LOADING…
Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic Writing Test 1 opens with a Task 1 chart and closes with a Task 2 two-part question essay, so it stress-tests both data description and discursive argument in a single hour. Task 1 asks you to summarise the results of a survey about people’s coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities. Task 2 then turns to a discursive prompt: In some countries, owning a home rather than renting one is very important for people.
Group the data into two or three clear bands rather than reading each segment in turn — examiners reward grouping over listing. Pick two contrasting figures for the body and leave smaller detail for a closing comparative sentence. Answer the two questions in order with one body paragraph each. The introduction should paraphrase both questions and signal the structure; the conclusion should answer both, not merely summarise the prompt.
Keep Task 1 to twenty minutes by writing a one-sentence overview straight after the introduction; you can refine it during the review pass. For Task 2, plan for five minutes before you write — three minutes of planning here saves ten minutes of confused redrafting later. For band 7, vocabulary range and complex-sentence accuracy carry as much weight as the strength of the argument.
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.
Unlock this test (and all 132 Cambridge tests plus AI essay scoring) with AcademIELTS Premium.