Short answer: the IELTS Writing test is 60 minutes total, covering both tasks. There's no separate timer per task — you manage the split yourself, and the recommended plan is 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 for Task 2, since Task 2 counts about twice as much.
⏱ Open Typehush and practise the full 60-minute Writing block →Both Academic and General Training Writing tests last 60 minutes, and that hour covers both Task 1 and Task 2 together. Crucially, there is no enforced split — the clock counts down from 60 and it's entirely up to you how much of it each task gets. That freedom is also the trap: with no per-task timer, it's easy to overspend on Task 1 and leave Task 2 short. Managing the 60 minutes is itself part of what's being tested.
| Task | Time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Task 1 | ~20 minutes | 150-word report, worth about a third of the band |
| Task 2 | ~40 minutes | 250-word essay, worth about two thirds |
Within each, reserve a few minutes to plan and a few to check — those minutes catch the errors that separate bands.
Task 2 counts roughly twice as much toward your Writing band, so it earns the larger time budget. The most common timing mistake is spending 30 minutes perfecting a Task 1 chart description — worth a third of your band — and then rushing the essay that's worth two thirds. If anything has to give, let it be Task 1. Protecting Task 2's full 40 minutes is the single most important timing decision you make.
It helps to think in terms of marks per minute. Task 2 carries twice the weight in roughly twice the time, so the return per minute is similar — but the risk is not. A rushed Task 2 loses marks across all four criteria at once (thin development, weak conclusion, uncorrected errors), whereas a slightly hurried Task 1 mostly loses a little detail. Because the downside of shortchanging Task 2 is so much larger, the rational move when the clock is tight is always to defend the essay and let the report be merely adequate.
Nothing stops you writing until the clock hits zero, but an unfinished, under-length answer is penalised: below 250 words on Task 2 (or 150 on Task 1) costs you under Task Response, and an essay with no conclusion reads as incomplete. There's no extra time and no leniency for "almost finished." This is why pacing matters so much — the goal isn't just to write well, it's to write a complete answer to both tasks inside the hour.
On the computer-delivered test, whether 20 + 40 minutes feels comfortable or impossible depends heavily on your typing speed. A fast, accurate typist finishes both tasks with time to check; a slow one runs out mid-essay. This is the paper test's timing plus a keyboard bottleneck the paper test never had. If you're sitting the computer version, treat typing speed as a core part of hitting the 60-minute plan, not a separate concern.
You can't learn the 20/40 split by writing single essays with no timer — you learn it by practising both tasks back to back under 60 minutes, in the format you'll sit. Typing full Task 1 and Task 2 answers against the clock, with a visible countdown and word counter, builds the pacing and (on the computer test) the speed together. Do it enough times and the split becomes instinct, so on test day you're running a rehearsed plan instead of watching the clock in a panic.
⏱ Test your typing speed — can you finish Task 2 in 40 minutes? →Sixty minutes in total, covering both Task 1 and Task 2. There is no separate timer per task — you manage the split yourself.
About 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 for Task 2, since Task 2 counts roughly twice as much toward your Writing band.
You cannot write past the hour, and an under-length or unfinished answer is penalised under Task Response, with no extra time given.
Yes, 60 minutes. But on the computer test your typing speed determines whether that hour is comfortable or a scramble.
Typehush — practise typing high-band IELTS model essays for the computer-based Writing test. Start practising · Model-essay library · Task 2 time management · Task 1 vs Task 2