Writing exam
Both tasks, one 60-minute clock, exactly as on the day. Task 1 comes with a real chart to describe. Both get marked against all four criteria when you submit.
Sixteen more Task 1 and Task 2 promptsThe Official Guide has two real Writing tasks in each of its eight tests, with Cambridge’s own sample answers in the answer key. Find them at Sit a book paper, write to the clock, then paste the essay here for a criterion-by-criterion band.
One clock for both tasks
There is no separate timer per task on the real test — you get 60 minutes and you allocate
them. If you overrun on Task 1 you are stealing from the task worth double. The
switcher shows both word counts so you always know where you stand.
Do not trust the number I give you
I estimate a band on your writing, and you should treat that estimate as
unreliable. Candidates who compared AI estimates against their real
results report errors in both directions — one had essays scored at band 6 that
came back 7.5; another was told 7.5 and got 7.0; a third got three different scores from
three tools on one essay. It is not a consistent offset you can correct for.
What the feedback here is actually good for: finding your repeating error pattern, telling you whether the overview is missing, whether you addressed every part of the prompt, and rewriting a paragraph at band 8 so you can diff it against yours. Use it for diagnosis. For calibration, use the official marked scripts — real answers with real examiner bands.
What the feedback here is actually good for: finding your repeating error pattern, telling you whether the overview is missing, whether you addressed every part of the prompt, and rewriting a paragraph at band 8 so you can diff it against yours. Use it for diagnosis. For calibration, use the official marked scripts — real answers with real examiner bands.
Before you sit this, read a band 8.5 script
IELTS publishes marked scripts with examiner comments up to band 8.5.
An hour with those is worth more than an hour writing blind — you cannot hit a target you
have never seen.
Full test
original tasks · fresh combination each time you begin
Focused drill — one paragraph, marked on its criteria
for the rebuild and technique tiers: fix one component at a time
Two-minute error sweep
stop writing — every “no” is a fix
- Did I strike out the prepositional phrases and check every verb against its head noun?
- Is every abstract or generic noun free of the unless the reader can identify which one?
- Does every however / therefore / moreover sit after a semicolon or a full stop, not a comma?
- Are research / evidence / information / equipment / advice all singular with singular verbs?
- Is every since / over the past clause in the present perfect, and every bare year in the past simple?
- Do the items in every list share the same grammatical form?
- Are commas around a relative clause only where the clause is “by the way”?
- Did I use at least three structures from the range list — and none of them twice?
2:00
Wrote this one on paper? Photograph it →
Same marker, same descriptors — the task above is filled in for you, so Task Response is marked against the real prompt rather than guessed.