The 60 minutes of IELTS writing time is a budget, not a suggestion. Candidates who treat it as a budget — allocating minutes to specific tasks, tracking the clock, and knowing when to cut content — consistently score 0.5-1.0 band higher than candidates who write until they feel done. This guide gives you the exact split, the minute-by-minute workflow, and the recovery moves when you are running out of time.

The 60-Minute Split That Works

Most candidates split 60 minutes as 20 for Task 1 and 40 for Task 2. That is roughly correct, but the reason it is correct is more important than the number: Task 2 is worth two thirds of your writing band, so it deserves proportionally more time. The other reason is that Task 2 requires more planning — identifying the essay type, deciding a position, choosing two developed reasons — while Task 1's structure (intro, overview, two body paragraphs) is more fixed.

Within those 40 minutes, the highest-scoring candidates spend 5-7 minutes on planning and 33-35 minutes on writing. The lowest-scoring candidates spend 1-2 minutes on planning and 38-39 minutes on writing. The first group produces essays that are 7.0+. The second produces essays that run out of time at minute 38 with a half-written conclusion.

The 40-Minute Task 2 Workflow, Minute by Minute

Minutes 0-2: Read the prompt twice

The single most common time-waster is misreading the prompt. Candidates who read it once and start writing at minute 1 often realise at minute 25 that they have answered the wrong question, or that they missed a part of a two-part question. Reading twice costs 2 minutes and saves a 0.5-1.0 band misallocation. The official IELTS recommendation is to spend "no more than 5 minutes" on planning, but the operative word is "no more than" — 2-3 minutes is the working range.

Minutes 2-4: Identify the type and decide a position

Every Task 2 prompt is one of five types: opinion, discussion, advantages-disadvantages, problem-solution, or two-part. The structure of your essay depends on which one. Spend 2 minutes identifying it and committing to a position. If it is an opinion prompt, decide: agree, disagree, or balanced. If it is a discussion prompt, decide: which side you lean toward, and how strongly. If it is advantages-disadvantages, decide: which side outweighs. The decision is the spine of your essay. Without it, every body paragraph becomes unfocused.

Minutes 4-7: Plan two reasons, each with an example anchor

Write 2-3 words per reason that will become your specific real-world example. "Norway EV policy", "Kenya mobile banking", "Singapore public housing", "OECD healthcare reform". If you cannot think of an example, your reason is too abstract. Narrow it. The 8.0+ candidate never starts writing without an example in mind. The 6.5 candidate writes the reason and then tries to find the example, which usually fails.

Also at this stage: write your conclusion in shorthand. One sentence, three phrases: position-restated + summary + forward implication. The conclusion is the last thing you will write, but you should know what it is saying before you start the body paragraphs. This is the single most effective planning move for the 8.0-9.0 band.

Minutes 7-15: Write the introduction

The introduction is 2-3 sentences: paraphrase the prompt + state your position. The 6.5 candidate takes 5-7 minutes on the introduction because they are trying to make it perfect. The 8.0+ candidate takes 4-5 minutes because they know the introduction is the least important paragraph for the final band. Do not over-polish the introduction. Write it, move on.

Minutes 15-25: Write Body 1

Body 1 is one main reason, developed with a specific example, linked back to the position. Aim for 5-6 sentences. The 8.0+ candidate's body paragraphs contain at least one complex sentence, one specific example, and one sentence that links the example to the position. If your body paragraph is 3 sentences, it is under-developed. If it is 8 sentences, you are padding.

Minutes 25-33: Write Body 2

Body 2 is the stronger of the two reasons, with a more complex topic sentence than Body 1. The examiner reads Body 2 last (before the conclusion), and the last body paragraph leaves the strongest impression. The 7.0 candidate puts the weaker reason in Body 2 because they think "Body 1 first" is the structure. The 8.0+ candidate puts the stronger reason in Body 2 because they understand that ordering matters.

Minutes 33-36: Write the conclusion

The conclusion is 2-3 sentences: restate the position in different words, summarise the main points in one sentence, add a forward-looking implication. The implication is what separates 7.0 from 8.0. Most 7.0 candidates end with "In conclusion, I believe..." which adds nothing. The 8.0+ candidate ends with "If governments fail to act on this, the cost of inaction will continue to mount over the next decade" which adds a specific forward-looking claim.

Minutes 36-39: The strategic re-read

This is the most under-used 3 minutes of the 40. The 6.5 candidate uses these minutes to re-read for grammar errors. The 8.0+ candidate uses them to check four things in this order: (1) does the conclusion add an implication? (2) is the example in each body paragraph specific (not "studies show")? (3) are the connectors varied (not all "furthermore" and "in addition")? (4) is the grammar sweep now. These four checks are worth more than any 10 grammar corrections.

Minutes 39-40: Final grammar sweep

Use the last 1-2 minutes to find your recurring error. Most candidates have one — articles, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, or relative clauses. Find it. Fix it once.

The 20-Minute Task 1 Workflow

Task 1 is shorter but follows the same planning-to-writing ratio. The 8.0+ candidate spends 3-4 minutes on Task 1 planning and 16-17 minutes on writing. The two biggest time-wasters on Task 1 are (1) trying to describe every data point, and (2) writing the introduction and overview as separate paragraphs.

Minutes 0-3: Read the chart, identify the most striking trend

The most striking trend is your overview. It is not the chart title. It is not the most obvious line. It is the comparison or pattern that, if you had to summarise the chart in one sentence, you would lead with. The 6.5 candidate spends 5 minutes reading the chart and then writes a vague overview. The 8.0+ candidate spends 3 minutes and writes a specific overview.

Minutes 3-5: Plan two body paragraph themes

Pick two themes that group similar data points together. For a line graph with 4 lines, this is usually "lines that behaved similarly" and "lines that contrasted". For a bar chart, it is usually "highest/biggest gap" and "overall pattern". The 6.5 candidate lists every data point in 4 sentences. The 8.0+ candidate groups them in 2 paragraphs.

Minutes 5-18: Write the 4-paragraph structure

Introduction (1-2 sentences) + overview (1-2 sentences) + body 1 (3-4 sentences) + body 2 (3-4 sentences). Total 150-180 words. The 6.5 candidate writes 220 words because they are describing every data point. The 8.0+ candidate writes 160 words because they have selected.

Minutes 18-20: Re-read for accuracy and tense

The two things Task 1 candidates most often get wrong at 6.5-7.0: tense (past simple for completed periods, present simple for current facts) and number accuracy (every number you quote must match the chart). Use the last 2 minutes to check both.

What to Do When the Clock Runs Out

Even with good planning, candidates run out of time. The recovery moves below are in order of priority.

If you have 3 minutes left and an unwritten conclusion: write a 2-sentence conclusion. "In conclusion, I believe [position]. If this trend continues, [implication]." This is enough. A 2-sentence conclusion is better than a half-written 4-sentence one.
If you have 2 minutes left and an unwritten body paragraph: write the topic sentence and one example sentence. A 2-sentence body paragraph with a clear topic sentence is more recoverable than nothing.
If you have 1 minute left and an unwritten body paragraph: do not start a new paragraph. Re-read the existing text and check for the most embarrassing error (an unfinished sentence, a missing word). Half a sentence left unfinished is worse than a clean ending.
If you have 30 seconds left: stop. Do not start a new sentence. A half-sentence is the worst outcome in IELTS writing.

The 3 Mistakes That Lose the Most Time

Over-planning the introduction. The introduction is the least important paragraph. Spending 6-7 minutes on it (because you are trying to make it perfect) means you have 33-34 minutes for everything else. The 8.0+ candidate spends 4-5 minutes on the introduction, full stop.
Re-writing whole paragraphs. The 6.5 candidate writes a paragraph, decides it is "not good enough", and rewrites it from scratch. The 8.0+ candidate writes a paragraph, identifies the one or two specific sentences that are weak, and rewrites only those sentences. Whole-paragraph rewrites cost 5-7 minutes each.
Endless re-reading in the first 30 minutes. The 6.5 candidate writes a sentence, re-reads it, edits a word, writes the next sentence, re-reads it. The 8.0+ candidate writes continuously and re-reads at the end of each paragraph. Continuous drafting saves 5-10 minutes over a 40-minute essay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I write Task 1 or Task 2 first?

Most candidates do Task 1 first, then Task 2, but the order does not affect the score. If you are running out of time consistently, try Task 2 first while you are freshest, then Task 1. The 8.0+ candidate usually does Task 1 first because it is the easier task to "warm up" on.

What if I cannot think of a real-world example?

Use a plausible-but-unspecified example. "Studies in three OECD countries have shown..." is acceptable as long as you do not invent a specific number that the examiner might verify. Even a hypothetical example is fine if you mark it as hypothetical ("Imagine a city where..."). The 6.5 candidate tries to invent specific statistics and gets bogged down trying to make them sound real. The 8.0+ candidate uses ranges ("roughly tripled over a decade") that are obviously approximate.

How much time should I spend on each body paragraph?

About 8-10 minutes per body paragraph. Less than 7 minutes and the paragraph will be underdeveloped. More than 11 minutes and you are over-writing. The 8.0+ candidate aims for 5-6 sentences per body paragraph, with at least one specific example and one complex sentence.

What if I run out of time before writing the conclusion?

Write a 2-sentence conclusion. The first sentence restates your position in different words. The second sentence adds an implication or a forward-looking statement. Do not skip the conclusion entirely — examiners expect one, and an essay that ends abruptly is read as incomplete. A short conclusion is better than no conclusion.

Can I leave the planning in shorthand on the answer sheet?

Yes. IELTS examiners are told to ignore any planning visible on the answer sheet — they only score what is in the final-form writing. The shorthand you write during minutes 2-7 does not count against you and does not count toward your word count. Use the planning space liberally.

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IELTS Writing Time Management: The 40-Minute Clock That Gets Band 7+