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IELTS General

IELTS General Training is the IELTS test you take primarily if you are planning to go to an English speaking country for work experience, training programs, or secondary education.

If you plan to migrate to Canada, New Zealand, the UK, or Australia, it is also a requirement. 

The focus of the test is on the skills you will need to cope in social and workplace situations while you are abroad.

Preparation Material for IELTS General:

You can learn more about what is in this part of the test below, but these are some of the key pages that will help you prepare for the exam:

Letter Writing

Sample  Answers + Tips

Recent Test Questions

Essay Writing

Sample Answers + Tips

Reading and Listening

Listening Lessons

Reading Lessons

Practice Tests

All Four Modules

Test Format

Writing task 1 - letter.

Time: 20 Minutes

Length: 150 words ( minimum) 

In the writing Task 1 of the IELTS General Training Test you are presented with a situation and you have to write a letter in response.

The letter could be:

• Informal (e.g. writing to a friend or family member)
• Semi-formal (e.g. your landlord or local newspaper)
• Formal (e.g. your bank)

The kind of situations that arise vary but they are often some kind of problem you need to resolve. 

Examples are writing to your university accommodation department about about problems with your housing, writing to a shop about a faulty item you have purchased, or writing to a friend to see if you can stay with them during a trip.

You are always given the  background to the situation , and then  three points  that you must address in the letter. The letter will involve you using your imagination in order to fully discuss the three points.

Here are some examples:

Sample Task 1 Questions

Informal Example Question:

A friend of yours is coming to stay at your house for a week while you are away on holiday. They have not stayed at your house before.

Write a letter to your friend so that you can prepare them for their stay. In your letter:

• Remind him/her about your holiday dates
• Tell him/her what tasks need to be done in your house
• Explain what he/she can do during the day in your town

Semi-formal Example  Question :

You rent an apartment and recently a new neighbour has moved in who lives above you. They are making a lot of noise and this is disturbing you.

Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter: 

• Explain what the problem is
• Explain why it is disturbing you so much
• Tell your landlord what you would like him/her to do about it

Formal Example Question:

You recently purchased an internet package for your house but you think the speed is much slower than it should be. You have complained twice to customer services on the phone but still nothing has been done. 

Write a letter to the manager of the company. In your letter:

• Explain the internet problem
• Explain why you are not happy with the way it has been dealt with
• Say what action you now want the manager to take

Writing Task 2 - Essay

Time: 40 minutes

Length:  250 words ( minimum) 

In the IELTS General Training Task 2 you have to write a short essay on a topic of general interest.

You usually have to do one of these things in relation to the essay:

• Present your opinion
• Discuss problems and solutions
• Discuss causes and solutions
• Compare and contrast

Here are some example essay questions:

Sample Task 2 Questions

Example Question 1:

Some people believe that it is better to educate children at home rather than sending them to school. Other people believe that it is essential that all children attend formal school education.

Discuss both opinions and give your own opinion.

Example  Question 2 :

Many cities around the world these days are becoming more and more polluted.

Why is this happening? What solutions can you suggest?

Example Question 3:

These days many people are choosing to have fewer children and so smaller families.

Is it better to have a small family than a large family?

You can learn more about the IELTS essay in this short video:

Time: 11-14 minutes

The IELTS speaking test for General Training is exactly the same as for the Academic module. 

The test is with an examiner and there are three parts:

• Part 1:  questions on familiar topic areas such as work, study, hobbies, holidays
• Part 2 : a two minute talk on a familiar topic
• Part 3:  Two-way discussion on a more complex topic

You can learn more about the speaking test and see a sample test here:

• IELTS Speaking

Time: 60 minutes

Questions: 40

In the IELTS general reading test you are given three reading passages with a variety of different question types. The sections are as follows:

• Section 1: two or three short factual texts
• Section 2: two short, work-related, factual texts
• Section 3: one longer text on a topic of general interest

The texts are authentic as they are extracts from magazines, journals, notices, advertisements, company handbooks, newspapers and books.

The questions seek to test your skills on:

• reading for main ideas, gist, and detail
• understanding logical argument
• recognising writers' opinions, attitudes and purpose

You can take a full sample reading test for Sections 1-3 here:

• General Training Reading Practice Test

Time:  4 0 minutes

Questions:  40

The IELTS general listening test is the same as for the Academic module.

There are four sections, and each one gets gradually more difficult. The audio lasts 30 minutes and there are then 10 minutes to transfer answers to an answer sheet.

• Section 1: Conversation between two speakers
• Section 2: Speech by one speaker
• Section 3: Conversation between up to four speakers
• Section 4: Speech by one speaker

You can learn more about what is in the listening test here:

• IELTS Listening

Or have some practice with some tests:

• IELTS Listening Tests

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• IELTS General Writing Task 2: Essay Sample Answers

The 2nd task in IELTS General Writing is to write an essay. Here are the examples of successful responses for a high score. Pay attention to the structure of the answer and how paragraphs composition; main ideas and the examples they are supported with.

IELTS General Writing Task 2 looks like this (part in bold changes).

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: Some people think that the teenage years are the happiest times of most people's lives. Others think that adult life brings more happiness, in spite of greater responsibilities. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

In this task you should:      Explain the first point of view      Explain the second point of view      Add your opinion

Sample answer:

What's the happiest time in people's lives: youth or old age; school, career or retirement? All of these have been suggested, but teenage years and adulthood both have many supporters.

Those who believe teenagers are the happiest people cite their lack of responsibilities as a significant factor. They are supported financially and emotionally by their parents, and although they may be included in family decisions, they're not ultimately responsible. However, adolescents are on the threshold of adult life: they're old enough to get a part-time job, so they can enjoy their first taste of financial independence, and their future study and career lie ahead.

Away from these serious concerns, young people have an active social life with their friends, often simply by hanging out with them. And of course, there’s the excitement of first love and first heartbreak. With all this to experience, teenagers see their parents' lives as boring and stressful.

However, the reverse is also true. Adults see anxious, self-dramatising adolescents, and appreciate the joys of maturity. These may include a contented family life, long-lasting friendships and a career. Long-term relationships may not have the fireworks of adolescence, but are stronger for it, because of the wealth of shared experience. At work, many of us are challenged and stimulated by the increasing, professional skills we acquire, which ensures that our jobs remain interesting.

The greatest benefit, though, is that maturity gives you greater confidence in your own judgement, in all areas of life. You’re not afraid to express your opinion when others disagree and, unlike a teenager, you know when to let things go.

Both these periods can be happy times, but I look back at my own teenage years, with no desire to go back. Adult life may be less dramatic, but fireworks don’t keep you warm

In cities and towns all over the world the high volume of traffic is a problem.

What are the causes of this and what actions can be taken to solve this problem?

It is undoubtedly the case that urban areas around the world increasingly suffer from congestion. In this essay, I examine the reasons for this trend and suggest some practical policies the authorities could implement to reduce the level of traffic in our cities.

The first step is to understand why traffic has increased in towns and cities. Broadly speaking, there are three main reasons for this. One is that cars have become more affordable for the average consumer and they are no longer a luxury item, but something that most families expect to own. A second reason is that public transport has become increasingly unreliable in recent years, not least because many bus and train services have been reduced because of the difficulty in funding them. The third reason is that society has in general become more mobile and this means more people are prepared to commute to work by car than they were before.

There is almost certainly no one solution to this problem given the complexity of its causes. However, one option has to be to improve the reliability of public transport to encourage people to take the bus or the train rather than get in the car. It would also be possible to discourage people from driving to work by introducing special tariffs for using the roads, especially during peak periods. A successful example of this is the congestion charge scheme in London which has certainly reduced the level of trafficin inner-city areas.

In conclusion, there are a variety of different factors that have led to rising levels of traffic in urban areas. While it may not be possible to find a complete solution, any action should probably involve encouraging greater use of public transport and making it more expensive for the motorist to drive in urban areas.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: Some people believe that children should be allowed to stay at home and play until they are six or seven years old. Others believe that it is important for young children to go to school as soon as possible. What do you think are the advantages of attending school from a young age? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

Here we write about the benefits. Remember: 1 advantage = 1 paragraph.

In many places today, children start primary school at around the age of six or seven. However, because it is more likely now that both parents work, there is little opportunity for children to stay in their own home up to that age. Instead, they will probably go to a nursery school when they are much younger. While some people think this may be damaging to a child’s development, or to a child’s relationship with his or her parents, in fact there are many advantages to having school experience at a young age. Firstly, a child will learn to interact with a lot of different people and some children learn to communicate very early because of this. They are generally more confident and independent than children who stay at home with their parents and who are not used to strangers or new situations. Such children find their first day at school at the age of six very frightening and this may have a negative effect on how they learn. Another advantage of going to school at an early age is that children develop faster socially. They make friends and learn how to get on with other children of a similar age. This is often not possible at home because they are the only child, or because their brothers or sisters are older or younger. So overall, I believe that, attending school from a young age is good for most children. They still spend plenty of time at home with their parents, so they can benefit from both environments.

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IELTS General Training format: Writing

Every detail you need for the Writing part of your IELTS General Training test

What’s in the IELTS General Training Writing paper?

There are two Writing tasks and BOTH must be completed.

In Task 1, you have to respond to a situation by writing a letter, for example, asking for information or explaining a situation. You need to write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.

In Task 2, you are given a point of view, argument or problem which you need to discuss . You need to write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes.

You must write your answers using full sentences. You must not write your answers as notes or bullet points. You must write your answers on the answer sheet. You are allowed to write notes on the question paper but these will not be seen by the examiner.

Certificated IELTS examiners assess your performance on each Writing task. There are four assessment criteria (things which the examiner thinks about when deciding what score to give you):

• Task achievement/response
• Coherence and cohesion
• Lexical resource
• Grammatical range and accuracy.

Task achievement (in Task 1) and Task response (in Task 2) assess how accurately, appropriately and relevantly your response covers the task requirements, using the minimum of 150 words for Task 1 and 250 words for Task 2.

In Task 1, Task achievement refers to how well your letter achieves its purpose.

In Task 2, Task response includes how well you develop your argument in response to the task, giving evidence and examples which may be from your own experience.

Coherence and cohesion assesses how clear and fluent your writing is, and how you organise ideas and information. It includes giving your ideas in a logical order, and using a range of cohesive devices (for example, linking words, pronouns and conjunctions, etc.) appropriately.

Lexical resource assesses the range of vocabulary you use, and how accurately and appropriately you use it.

Grammatical range and accuracy assesses the range of grammar you use and how accurately and appropriately you use it.

Time allowed : 60 minutes

Number of tasks : 2

Marking : Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.

Writing tasks 1 and 2

What's involved.

In General Training Writing Task 1, you are given a situation and you need to write a response of at least 150 words in the form of a letter. Depending on the task, the letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in style. The question paper tells you what information to include in the form of three bullet points.

You might need to ask for or give information and/or explain a situation. The situations you need to write about are common, everyday situations such as:

• writing to a college accommodation officer about problems with your accommodation
• writing to a new employer about problems you are having with managing your time
• writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport
• writing to a renting agency to sort out problems with the heating system in your house.

The style of writing that you use depends on who you are asked to write to and how well you are supposed to know them. You need to choose a style that is appropriate for your audience and will help you achieve your purpose for writing, e.g. writing to a friend (personal) or writing to a manager (semi-formal or formal).

You should spend no more than 20 minutes on this task. You need to write at least 150 words and will be penalised if your answer is too short. While test takers will not be penalised for writing more than 150 words, you should remember that a longer Task 1 answer may mean that you have less time to spend on Task 2, which contributes twice as much to your Writing band score.

You should remember that you will be penalised if what you write is not related to the topic. You will also be penalised if your answer is not written as a whole piece of connected text (i.e. you must not use notes or bullet points). You will be severely penalised if your writing is plagiarised (i.e. copied from another source).

You do not need to write any addresses at the top of your letter.

You must write your answer on the answer sheet.

What skills are tested?

This task tests if you are able to write a letter which is well organised and appropriate in its register and style.

Depending on the task type, you will be assessed on your ability to:

• ask for and/or provide general factual information
• express needs, wants, likes and dislikes
• express opinions (views, complaints, etc.).

How much do I have to write?

A minimum of 150 words.

In General Training Writing Task 2, you need to write a semi-formal/neutral discursive essay of a minimum of 250 words.

The instructions for Task 2 give information about an opinion, argument or problem. The instructions then tell you what you should discuss in your essay.

You will need to write about a topic of general interest, such as:

• whether children’s leisure activities should be educational
• how environmental problems can be solved
• whether smoking should be banned in public places.

You should make sure that you write your answer carefully so that you give a complete response that is also relevant. To do this you will need to organise your ideas clearly and make sure you use relevant examples (which can be from your own experience, if relevant) or evidence. For this task, you need to be able to discuss more abstract and complex ideas and use a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures.

You should spend no more than 40 minutes on this task. You must write at least 250 words and will be penalised if your answer is too short. While you will not be penalised for writing more than 250 words, if you write a very long answer you may not have time for checking and correcting at the end, and some ideas may not be directly relevant to the question. You may also produce handwriting which is unclear.

This task tests if you can write a clear, relevant, well-organised argument, giving evidence or examples to support your ideas, and use language accurately. Depending on the task type, you will be assessed on your ability to:

• provide general factual information
• outline a problem and present a solution
• present and possibly justify an opinion
• evaluate and discuss ideas, evidence or an argument.

A minimum of 250 words.

Learn about the other sections of the test

Time allowed: Approximately 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes to transfer your answers to an answer sheet)

Time allowed: 60 minutes (including transfer time)

Time allowed: 11–14 minutes

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How to prepare

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Knowing this, you are probably working hard to ace all parts of the IELTS test but you might need to pay more attention to the Academic Writing section. 

Not only does it involve writing a series of texts, but you will also have to do it on a strict time limit that could easily add extra stress. 

You will be tasked to write a letter as well as an essay, presenting your viewpoints and explaining situations as accurately as possible. 

In this article, we will take you through what you can expect in the IELTS General Training Writing test and how to prepare effectively to score better on test day! 

Four things you must know about the IELTS General Training Writing test  

1. understand the two tasks you need to handle .

The General Training test involves two different types of tasks that are: 

Writing a letter (Task 1) 

Writing an essay (Task 2) 

 In Task 1, you will be required to write a letter in response to a situation and depending on the situation, it could be semi-formal or formal.  

It could involve everyday scenarios and challenges such as time management problems, logistics issues and complaints. It is recommended that you only spend 20 minutes here and you are required to write at least 150 words. 

The second task, however, is very different. It will require you to write a discursive essay of at least 250 words.  

You will be given information about an argument or point of view and you will need to discuss your thoughts, present a solution to a problem or justifying an opinion you have. 

The topics are normally of general interest and can range from family issues and challenges society faces all the way to environmental and climate change issues. 

Because this task contributes twice as much to your final band score than the first task, it is recommended that you spend more time, around 40 minutes here, to maximise your chances to obtain a higher overall score. 

2. How you will be marked and assessed

The General Training Writing test will be assessed according to each individual test and will consist of the following criteria: 

Task response:  

Have your essay or writing addressed the topic or task at hand and have you written more than the minimum amount of words required for each individual task? 

Coherence and cohesion:  

Are your thoughts, viewpoints are arguments clearly laid out and easily understood? Can the reader logically follow your flow of thoughts and do they make sense as a whole? 

Lexical resource:   

Simply put, do you have a wide range and depth of vocabulary? Are you able to use various adjectives and nouns to describe a particular topic or do you catch yourself constantly repeating the same basic vocabulary? 

Grammatical range and accuracy:  

Apart from just minimising grammatical errors, you will need to correctly use a mixture of simple, compound and complex sentences. However, you’ll need to use them in the correct context and also ensure a good flow of ideas. 

3. How to approach the General Training test

Because the two tasks are uniquely different, you will have to come to the test with different approaches. 

Here’s what you can do to score your best possible on test day! 

Task 1 - Letter writing  

It is important to clarify the purpose of the letter. Is this a complaint letter, a request for detailed information or a statement of fact to the recipient?  

You need to get this clear because it will also affect the correct tone of voice you will need to adopt, whether it is to be more informal or strictly formal. 

In addition, you will need to include the key information, presented to you in bullet points, as part of your letter response. This is crucial as you will be penalised if you forget to include any. 

Task 2 - Essay writing   

For this task, it is important to remember to discuss both sides of the issue or question being presented to you. A discursive essay is one that highlights viewpoints and presents both sides of the argument. 

However, you also want to ensure your opinion is clear by the end of the essay and you showcase facts or anecdotal examples to strengthen your viewpoint as well. 

4. Prepare yourself better with these resources

A great way to ensure you are well-prepared is to start taking sample practice tests that will mimic the real conditions of the Writing test. 

You can access our test preparation materials here . 

In addition, you can also attend a free IELTS Masterclass presented by IELTS experts who will share tips and tricks, including on the writing section, to help you score better with confidence! 

If you prefer a paid option to simulate the exact test you will encounter, without the actual grading, you can take the IELTS Progress Check paid test . 

It will be as close as possible to the real deal and you will also get back personalised feedback that will be valuable to help you pinpoint areas that need improvement. 

Prepare for the IELTS Writing test with IDP today

Preparing early for your General Training Writing test is the key to success. It allows you to get familiar with the format with ample practice to help you gain confidence on test day. 

Take the time to go through our resources and prepare yourself better with our wide range of sample tests at your disposal! 

And once you are prepared and ready, you can book your IELTS test here !

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