By English Test Coach · Updated
Choose the right writing practice
IELTS Academic vs General Training Writing
The clearest difference is Task 1: Academic asks you to describe visual information; General Training asks you to write a letter. Both tests also include a Task 2 essay. Match your preparation to the test you need, then read the individual question carefully.
This page compares writing tasks. Confirm which IELTS test your receiving organisation accepts before booking; a preference for charts or letters does not decide that requirement.
What changes and what stays the same?
| Feature | Academic | General Training |
|---|---|---|
| Task 1 | Visual report | Letter |
| Task 2 | Essay | Essay |
| Total time | 60 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Task 1 minimum | 150 words | 150 words |
| Task 2 minimum | 250 words | 250 words |
| Score weighting | Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 | Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 |
The official IELTS writing overview recommends about 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 for Task 2. Complete both tasks. The figures above are minimum lengths, not a reason to pad a finished argument or copy every number from a chart. Our word-count guide shows how to develop a short response and remove repetition.
A similar setting can require a completely different response
These two original English Test Coach questions involve local facilities. Their subject matter does not determine the format: the source and instruction do. The extracts below are parts of longer teaching answers, not complete responses or official scored scripts.
Academic Task 1: report what the source shows
The bar chart shows enrolments in six types of evening class at a community centre in 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
One possible overview from the full answer:
Overall, fitness and languages recorded the highest totals and together accounted for half of all enrolments. Computing had the smallest number, while the remaining categories occupied the middle of the range.
This selects a leading group and the smallest category. The supporting paragraphs compare the displayed enrolment counts. It does not recommend which classes the centre should run or invent a reason for their popularity.
The chart covers one year, so the report compares categories rather than describing a rise over time. A different visual might require a trend, a map comparison or a process sequence.
General Training Task 1: communicate with a recipient
You would like to hire a public hall for a local club. Write a letter to the venue manager. Explain the purpose of the event, describe the facilities you need, and ask about availability and cost.
The opening of the full letter:
Dear Venue Manager, I am writing on behalf of Brookton Photography Club to enquire about hiring the Riverside Public Hall for our annual exhibition. We expect approximately eighty visitors on either Saturday 12 or Saturday 19 November, and would need access from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. for setup, viewing and removal.
This establishes the writer, event and request. The later paragraphs explain facilities and ask about availability and cost. The invented club, visitor estimate and dates are relevant details in this original model letter; they are not facts to import into the chart report.
Choose a tone that fits the recipient and situation. The official General Training format guidance describes personal, semi-formal and formal letters, with three points to cover. Write connected paragraphs, using an appropriate greeting and sign-off.
The practical difference is where your detail comes from. For the report, check a claim against the supplied visual. For the letter, develop the stated situation so the recipient can understand and respond, while covering every requested point. Neither task asks you to write a general essay about community centres.
Task 2 is an essay in both tests
In both formats, respond to the given viewpoint, argument or problem with relevant reasoning and support. That shared task does not mean the two tests use identical questions. Academic essays use an academic or semi-formal style; General Training guidance specifies a semi-formal or neutral discursive essay. An informal Task 1 letter style should not become your default Task 2 style.
Planning skills transfer: identify the instruction, develop relevant ideas and keep the judgement consistent. A discussion question needs a different coverage plan from an agree/disagree question, whichever test you are preparing for. Use the Task 2 question-type guide and original essay topics.
The writing criteria guide explains Task Achievement for Task 1 and Task Response for Task 2, alongside organisation, vocabulary and grammar. A report overview, a letter’s clear purpose and an essay’s supported position do different jobs; one memorised opening cannot replace all three.
Choose practice that matches your required test
Preparing for Academic
Practise selecting and comparing visual information, then add an essay task. Start with the same evening-class chart used above.
Preparing for General Training
Practise purpose, requested detail and recipient-appropriate tone, then add an essay task. Start with the hall enquiry used above.
Both workspaces provide a planner, timer, word count and draft download without an account; the rule-based demo is not an AI score. These original practice questions help you study the formats and do not predict an exam paper.
Check that the response fits the task
A learner plans to open the enrolment report with “Dear Centre Manager, I believe the centre should add more fitness classes.” Another plans to open the hall enquiry with “Overall, the hall has the highest number of visitors.” What has each plan misunderstood?
Compare the two repairs
The report needs a description of the supplied chart, not a greeting and policy recommendation. Identify the measure and year, then select the main pattern and supporting comparisons. The hall letter needs a clear hiring request; there is no visitor-comparison chart from which to claim a highest total.
For the letter, introduce the event and explain what information you need from the manager. For the report, use only comparisons supported by the source. Familiar vocabulary about facilities does not make the writing jobs interchangeable.
- Have you selected your actual test and task?
- Does the opening do the job the instruction requires?
- Does your detail come from the right source?
- Have you planned time for both Task 1 and Task 2?
When you are ready, choose a complete original practice question and use the linked sample after your own attempt.