LOADING…
Cambridge IELTS 10 Academic Writing Test 2 opens with a Task 1 table and closes with a Task 2 discussion essay, so it stress-tests both data description and discursive argument in a single hour. Task 1 asks you to summarise information about sales of Fairtrade-labelled coffee and bananas in 1999 and 2004 in five European countries. Task 2 then turns to a discursive prompt: Some people think that all university students should study whatever they like.
Round large numbers when comparing — '£12.4 million, almost double the 1999 figure' beats four decimal places. Use two body paragraphs, one per view, then a balanced concluding paragraph that explains why both perspectives have merit. Use evaluative connectors — 'while it is true that', 'a stronger case can be made for' — to keep the discussion analytical rather than purely descriptive.
Budget twenty minutes for the Task 1 report and forty for the Task 2 essay, and resist the temptation to keep polishing Task 1 once your overview and two body paragraphs are in place. On a discussion essay, the introduction and conclusion deserve at least seven minutes of focused work between them — they frame the marker's first and last impression of your Coherence and Cohesion.
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.
Looking for written strategy? See the IELTS Blog for in-depth posts.