The two tasks in 60 minutes
Task 1 needs at least 150 words. On the Academic test you describe a chart, table, process or map. On General Training you write a letter, which may be formal, semi-formal or informal.
Task 2 needs at least 250 words and is an essay responding to a point of view, argument or problem. Task 2 counts for more than Task 1, so a common plan is about 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 minutes for Task 2.
IELTS Learning has 104 Writing prompts covering Academic charts, tables, processes and maps, General Training letters and every Task 2 essay type: opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, and two-part questions.
The four criteria, in plain words
Every script is marked on four equally weighted criteria:
- Task Achievement (Task 1) / Task Response (Task 2): did you answer the actual question, fully, with a clear position and relevant support?
- Coherence and Cohesion: is it logically organised, with clear paragraphs and natural linking?
- Lexical Resource: is your vocabulary precise, varied and correctly used?
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: do you use a mix of sentence structures, mostly without errors?
Our AI feedback gives an estimated band for each criterion, so you know whether to work on ideas, structure, words or grammar, rather than just "writing more".
Habits that hold Indian candidates back
These patterns are extremely common, including among confident professionals in Thane's IT and finance offices. None of them is a sign of weak English; they are habits from school, exams and the workplace that IELTS examiners simply do not reward.
- Memorised openings. Lines like "In this contemporary era..." or "This is a burning issue nowadays" are recognised immediately and add nothing.
- Over-long introductions. Three or four sentences of background before your opinion appears. Two sentences, paraphrasing the question and stating your position, are enough.
- Indian-English usage that sounds normal in a Mumbai office email but is marked as an error: "revert back" (just "reply"), "discuss about" (just "discuss"), "return back", "cope up with" ("cope with"), "do the needful", "prepone".
- Corporate filler. Phrases such as "with respect to", "as per", "kindly note" belong in work emails, not essays.
- Overview missing in Task 1. Describing every number but never stating the main trend caps Task Achievement.
- Big words used slightly wrongly. One accurate everyday word scores better than a rare word in the wrong context.
Practising Writing around a Thane schedule
Writing needs a desk and an uninterrupted hour, which is the hardest thing to find if you leave for work at 8 and get home after 8. A few options our users in Thane and the Kalyan–Dombivli belt find realistic:
- Two weekday evenings: one Task 2 on Tuesday, one Task 1 on Thursday, each timed.
- Planning on the train: you cannot type an essay comfortably in a crowded compartment, but you can read a prompt and plan your position and three main points in a notes app. Write it that evening.
- Saturday morning: a full 60-minute Writing paper with both tasks.
For the computer-delivered test, type your practice essays. Typing changes how you plan, edit and count words. If you are sitting the paper test, write by hand instead, because handwriting 250 words in 40 minutes is a skill in itself, and examiners need to be able to read every word.
How AI feedback and teachers work together
AI feedback is fast and available at any hour, which makes it ideal for volume. Write, read the criterion bands and comments, rewrite the weakest paragraph and submit again. Repeat that cycle a dozen times and the patterns in your writing become obvious. Keep a short list of your own repeated errors, such as missing articles or run-on sentences, and check every new essay against it before submitting.
A teacher adds what software cannot fully judge: whether your argument is genuinely convincing, whether your tone suits a GT letter, and which one habit is holding your band back most. Many students book a 20-minute Book a Teacher session (from ₹299) after every five or six AI-reviewed essays, bringing their latest script for a line-by-line review.
Where to begin
Pick one Task 2 prompt, write it in 40 minutes and look at your four criterion bands. Then spend the next week on the lowest one. Start with the free material on the practice page, and when you are ready for the full prompt bank and AI feedback, create your account. Our blog also posts weekly Writing tips.