IELTS General Training Writing : Format, Practice Lesson & Tips

Candidates who want to understand the structure of the IELTS General training writing test can check the table below

Also Check: IELTS Academic vs General Tests - What's the Difference?

When you do IELTS General Training Writing Task 1, they ask you to write a letter for a situation. I feel sometimes it is little difficult because you have to answer just like you talk with real person. The reason of this task is to see how good you can use English for communication in letter. So, it is better if you write at least 150 words. They say you should try to finish in about 20 minutes, but sometimes I need bit more time if my ideas come slow.

They give you a prompt where it tells what happen, and you see three bullets for what things you need to write in your letter. Like, maybe you need to ask some information, or maybe explain what’s going on, or say how you feel about something. This part is interesting for me because each letter feels different.

Now, letters can be written different way. If you write to your friend or someone in family, you be more relaxed and write like you talk to them, maybe with some jokes. If you write to a person from work or someone you don’t know very well, you try to make it polite but not very serious. But if you write to people like your boss or some official, then you use more formal and good language, which I sometimes find little hard but I try my best.

There are lot of examples you can get, like maybe you write to hostel officer about room problem, or tell your new boss about why you are having trouble with time for work, or write to newspaper about airport plans, or maybe ask the rent office for fixing heater because it is cold and you feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, letter topics feels very real, just like real life problems.

When you start to write, don’t forget:

• Pick right style for the person you are writing.
• Write what question said, not extra stories.
• Don’t use bullet points, just write in sentence and paragraph like letter.
• Try to use at least 150 words, not too short, but if you write much, you maybe get slow for Task 2, so just watch your time.
• Sometimes letter feels difficult but when you think about what you want to say, it can be fun too. Just try to write your ideas clear and simple, then it will be okay.

Also Read- 

• Free IELTS Preparation Resources
• FREE IELTS Preparation Classes

IELTS General Training Writing Task 2 requires you to write semi-formal or neutral discursive essay while expressing your opinion on the topic. You get to write the min. 250 words essay in about 40 minutes. Some common topics on which you might have to write are-

• Whether children’s leisure activities should be educational.
• How we can solve environmental issues.
• Should smoking should be banned in public places.

Here are the writing guidelines-

• Start with an introduction - followed by body paragraphs and a conclusion.
• Each paragraph should be dedicated towards the central idea
• Summarise the main points and restate your opinion.

Here are the tips to prepare for IELTS General Training Writing test-

• Understand each IELTS General Writing Task in detail and practice it accordingly.
• Use sample prompts to practice tasks under timed conditions.
• Spend a few minutes on planning your answer before you start writing to ensure clear structure and coherence in each paragraph
• Analyse high scoring responses to understand effective writing techniques
• If possible - have your writing evaluated by teachers or peers to identify areas of improvement