If you are a Citizen of a non-English speaking country and like to migrate to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, etc for the for purpose of education or employment, then you are required to appear an English language proficiency test: International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The test measures your ability to communicate in English across all four language proficiencies – listening, reading, writing and speaking.

In this article I would like to discuss the writing module of the IELTS test. Before making an analysis of the writing module, let me make clear what is Academic test and what is General test. The Academic test in IELTS is meant for those who go for education; on the other hand the General test is for prospective employees in these English speaking countries. And, the nature of the writing tests slightly differs from one test to another.

The writing module of the IELTS academic test has two sections: Task 1- Data Interpretation and Task 2- Issue Writing. In the task-1, you come across charts, tables, diagrams or graphs that contain some data pertaining to income and expenditure of a family with break-up details or details pertaining to demand for a commodity in different places at different periods. You need to understand the data and write it in your own words. Here, you are given 20 minutes time, the word limit being 150.

In IELTS issue writing you come across some statements: Poverty is the root of all social evils. Discuss! Or, do you agree that women should also be allowed into all defense services equally with men? Here you need to express your opinion and you should justify your answer with convincing arguments. Moreover, your language should be grammatically correct and free from spelling errors. You must answer to the point with clarity and coherence in the presentation. Issue writing is common for Academic and General tests. Here, you are given 40 minutes time, the word limit being 250.

I would advise you to read opinion and editorial columns in newspapers and magazines. It will help you acquire good content on socio-economic issues. Also, high school level social science books are also a good source for your content to write issues. You can expect high band score in IELTS writing module when your issue contains some new and fresh ideas. Moreover, never attempt to reproduce any content that you have lifted from some guides. Rather, collect ideas from different sources and present them in your own words.

The General test does not contain data interpretation; instead, it has letter writing.IELTS General test takers should be conversant with writing all sorts of letters: complaints, informal letters, invitation letters, etc. All the standards of good writing-spellings, case, grammar, coherence, etc apply to letter writing as well. Make sure that your writing is legible and neat. It is very important that you practice writing letters and issues well before you take the test. You can have many more tips on IELTS writing module by accessing the online portal-IELTS4U.