IELTS Academic Writing – Task 2
Task Description
What are candidates required to do?
In Writing Task 2 candidates are given a topic to write about. Answers
should be a discursive consideration of the relevant issues, as required by the rubic. The writing style should be formal
and academic. Candidates should make sure that they read and answer
the question fully. If the topic is computers they should make sure
they understand exactly what aspect of computers they need to discuss.
They should not simply write about computers in general. Candidates
should write at least 250 words.
Is Task 2 compulsory?
Yes, it is. Because Task 2 carries more marks, candidates who fail to attempt to answer this task will greatly reduce their chance of reaching a good band.
How long does it take?
Candidates are asked to spend no more than 40 minutes on this task.
What style must candidates write in?
Semi-formal/neutral. Discursive writing is usually written in this
style, even when a specific reader is not identified.
What skills are being tested?
For this task candidates are assessed on their ability to present
an argument clearly giving evidence or examples to support their
ideas. They are also assessed on how well their ideas are organised
and the accuracy of the language they use. They should make sure
that each of their ideas is sufficiently developed and that all
of their ideas are relevant to the question. Candidates are expected
to write at least 250 words. Short answers will be penalised. Candidates
will not be penalised if an answer is longer. However, if they write
a very long answer they may not have time for checking and correcting
at the end and some ideas may not be directly relevant to the question.
They may also produce handwriting which is unclear. Candidates should
try to discipline themselves to plan their ideas, select the most
relevant ones and organise these so that they are presented as clearly
and as accurately as possible within the time allowed. Finally candidates
should make sure that they do not copy directly from the Question
Paper because if they do, this will not be assessed. Candidates
should use their own words when writing their answer.
How are answers assessed?
Examiners assess the answers according to these criteria:
- Task Response (i.e. how fully and appropriately the candidate has answered all parts of the task; the extent to which the candidate's ideas are relevant, developed and supported; the extent to which the candidate's position is clear and effective)
- Coherence and Cohesion (i.e. how well the information and ideas are organised and presented, including paragraphing; how well the information is linked)
- Lexical Resource (i.e. the range of vocabulary used, how accurately it is used and how appropriate it is for the task)
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy (i.e. the range of structures used, how accurately they are used and how appropriate they are for the task)
Are there any other regulations the candidate needs to know?
- They must write their answers on the Answer Sheet provided.
- If candidates write less than the minimum word limit, they will be penalised.
- They will be penalised for irrelevance if the response is off-topic.
- Any writing which is plagiarised (i.e. copied from another source) will be severely penalised.
- They will be penalised if their answer is not written as full connected text (e.g. using bullet points in any part of the response, or note form etc).
Understanding the Task
To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to produce a good answer.
Look at this sample Writing Task 2. Complete the task, thinking about how you are doing it.
Things to consider
Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers.
- Is the text in normal print simply advice, or do candidates have to follow it?
- Are there two sentences that give candidates instructions here?
- Is the writing in bold italics the question candidates have to answer?
- Do candidates only have to answer the question ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree ’?
- Do candidates have to be able to talk about cars in Britain between 1888 and 2000?
- Do candidates have to talk specifically about cars and not trains or buses?
- Is it enough for candidates to just give their own opinion about this topic?
- Do candidates have to pretend to be a specialist when they are writing their answer?
- Do candidates have to write a formal letter to answer this question?
- Do candidates have to talk about problems with cars in the past as well as the future?
