LanguageCert Academic Writing

In short

LanguageCert Academic Writing has two formal tasks in 50 minutes: a 150–200 word report, argument or article based on a chart, infographic or text, in which you must take a stance, and a discursive piece of about 250 words. Task 1 is worth 40% and Task 2 60%, both marked on four criteria from 0 to 8.

Writing is where most LanguageCert candidates lose the most points. In LanguageCert's own 2025 figures it had the lowest average of the four skills in both Academic and General. The reason is usually not grammar: it's missing part of what the task asked for.

Both Academic tasks are formal and written for a named reader, such as a course tutor or a university magazine. The biggest surprise for people who've prepared for IELTS is Task 1: it isn't a neutral description of a chart. LanguageCert's handbook says the task requires stance, opinion, justification and argument.

Format, part by part

50 minutes for both tasks. LanguageCert suggests 20 minutes for Task 1, 25 for Task 2 and 5 to plan and check.

Task 1: Report, argument or article (150–200 words, 40%)
You get a written, graphic or visual input (often an infographic or chart, sometimes with a short text) and a named reader. The bullet points ask you to describe what it shows, explain it, and give your view, for example whether you agree with a prediction.
How to approach it: Give each bullet its own paragraph and make your stance obvious in the final one. Pick two or three key figures to support your point; you don't have to describe every number.
Task 2: Discursive writing (about 250 words, 60%)
A formal piece on an academic subject that asks you to argue, persuade, compare, evaluate or propose solutions. A typical prompt gives a statement and asks you to discuss it and give your own opinion.
How to approach it: Plan for two minutes before writing: your position, two supporting points, one counter-argument you'll answer. Task 2 is worth 60%, so give it the most time.

How it differs from LanguageCert General Writing

Both Academic tasks are formal. In General, Task 2 is informal: an email to a friend, a story or an informal article.
Academic Task 1 starts from a chart, infographic or text and needs your opinion. General Task 1 is a short neutral letter, email or report covering three set points.
Academic Task 2 is a discursive essay. General has no essay at all.
Academic asks for more: 150–200 and about 250 words in 50 minutes, against 100–150 and 150–200 words in 45 minutes.

Taking the other one? Read the LanguageCert General Writing guide

How it’s scored

Each task is marked on four criteria, each from 0 to 8. Task 1 counts for 40% of your Writing score and Task 2 for 60%.

Task Achievement

Whether you did what was asked: every bullet covered, the right format for the reader, and enough words. Writing under the minimum is marked down here.

Accuracy and Range of Grammar

The range, appropriacy and accuracy of your grammar.

Accuracy and Range of Vocabulary

Range, accuracy and appropriacy of your vocabulary, including spelling. British and American spelling are both accepted.

Organisation (Coherence)

How clearly your ideas link together, and how accurate your punctuation is.

An off-topic answer gets no credit at all, however good the English. There's no penalty for going over the word limit, but extra words earn nothing and give you more chances to make mistakes.

Model answer: Task 1

Our own Task 1 prompt and the final paragraph of a strong answer: the paragraph most candidates leave out.

The task

The chart shows visits to the university library and logins to its online resources over five years. The university plans to cut library opening hours by a third. Write a report for the student newsletter. In your report: • describe the main trends • suggest reasons for them • say whether you agree with the university's plan. Write 150–200 words.

Final paragraph of a strong answer

In my view, the plan is premature. Although visits have fallen by almost half since Year 1, the library remains the only quiet study space on campus, and demand peaks sharply during examination periods. A more balanced approach would be to reduce hours in the first weeks of each term, when visits are lowest, while keeping full access before examinations.

Why

It answers the third bullet directly ('the plan is premature'), which is what Task Achievement checks.
It uses the data as evidence ('fallen by almost half') instead of repeating the description.
It concedes a point and then argues against it ('Although...'), which shows the range of grammar the second criterion rewards.
It's formal throughout, with no contractions, which suits a newsletter report to students and staff.

B2 vs C1: the same Task 2, two answers

Two answers we wrote to one Task 2 prompt: the first to match LanguageCert's B2 writing descriptors, the second to match C1. Both are on topic and the right length. Read them, then see what separates them under each criterion.

The task

Some people believe universities should record every lecture and put it online, so that students no longer need to attend in person. Discuss this view and give your own opinion. Write about 250 words.

B2 answer

60–74 on the LanguageCert scale

Nowadays many universities record their lectures and put them online. Some people think that this means students do not need to come to the campus anymore. In this essay I will discuss both sides of this view. On the one hand, online lectures have a lot of advantages. Students can watch them at any time, so it is easier for people who work part-time or who lives far from the university. Also, if a student did not understand something, they can watch the lecture again. This can help them to prepare for exams better. For example, a student who has a job in the evening can watch the lecture at the weekend. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages. When students stay at home, they do not meet their classmates and lecturers, and they can feel lonely. Some students also need help from the lecturer during the class. In addition, it is easy to lose motivation if nobody checks that you watch the lectures. Many students leave them until the exam is very close, and then they have too much work. In my opinion, recording lectures is a good idea, but attending should not become optional. If universities would make attendance optional, many students would stop coming and the university life would disappear. I think the best solution is that lectures are recorded for revision, but students still come to the campus for most of them. In conclusion, online lectures are useful, but they cannot replace the experience of studying on a campus.

C1 answer

75–89 on the LanguageCert scale

Recording lectures has become standard practice at many universities, and some argue it should go further: if every lecture is online, why require students to be in the room at all? While the case for flexibility is persuasive, making attendance entirely optional would, in my view, undermine the very learning it claims to support. The strongest argument for the proposal is access. Students who commute long distances, work to fund their studies or have caring responsibilities are often the ones who miss lectures, and recordings allow them to keep pace rather than fall behind. Recordings also help those studying in a second language, who can pause and replay a dense explanation until it makes sense. However, a lecture is not merely the transfer of information. What a recording cannot reproduce is the chance to ask a question at the moment of confusion, or to test an idea with classmates afterwards. Those exchanges are often where understanding actually happens. Moreover, optional material is easily postponed, as most students will admit: recordings watched at double speed the night before an exam are a poor substitute for steady engagement over a term. The sensible compromise, therefore, is to treat recordings as a supplement rather than a replacement. Universities should keep recording lectures for revision and for students with genuine constraints, while designing sessions, through discussion and short in-class tasks, that reward those who attend. Attendance would then be a choice students make because it is worth it, not a rule they resent. In short, flexibility should widen access to learning, not quietly replace it.

What separates them, criterion by criterion

Task Achievement

B2
Covers both sides, but its own opinion only arrives in paragraph four, and points stay general: 'a lot of advantages', 'they can feel lonely'.

C1
States a position in the first paragraph and argues it throughout. Each point names who is affected (commuters, carers, second-language students) and why, then ends with a concrete proposal.

Accuracy and Range of Grammar

B2
Mostly simple and compound sentences, with errors where it reaches for more: 'people who … lives far', 'If universities would make attendance optional'.

C1
Controls complex structures without slipping: a concessive opener ('While the case for flexibility is persuasive'), a cleft sentence ('What a recording cannot reproduce is…'), an embedded clause ('while designing sessions, through discussion…, that reward').

Accuracy and Range of Vocabulary

B2
Clear but general words: 'good idea', 'a lot of', 'too much work'. One article slip: 'the university life'.

C1
Precise collocations that carry the argument: 'keep pace', 'caring responsibilities', 'undermine', 'steady engagement', 'a poor substitute for'.

Organisation (Coherence)

B2
Easy to follow, but the links are set phrases: 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'In addition', 'In conclusion'.

C1
Paragraphs connect through ideas, not labels: 'The strongest argument…' sets up 'However, a lecture is not merely…', and the last line echoes the first paragraph.

The B2 answer isn't wrong; it does the task. What lifts the C1 answer is taking a position early, giving every point a specific reason, and controlling longer sentences. That's where most marks between B2 and C1 sit.

Common mistakes that cost marks

Describing the chart without giving a view
Task 1 requires a stance. If a bullet asks whether you agree, a neutral summary loses Task Achievement marks however accurate it is.
Writing fewer than 150 words in Task 1
Under-length answers are marked down in Task Achievement. In one of LanguageCert's published samples, a 126-word answer lost marks partly for that reason.
Skipping a bullet point
Each bullet is a requirement. Tick them off as you plan, and give each its own paragraph.
Writing informally
Both tasks are formal. LanguageCert's tips say to avoid contractions. Examiners mark down scripts that don't follow the conventions of formal writing.
Ignoring spelling and punctuation
Spelling is marked under Vocabulary and punctuation under Organisation, so small slips cost marks in two criteria. Keep five minutes to check.
Splitting the time 25/25
Task 2 is worth 60%. Follow the official split: 20 minutes, 25 minutes, then 5 to plan and check.

On the day

Writing is typed on computer in the default test format, at a test centre or online.
Writing is marked by trained LanguageCert examiners, not by computer.
Official results arrive in 5 working days.
For Australian visas the Writing minimums are 45 Vocational, 64 Competent, 78 Proficient and 89 Superior.

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Writing · Part 1

Remote study habits

Write a report of 150–200 words for your university newsletter. Describe what the data shows and give your opinion, with justification.

A survey of 500 first-year students reported how they prefer to study: 48% mostly at home, 31% in the library, 14% in cafes, and 7% elsewhere. Of those who study at home, 62% said they are more easily distracted than on campus.

Target length: 150–200 words.

FAQ

How many words is LanguageCert Academic Writing?

150–200 words for Task 1 and about 250 words for Task 2.

Is LanguageCert Academic Writing Task 1 like IELTS Task 1?

Not quite. Both start from a chart or visual, but LanguageCert asks you to take a stance and justify it, for example whether you agree with a prediction. IELTS Academic Task 1 is a neutral summary.

How is LanguageCert Academic Writing marked?

Each task is marked on Task Achievement, Grammar, Vocabulary and Organisation, each 0–8. Task 1 is weighted at 40% and Task 2 at 60%, then converted to the 0–100 scale.

Can I use contractions in LanguageCert Academic Writing?

LanguageCert advises against it: both tasks are formal, and contractions don't suit formal writing.

What's the difference between a B2 and a C1 answer in Academic Writing?

Usually not accuracy alone. A C1 answer takes a position early, gives every point a specific reason or example, and controls complex sentences without errors. A B2 answer does the task but keeps points general and slips when sentences get longer.

Is there a penalty for writing too much?

No explicit penalty, but extra words earn nothing. Writing under the minimum does cost marks.

Practise it: LanguageCert Writing practice test with instant marking

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Sources

Checked against LanguageCert’s own handbooks and exam pages in October 2026.