Short answer: IELTS Writing Task 1 requires at least 150 words, but a safe answer is around 160–190 words, written in about 20 minutes. There's no official maximum, but going much longer eats into the 40 minutes you need for the higher-weighted Task 2.
✍️ Open Typehush and practise timed Task 1 and Task 2 →Task 1 instructions tell you to write "at least 150 words." Like the Task 2 rule, this is a hard floor, not a suggestion: an under-length Task 1 is penalised under Task Achievement, on the basis that a short answer can't have covered the data or process fully. A neatly written 130-word summary still loses marks for length alone. On the computer-delivered test a live word counter sits under your answer, so you always know the moment you've cleared 150 — no counting by hand as on paper.
Writing precisely 150 words leaves zero buffer. If you slightly miscount, or the on-screen counter treats a number or hyphenated word differently than you expected, you can slip under without realising. A cushion of 10–40 words above the floor protects you and costs under a minute. But don't overshoot badly: Task 1 is only worth a third of your Writing band, and every extra minute here is a minute stolen from Task 2, which is worth twice as much. Around 160–190 words is the sweet spot — enough to cover the data, short enough to leave Task 2 its full 40 minutes.
Length only helps if the content is right. A strong Academic Task 1 answer has a paraphrased introduction (what the chart shows), an overview of the main trends or key features (the single most important paragraph for your band), and one or two body paragraphs reporting specific data with comparisons. Hit those and you naturally land near 170 words. If you're coming up short, you're usually missing the overview or not making enough comparisons — not simply writing too few words.
The computer counter counts space-separated groups. "Well-structured" counts as one word; "2019" counts as one word; a percentage like "45%" counts as one. This matters because you can't pad your count by spelling numbers out, and you needn't worry that hyphenating costs you words. Focus on covering the data accurately and the count takes care of itself — chasing the number instead of the content is how candidates end up with a long answer that still scores poorly on Task Achievement.
Task 1 should take about 20 minutes, leaving 40 for Task 2. A reliable split: 3–4 minutes reading the chart and planning, 13–14 minutes writing, 2–3 minutes checking. The most common Task 1 mistake isn't length — it's overspending time, arriving at Task 2 with only 30 minutes and handing in an under-developed higher-weighted essay. Protect the clock. If you're still writing Task 1 at the 22-minute mark, wrap it up and move on.
Because the two tasks share one 60-minute block, you can only train the split by practising them together, timed, in the format you'll sit. On the computer test, typing speed decides whether 20 + 40 minutes is comfortable or a scramble — slow typing can leave either task unfinished. Practising by typing full Task 1 and Task 2 answers with a visible word counter builds the speed, the length instinct, and the pacing at once, so on test day the word counts and the clock both look after themselves.
⏱ Test your typing speed — can you finish Task 2 in 40 minutes? →Yes. Falling under 150 words is penalised under Task Achievement, even if the answer is otherwise well written, because a short answer cannot fully cover the data.
Around 160–190 words. That clears the minimum with a buffer and still leaves the full 40 minutes for the higher-weighted Task 2.
About 20 minutes — roughly 3–4 minutes planning, 13–14 writing, and 2–3 checking — so Task 2 keeps its 40 minutes.
No. Task 2 counts about twice as much toward your Writing band, so you should never overspend time on Task 1.
Typehush — practise typing high-band IELTS model essays for the computer-based Writing test. Start practising · Model-essay library · How many words for Task 2 · Task 1 structure