StudyIELTSWriting
Paper 3 · Two tasks · Sixty minutes

Task 2counts double.

Task 1 is a camera: describe, do not preach. Task 2 is an argument: one position, held throughout, finished. Under-length answers lose marks; memorised answers score zero. Band 7 is not bigger words. It is a clear overview, a clear position, and sentences without errors.

Task 1 · Academic
Report · 150+ words · 20 min
graph, chart, table, process, map
Task 1 · General
Letter · 150+ words · 20 min
formal, semi-formal, informal
Task 2 · both
Essay · 250+ words · 40 min
two-thirds of the band
On computer
live word count · autosave
Task 1

The report.
The letter.

Academic · the report

Four paragraphs, always. One sentence that paraphrases what the chart shows. One overview paragraph: the big shape, two or three main trends or differences, no numbers needed. Then two detail paragraphs that group the data and quote the key figures.

The overview is the paragraph that separates Band 5 from Band 7. The descriptor for 7 says "presents a clear overview of main trends, differences or stages"; for 5 it says "recounts detail mechanically with no clear overview". Listing every year like a robot is the Band 5 pattern.

Language that earns marks: rose sharply, fell gradually, peaked at, remained stable, accounted for, overtook, roughly doubled, the highest proportion. Group, compare, never give an opinion.

Maps: before and after, location language (to the north of, adjacent to, was replaced by). Processes: stages in order, passive voice (the mixture is heated, the paper is then pressed).

General Training · the letter

Three bullets, three paragraphs. Every bullet in the prompt must be covered; a missed bullet is a missed task. Open with the purpose in the first sentence. Close with the action you want or the next step.

Tone is the mark. Band 7: "presents a clear purpose, with the tone consistent and appropriate". Band 5: "the tone may be variable and sometimes inappropriate". Decide before you write: formal (Dear Sir or Madam, Yours faithfully), semi-formal (Dear Mr Patel, Yours sincerely), informal (Hi Priya, Take care).

Common letter types: request, complaint, apology, enquiry, invitation, explanation to a landlord or a manager. Each has a stock opening and a stock close; learn six of each and never think about them again.

Task 2 · five prompt types · five structures

Read the question.
Answer that one.

01Opinion — "To what extent do you agree or disagree?"
Position in the introduction, held in every paragraph, restated at the end. Two body paragraphs, each one reason with one concrete example. Sitting on the fence without saying so is a Band 6 ceiling; "I largely agree, although…" with a real concession is Band 7 behaviour.
02Discuss both views and give your opinion
Three jobs, in order: view one with a reason, view two with a reason, your opinion. The opinion must appear; most candidates forget it. Say it in the introduction too, so the examiner sees a position throughout.
03Advantages and disadvantages
If the question asks whether advantages outweigh disadvantages, you must say which. If it only asks you to discuss both, balance them. One paragraph each, one example each.
04Problem and solution · cause and effect
Paragraph one: the problem or cause, explained, with an example. Paragraph two: the solution or effect, specific, with who does it. "The government should raise awareness" is a Band 5 solution. "Councils could run night buses on one corridor" is a Band 7 solution.
05Two-part questions
Two questions in the prompt, two body paragraphs, in the same order. Answer both fully; a brilliant answer to one is a half-answered task.
5 min
Plan
Type, position, two ideas, one example each. On paper. Every time.
5 min
Introduction
Paraphrase the prompt, state the position. Two sentences.
22 min
Two bodies
Topic sentence, explanation, example, link back. One idea, one paragraph.
4 min
Conclusion
Restate the position. No new ideas.
4 min
Check
Articles, subject-verb, tense. The three errors the examiner sees first.
Model answers · the Band 7 pattern, annotated

What it
looks like.

General Training Task 1 · You recently moved into a rented flat and there is a problem with the heating. Write a letter to the landlord. Say what the problem is, explain how it affects you, and say what you would like them to do.

Dear Mr Okafor,

I am writing about the heating in Flat 4B, which I moved into on the first of the month. Since the second week, the radiators in the bedroom and the living room have stopped working, although the one in the kitchen still runs.

As the evenings are already cold, the flat is uncomfortable to live in and I have been working from the kitchen table every day. I am also concerned that the damp patch under the bedroom window, which I mentioned when I signed the agreement, will get worse without any heat in that room.

I would be grateful if you could arrange for a heating engineer to inspect the system this week. If a repair is going to take longer, could you provide a portable heater in the meantime? I am available any weekday after 5 p.m. and all day on Saturday.

Thank you for your help with this.

Yours sincerely,
Anita Deshmukh

Why this is the pattern · 168 words
Purpose in sentence one. Three bullets, three paragraphs, in order. Semi-formal tone held from "Dear Mr" to "Yours sincerely". One concrete detail per paragraph (the kitchen radiator, the damp patch, Saturday). A specific request with a fallback. No memorised phrases.
Task 2 · Some people think international students should work part-time during their studies. Others believe they should focus only on their course. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Whether students who move abroad should take paid work while studying is a decision most of them face within weeks of arriving. Both positions have merit, but I believe limited part-time work does more good than harm.

Those who argue for focusing only on the course point to the cost of failure. A student who fails a module because of night shifts loses far more than the wages earned, since tuition abroad is paid per year and a repeated term may also affect a visa. In demanding programmes such as engineering, the timetable itself leaves little room for anything else.

However, part-time work provides more than income. In Canada, for example, employers routinely ask for local experience, and a student who has worked even in a campus library arrives at graduation with references and a resume that reads as local. Work also forces daily use of English outside the classroom, which improves the fluency that examiners and interviewers reward.

In my view, the answer depends on the hours rather than the principle. Around fifteen hours a week, in a role connected to the field of study where possible, supports the degree instead of competing with it. Beyond that, the risks described above start to outweigh the benefits.

In conclusion, part-time work is worthwhile for international students provided the hours stay modest and the course remains the priority.

Why this is the pattern · 273 words
Position in the introduction and again in paragraph four and the conclusion: "a clear position throughout". Each body paragraph has one job and one example (a failed module, a campus library). Linking is invisible: however, for example, in my view, and nothing else. Words are precise, not impressive. Sentences are error-free. A real concession ("depends on the hours") instead of fence-sitting.
Grammar that costs a band · the errors examiners see most from Indian candidates

Fix these first.

Articlesa · an · the"Government should build the roads" → "The government should build roads." Countable singular nouns need an article; general plurals do not.
Subject and verbAgreement"The number of students are rising" → "is rising." Find the real subject, not the nearest noun.
TenseShiftingA general truth stays in the present. A chart of the past stays in the past. Do not drift between them inside one paragraph.
Run-onsThe comma splice"Cities are growing, this causes pollution" → two sentences, or "which causes". A comma cannot join two sentences.
Memorised phrases"In this modern era""It is a burning issue", "a boon or a bane", "every coin has two sides". Examiners know the list. They mark it as memorised, which the descriptors penalise.
Over-linkingMoreover, furthermoreBand 5 "makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of cohesive devices". One linker per paragraph, where it is needed. Not one per sentence.
The descriptors · Writing
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