Writing tasks 1–8: from picture sentences to the opinion essay

Know where the time goes

The 60 minutes are not evenly divided. Tasks 1–5 share a single 8-minute block between them. Tasks 6 and 7 get 10 minutes each. Task 8 — one essay — gets 30 minutes on its own. That means half the section rests on a single piece of writing, and the five picture sentences that look like the bulk of the section are actually the smallest part of it.

Tasks 1–5 — Write a sentence based on a picture (8 minutes for all five)

• You get a picture and two words. Both must appear in your sentence, but you may change their form and use them in any order.
• Only grammar and relevance to the picture are marked. Ambition is not rewarded — an accurate simple sentence beats a complex one that breaks.
• That is roughly 90 seconds each. If one picture stalls you, move on and come back; these five share one clock, so you can navigate between them.
• Check the small things before you leave each item: articles, plurals, subject–verb agreement. That is precisely what is being marked.

Tasks 6–7 — Respond to a written request (10 minutes each)

• Usually an email. The directions state exactly what your reply must contain — very often three specific things.
• Missing one of those required elements costs you more than any grammar slip, so read the directions twice and tick them off.
• Marked on quality and variety of your sentences, vocabulary, and organisation — so vary your structures instead of repeating one pattern.
• Keep the register polite and professional. Open and close it as a real email.
• Unlike tasks 1–5, these are timed individually and you cannot return to them once you move on.

Task 8 — Write an opinion essay (30 minutes)

• Budget roughly 5 minutes planning, 20 writing, 5 checking. The checking pass is where easy marks live.
• Marked on whether your opinion is genuinely supported with reasons and/or examples, plus grammar, vocabulary and organisation.
• Structure: an introduction that states your position, two or three body paragraphs each carrying one supported reason, and a short conclusion.
• Around 300 words is a solid target. Length alone earns nothing, but a developed argument is hard to make in much less.
• Address the question that was asked. A well-written essay on an adjacent topic loses on relevance.

The on-screen tools are not your normal editor

• Keyboard shortcuts are disabled. Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V do nothing — use the Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo and Redo buttons above the text box.
• Those tools only work within the task currently on screen. You cannot move text between items.
• A live word count sits in the upper right of the text box, and the timer in the upper right of the screen. Clicking the timer hides it; clicking the clock icon brings it back.
• Depending on the centre's equipment you may be given an AZERTY or a QWERTY keyboard. If you touch-type on one, confirm which you will get before you book.