Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Writing Test 4

• Task 1: describe the chart/graph/table in your own words.
• Task 2: write an argumentative essay responding to the prompt.
• On submit, AI will score you on all 4 IELTS criteria with feedback.

Cambridge IELTS 17 Academic Writing Test 4 matches a Task 1 graph with a Task 2 positive-or-negative development essay; together they cover the two skill sets the examiner cares about most. Task 1 asks you to summarise the number of shops that closed. Task 2 then turns to a discursive prompt: Nowadays, a growing number of people with health problems are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor.

Lead with overall direction (rising, falling, fluctuating) and then group the lines or series by behaviour. Always include a starting value and an end value when describing a trend, and avoid copying numbers from the axis without paraphrasing the unit. State your overall judgement (positive, negative, or mixed) in the introduction and stick to it.

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 a positive-or-negative development 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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