Time and Word Limit in IELTS WRITING
In IELTS writing module there are two tasks, namely Task 1 and Task 2. In Task 1 a graph, chart, table or diagram, or a combination of these is given and you have to summarise and compare information. In Task 2 a topic is given on which you have to write a discursive essay. The topic may be in the form of a statement or a question. These tasks have their specific word and time limit that should be followed strictly or you can lose your score. In this post we will discuss word limit and time allowed in the IELTS writing module.
Before moving forward let’s see what type of ability does these tasks check.
Task 1 tests your ability to analyse data objectively without giving an opinion, whereas Task 2 usually requires a subjective piece of writing on a fairly general topic. Here let me tell you that IELTS exam not only test your knowledge of English language, but also check how much competence you are in using English. We can also say that this test does not check your memory but judge your language skills. You must know this thing as this type of awareness might reduce some of the problems that many candidates have in the IELTS exam.
Word Limit and time allowed
The minimum word limit for Task 1 is 150 words and recommended time to be devoted is about 20 minutes. Task 2 you must write at least 250 words, and you can spend about 40 minutes on this task. In both Tasks, there is no upper word limit but you should write in limit.
It is seen that candidates usually write too much in order to impress the examiner, which creates several problems. In order to write more students start focusing on the length of the essay and they forget to produce a good essay, candidates write irrelevant content and get their score deducted.
It is very important to keep the content in word limits, you can write bit extra but not too much. You could write between 150 and 180 words for Task 1 and 250 and 300 for Task 2 the ideal word limit. If you write less than the limit, you will lose marks. You should not count each word in the exam as it will consume lot of time so the easy way out is that while practising, count the number of words you write per line and then work out how many lines you need to reach the 150/250 word limit. You should also know how the examiner counts the words so that you can work accordingly.
The main reason to recommend not writing much more than the word limit is to give yourself enough time to check what you have written. During the real exam, you should spend 6-7 minutes analysing the question, about 30 minutes writing your essay, and 3-4 minutes checking your essay for mistakes.
Which task to do first: Task 1 or Task 2 first? It is frequently asked question that whether the Task 1 should be done first Task 2. This obviously depends on the individual. Task 2 has more worth than Task 1 so most of the students prefer to do Task 2 first. On the other hand, Task 1 is shorter and can be finished quickly so from the psychological point of view, it gives you a sense of accomplishment when you have finished it.
Note if you write less than 150 words for Task 1 and less than 250 for Task 2, you will lose marks. If you write in excess you will get short of time and you will not be able to complete your task.
