If you’re practicing for the IELTS test, you might already know that the most efficient way to do so is by using practice tests. For that reason, we have compiled some practice tests for you to train for the Writing section of the IELTS exam!
IELTS Writing: Academic Free Practice Tests
IELTS Academic & General Training Writing Practice Tests
IELTS Academic Writing Practice Test – Task 1
IELTS Academic Writing Practice Test – Task 2
IELTS Writing: General Training Free Practice Tests
IELTS General Training Writing Practice Test
IELTS General Training Writing Practice Test – Task 1
IELTS General Training Writing Practice Test – Task 2
You can also take a look at our main IELTS practice tests page to get access to practice tests for all the other sections of the IELTS.
IELTS Academic Writing Section Task 1 Practice Test: Short Essay
Let’s have a look at some sample questions for Task 1. The following questions features a graph:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The two pie charts below show the salary range of employees by highest achieved education.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.Sample Answer
The above charts show salary ranges for employees, comparing the earnings of those who have earned bachelor’s degrees to those have earned master’s degrees or higher. The first chart shows that employees who hold a bachelor’s degree generally earn between $20 000 and $60 000 a year, with a smaller percentage of employees earning more and a still smaller percentage earning less. Among employees with higher degrees, however, no employee earned less than $20 000 annually, and the majority earned $40 000 to $80 000. Similarly, 15% of employees earned over $80 000 a year, whereas no employee with a only a bachelor’s degree did. These data suggest that salary is at least moderately correlated with education, although the existence of a relationship does not necessarily mean that obtaining further education will increase salaries. However, no employee with a master’s degree fell among the lowest-paid employees (i.e. earnings under $20 000 per year) and no employee with only a bachelor’s degree was among the highest paid (i.e. earnings over $80 000).
The following question is slightly more complicated:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The drawings and the graph below show the progression of brain size in Hominid skulls.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.Sample Answer
The drawings, combined with the graph, depict the evolution of hominid skulls. The drawings indicate the measurements of the brain within each species, as the hominid line progresses. The evidence shows that with each progression of hominid species, the size of the brain increases. In fact, the size of the brain almost triples between the time of Australopithecus afarensis, four million years ago, and that of modern Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis appear to have evolved around the same time, but it was Homo neanderthalensis whose brain was the largest at 1500 cm^3. Despite its superior brain volume, the Homo neanderthalensis would not survive. The graph is another visual interpretation of this data, but includes the fact that along with an increase in brain volume is a decrease in the size of the species’ teeth, which could indicate that an increase in brain activity correlates with a decrease in the need for brute force.
IELTS Academic Writing Section Task 2 Practice Tests: Long Essay
The following practice tests are for the task 2 of the IELTS Academic Writing section.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.Sample Answer
I personally feel that individuals should be able to emote or express themselves as they wish in private but believe in some public situations there should be limits. In the private home, people should be able to act expressively, to share emotions with friends and loved ones. To some extent I understand that government always has to decide which expressions and behaviors to promote and which to try to prevent.
I do not agree that the act of frowning should be worth a fine but I respect the Milanese government to make that distinction. I can only imagine this law was passed with what the legislators felt was good intention. I believe that it can be challenging to try to interpret laws from other parts of the world without having the local context to understand the.
From the information provided, it seems like they value certain aspects of what frowning could mean. If smiling is the opposite of a frown, and their intention is to promote smiling, then I can see why a law like this might make sense.
I definitely do not agree that a public fine should be used to promote smiling or dissuade frowning. This type of law does not seem reasonable to me. I have a hard time with the notion of putting a monetary value on human expression. People are very unique and encounter the world in very personal ways. While I respect Milan to create laws like this, I do not agree with them.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.Sample Answer
Meditation is a profound part of my life which has revealed immense healing capacity and innate resiliencies that I was not necessarily aware of. It took me a really long time to realize this though! T
he idea of quieting my mind has at times felt harder to achieve. In the beginning I would get caught up with wondering if I was doing it right. Eventually I realized that there in lies the practice. Meditation can be about just releasing into the present moment in the truest possible way. I definitely agree that meditation has created sustainable positivity in my life.
As a researcher, I was very intrigued to see how evidence validated meditation practices have emerged to be. Centuries old practices affirmed in modern labs and with current research techniques, proving what sages had learned intuitively. I have read extensively on both thetraditional uses of meditation and the modern research with validates it. This is part of the reason why I have shared meditative practices with friends, colleagues and the public.
I really love mediation and believe it is really important for my own personal healing is because I feel it has opened up my ability to trust myself, know my body and be free in the bliss and everlasting present. It’s nice that research validates it but even if it didn’t my own lived experience would still be rich. I enjoy what meditation brings into my life. It helps me to feel wonderful and that’s the only reason I need to continue my practice.
When studying, always read the sample answers as you can learn techniques and vocabulary that you can use in your next IELTS essay topic!
What Are The Instructions For The IELTS Academic Writing Section?
The IELTS Writing Tasks, both Academic and General, lasts 1 hour, with Task 1 taking approximately 20 minutes and Task 2 lasting 40 minutes. Although Task 2 is the same for both papers, Task 1 is very different. If you are planning on taking the IELTS Academic Paper you need to make sure you do lots of IELTS writing practice, as well as looking closely at IELTS writing samples. Reading IELTS Writing Samples is one of the best ways to improve your score!
Before we move onto some IELTS writing samples, let’s have a more detailed look at the instructions for Task 1 and Task 2.
Instructions For Task 1
For Task 1 you need to write an essay of a minimum of 150 words. If you write under 150 words, you’ll be penalised so make sure you reach the minimum. Instead of writing a letter, as you would for the IELTS General test, you must describe some information or data, for example unemployment figures in Germany in the 1990s. It can be presented as a graph, a map or a table.
You could also be asked to describe a process presented in a diagram of flow chart, such as how drinking water is created. Although Task 1 isn’t especially complicated, it’s very easy to get a low result if you’re unprepared.
It’s important to know what the examiners are looking for. They’ll be assessing if you’ve answered the question properly, whether your information is presented clearly and logically, and also looking at the variety in your vocabulary and grammar.
In Task 1, they ask you to present the key information, trends, and main steps. If you are presented with a table of information, for example, you mustn’t list all the information in the table. You must select what information you think is important and why. You do not need to write a conclusion in Task 1.
Instructions For Task 2
For Task 2, you must write a minimum of 250 words. As Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1, make sure you plan your time carefully and spend enough time on Task 2. Spend some time taking notes, but don’t write a rough copy of your essay – you won’t have time. Task 2 will usually ask you to agree or disagree with a statement or to give point of view arguments. Each type of question can have slightly different demands, so it’s important to look at IELTS essay samples to familiarize yourself with them as much as possible. For this task, the examiner will check that you answered all parts of the questions logically and clearly. They’ll also evaluate how you presented your knowledge or experience. Finally they’ll verify your vocabulary and grammar.
Before you start writing, read the question at least two times – with the pressure of exam day, it’s very easy to misunderstand the question! The best way to progress in the IELTS Writing Section is to look at some sample exercises!
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