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IELTS Writing Syllabus
Every chapter and topic of Writing examined in IELTS — 3 chapters, 10 topics, plus 51 flashcards written against it.
Writing syllabus — full chapter and topic list
Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Writing in IELTS, not a summary of it.
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Understanding the Writing Test
3 topics- Overview of the Writing Test
- Task 1: Describing Visual Information
- Task 2: Essay Writing
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Strategies for the Writing Test
4 topics- Planning Your Response
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Grammar and Accuracy
- Improving Vocabulary
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Practice Tests
3 topics- Practice Tasks for Task 1
- Practice Tasks for Task 2
- Feedback and Revision
Writing flashcards for IELTS
19 of 51 cards from the Writing deck — real questions with worked answers.
How many tasks does the IELTS Writing test contain, and how long do you have in total?
Two tasks (Task 1 and Task 2) completed in a total of 60 minutes.
How should you divide your time between Task 1 and Task 2 in IELTS Writing?
About 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 minutes on Task 2, because Task 2 carries more weight.
What is the minimum word count for Task 1 and Task 2 in IELTS Writing?
Task 1 requires at least 150 words; Task 2 requires at least 250 words.
How is the final IELTS Writing band calculated from the two tasks?
Task 2 is weighted twice as heavily as Task 1; the weighted average gives the overall Writing band. Symbolically, $\text{Band} = \frac{\text{Task1} + 2\times\text{Task2}}{3}$.
What are the four assessment criteria for IELTS Writing?
Task Achievement (Task 1) / Task Response (Task 2); Coherence and Cohesion; Lexical Resource; and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Each is weighted 25%.
What is the difference between the Academic and General Training versions of Task 1?
Academic Task 1 asks you to describe a graph, chart, table, map, or process; General Training Task 1 asks you to write a letter.
In Academic Writing Task 1, what is your job?
To summarize, describe, and report the main features of visual information (graph, table, chart, map, or diagram) in your own words, without giving opinions.
What are the three main types of letter in General Training Task 1?
Formal, semi-formal, and informal letters, distinguished by the relationship with the recipient and the required tone.
What is the recommended four-paragraph structure for a Task 1 report?
Introduction (paraphrase the question), Overview (main trends/features), and two Body paragraphs giving specific details with data.
What is the 'overview' in a Task 1 report and why is it essential?
A summary of the most striking overall trends or features without specific figures; it is essential because you cannot score above band 5 for Task Achievement without a clear overview.
Which verb tense dominates when describing a chart showing past data (e.g., a year that has ended)?
The past simple tense (e.g., 'sales rose', 'the figure fell').
Give two verbs and two nouns for describing an upward movement in Task 1.
Verbs: to rise, to increase, to climb, to surge. Nouns: a rise, an increase, a climb, a surge.
Give two verbs and two nouns for describing a downward movement in Task 1.
Verbs: to fall, to decrease, to decline, to drop. Nouns: a fall, a decrease, a decline, a drop.
In Task 1, how do you describe the fastest possible change using adverbs and adjectives?
Adverbs: sharply, dramatically, rapidly, steeply. Adjectives: a sharp/dramatic/rapid/steep rise or fall.
What is the grammar pattern for combining a noun of change with an adjective versus a verb with an adverb?
Adjective + noun: 'There was a sharp increase.' Verb + adverb: 'The figure increased sharply.'
How do you express approximation and exact figures when quoting data in Task 1?
Use words like 'approximately', 'around', 'just over/under', 'roughly', 'about' for estimates, and exact numbers for peaks, lows, and key comparisons.
When describing a map in Task 1, which grammatical structure is most useful?
The passive voice (e.g., 'a car park was built', 'the forest was replaced by houses') to describe changes made over time.
When describing a process diagram in Task 1, which language features are essential?
Sequencing markers (first, next, then, after that, finally) and often the present simple passive (e.g., 'the beans are dried').
What does 'Task Response' require you to do in Task 2 that scores well?
Fully address all parts of the prompt, present a clear position throughout, and develop and support ideas with relevant examples and explanations.
Planning Writing for IELTS
Writing is about 25% of the IELTS syllabus by topic count — 10 of 40 topics, spread over 3 chapters. At roughly 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic, a first pass runs to about 8 hours.
The heaviest chapters are Strategies for the Writing Test (4 topics), Understanding the Writing Test (3 topics), Practice Tests (3 topics) . Front-load those while your energy is high; the short chapters are better revision filler later.
Work top-down: read the chapter, then tick topics off individually rather than marking the whole chapter done. Sub-topics are where silent gaps hide.
Writing (IELTS) FAQ
What is in the IELTS Writing syllabus?
Writing is split into 3 chapters — Understanding the Writing Test, Strategies for the Writing Test and Practice Tests, containing 10 topics and 0 sub-topics in total.
How is Writing structured in the IELTS syllabus?
3 chapters. Writing accounts for about 25% of the topics in the whole IELTS syllabus (10 of 40).
How long should I spend on Writing for IELTS?
Budget around 8 hours for a first pass through Writing — about 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic across its 10 topics. Add revision cycles on top.
Are there flashcards for IELTS Writing?
Yes — a 51-card Writing deck. Sample cards are printed on this page, and the full deck is free in the Examius app with spaced repetition scheduling.