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Cambridge IELTS 10 Academic Writing Test 1 sets a Task 1 pair of charts alongside a Task 2 opinion-plus-second-question essay, two challenges that draw on very different writing muscles. Task 1 asks you to summarise how energy is used in an average Australian household. Task 2 then turns to a discursive prompt: It is important for children to learn the difference between right and wrong at an early age.
Cite units (percentage, megajoule, tonne) consistently and never assume the second chart uses the same scale as the first. Treat this as two body paragraphs answering the two questions in order. Make your opinion explicit in paragraph one and use the second body paragraph to develop the practical or causal answer the second question demands. The introduction must paraphrase both questions; the conclusion must answer both.
Twenty minutes on Task 1 means committing to your groupings within the first five — do not change your structure halfway through. Task 2 needs forty disciplined minutes: ten to plan and outline, twenty-six to write, four to edit. On an opinion-plus-second-question essay, the conclusion is the only place the examiner reads your final position with full attention, so write it last and write it deliberately.
New to this skill? Read the Writing question types guide for tactics, scoring rules, and frequency analysis across Cambridge 10–20. Or browse all Writing practice tests.
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