IELTS Writing · Academic · Computer-delivered

IELTS Academic Writing Practice Test 8: Commuter Transport Bar Chart, Funding Research Without Obvious Uses

This is IELTS Academic Writing Practice Test 8 on the computer-delivered screen, with 2 tasks: Commuter Transport Bar Chart, Funding Research Without Obvious Uses. You can start it free in your browser — no download.

• 60 minutes
• 2 tasks

What is in this test

• Task 1

  Commuter Transport Bar Chart

  A grouped bar chart of five ways of getting to work in one European city, compared between 1995 and 2020.

• Task 2

  Funding Research Without Obvious Uses

  An essay on whether public money should pay for science that has no immediate practical benefit.

What each task asks for

Writing has no question types to list — it has two tasks and four marking criteria. Each one links to what it wants and where the marks go:

• Task 1 — describing information
• Task 2 — the essay
• The four marking criteria

Timing and marking

You get 60 minutes for both tasks together, and you decide how to split it. Task 2 is worth more than Task 1.

Writing is marked by an examiner-style assessment against the four criteria, not by counting right answers. Nobody can honestly promise you a band — what practice buys you is a screen that feels normal on test day.

What is different on a computer

You type into a box with a live word counter, so you can see your length as you go. There is no handwriting, and editing a paragraph costs you nothing but the keystrokes.