Narration:

As you probably know, there are two sections to the IELTS writing test – Task 1 and Task 2. Each comes with a different set of instructions, telling you how it should be completed. In Task 2, you are given four different instructions as well as the essay title.

The first instruction is that You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Note that the instruction says about. This is because how long you spend on each task is up to you. The writing test takes one hour in total so you need to keep a close eye on the time. This is because Task 2 is more heavily weighted – meaning that Task 2 is worth more to your final result than Task 1. This is why we strongly recommend that you start with Task 2. If you do run short of time, you get a better score if Task 2 is completed, even if you didn’t have as much time as you needed for Task 1.

The second instruction is that you should Write about the following topic. After this, of course, comes your essay title.

The third instruction is that you should Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples or evidence from your own knowledge and experience. This means that whatever ideas or opinions you put in your essay, they must be developed and supported with examples. We will look in more detail at adding examples to your paragraphs in Unit 3.

The final instruction is You should write at least 250 words. This is very important as writing fewer than 250 words is a certain way to lose points.

Here’s a complete example of what you will see in your writing test. [Shown on the video]