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Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Writing Test 3 places a Task 1 chart before a Task 2 discussion essay, and the candidates who score band 7 here are the ones who plan both responses before writing either. Task 1 asks you to summarise information about how families in one country spent their weekly income in 1968 and in 2018. Task 2 then turns to a discursive prompt: Some people believe that professionals, such as doctors and engineers, should be required to work in the country where they did their training.
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. Use two body paragraphs, one per view, then a balanced concluding paragraph that explains why both perspectives have merit.
Spend twenty minutes flat on Task 1 — five planning, twelve writing, three reviewing — and forty on Task 2, with at least five of those at the end for proofreading. Task 2 is worth twice the marks, so do not let an over-long chart description steal time from your essay. For band 7, the essay's argumentation matters more than the report's elegance, but a clean overview sentence in Task 1 is non-negotiable.
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