view, argument or problem, and it is the same type of task in both Academic and General Training.
Task 2 counts for more of your Writing band than Task 1, so spend around 40 minutes on it and about 20 on Task 1. Students who start with Task 2 often find this easier to manage.
The four criteria examiners use
Both tasks are marked on four criteria of equal weight:
- Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2): did you answer all parts of the question, with a clear position and well-developed ideas?
- Coherence and Cohesion: is your writing logically organised, with clear paragraphs and linking that helps rather than decorates?
- Lexical Resource: do you use a range of vocabulary accurately and naturally?
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: do you use a mix of sentence structures, with few errors?
Our 104 Writing prompts cover Academic charts, tables, processes and maps, General Training letters and every common essay type: opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, and two-part questions. Each response gets an AI-estimated band for every criterion, so you can see which one is pulling your score down.
Common Writing habits among Sharjah candidates
Sharjah's mix of communities brings a mix of habits. None of these is a criticism; they are simply the patterns teachers see most often, and each one can be fixed.
Long sentences joined with "and"
Arabic writing traditionally allows long sentences linked with "and" or commas. In English this can become a run-on sentence that confuses the reader. Try ending more sentences with a full stop and using a range of linkers such as however, as a result or whereas.
Memorised introductions and templates
Students across the emirates share the same templates on social media and messaging groups. Phrases like "In this contemporary era" or "This essay will discuss both sides before giving my opinion" are recognised by examiners immediately and do not earn credit. Some introductions run to 80 or 90 words before saying anything. Two clear sentences, a paraphrase of the question and your position, are enough.
Local workplace English
English used daily in Gulf offices has its own expressions: "kindly revert", "do the needful", "please find the attached", "prepone". They work in a Sharjah office but can sound unnatural in an IELTS essay, and some are not standard English at all. In General Training letters, use plain, polite phrasing that would be understood anywhere.
Articles and plurals
Many speakers of Arabic, Urdu, Malayalam and Tagalog find a, an and the tricky, and sometimes drop plural endings. These small errors are frequent enough to hold Grammatical Range and Accuracy at 6. Check every noun in your final two minutes.
Describing every number in Task 1
Academic Task 1 asks for an overview of the main trends, then selected details. Listing every figure in order is one of the quickest ways to a low Task Achievement score.
How AI feedback and teacher sessions help
AI feedback is instant, so you can write in the evening after work and see your estimated criteria bands straight away. Use it to spot patterns: if Coherence and Cohesion stays lower than Lexical Resource across five essays, you know where to focus.
A human teacher adds judgement. In a 1-to-1 online session of about 20 minutes, from $5, a teacher can go through an essay you have already written, explain why a paragraph is not developed enough, and show you how to rewrite it. Many students book one session after a few weeks of AI-marked practice, when they know exactly what to ask.
A writing routine for working weeks
If you work in Sharjah or commute to Dubai, writing every day is hard. A realistic routine:
- Two weekday evenings: one Task 1 (20 minutes) each, plus five minutes reading the feedback.
- One day off: one Task 2 under time, then a rewrite of the weakest paragraph.
- Once a fortnight: both tasks back to back in 60 minutes, as on test day.
If you are taking the computer-delivered test, type your practice essays and watch the word count. If you are taking the paper test, handwrite at least some of them, because handwriting speed matters.
Ready to see your criteria scores? Sign up free and try a Writing task from the free sample mock, or read our weekly tips on the blog.