IELTS Writing Task 2
Sheik Mia, June 2026
IELTS Writing Task 2 (also known as IELTS Essay Writing) is the second part of the IELTS writing test. In this section, you will be presented with a point of view, argument or problem and asked to write an essay in response. Your IELTS essay should be in a formal style, at least 250 words and must be completed under 40 minutes.
- IELTS Writing has two tasks: Task 1 (a report) and Task 2 (an essay).
- The total time is one hour for both tasks. You should spend only 40 mins on task 2.
- You manage the time for yourself in IELTS writing. No one will tell you when to move from task 1 to task 2.
- The essay is a formal style essay. You should not use informal language in your essay.
- The instructions say “write at least 250 words”. This means you need to write over 250 words.
- Writing task 2 is worth about 66% of your total writing score.
This section contains an average of 70% of your total writing score. The IELTS Writing task 2 answers will be marked based on the 4 main criteria: Task response, coherence and cohesion, vocabulary, and grammar are the main factors that evaluate IELTS writing task two scores.
You must answer what you have been asked in the question. You shouild not produce an essay that is close to a topic you have previously prepared or not related to the given topic. Make sure your examples and ideas are relevant. If you generalise too much and are not specific enough this will affect how your ideas are presented to the examiner. Some of the things that you should keep in mind are:
IELTS Writing Task 2 Academic Vs General
Your IELTS writing task two preparation will depend on your chosen test type. Some basic differences exist between IELTS writing task 2 topics of general and academic tests. The academic IELTS writing task 2 questions are mainly based on educational and informational topics. The general training questions contain everyday life situation-based topics.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Structure
You must follow a formal approach for presenting an argument in both general writing and academic exam patterns of IELTS writing task two. Several structural errors must be avoided while answering IELTS writing task 2 questions, including:Avoiding the use of contractions such as don't, haven't, won't. Refraining from using casual language or dialects in essay writing, such as "I wanna." Avoiding the use of personal examples in IELTS writing Task 2 essays. Avoiding the use of memorized essays.uestions contain everyday life situation-based topics.
Evaluation Criteria of IELTS Writing Task 2
IELTS writing task two topics are designed to evaluate how well you describe all parts of the task and present a fully developed answer. Your scores of IELTS part 2 writing answers will be evaluated based on 4 basic criteria.
