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A writing assessment takes about 15 minutes across two sections. Each task is read aloud as well as shown, and its timer starts when the reading finishes. Candidates see a countdown and confirm before submitting.
A writing task with a partly written answer, a 4:50 countdown and a live word count

A casual writing task part-way through, with the timer, the word count and the paste notice.

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The two sections

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Section 1: Casual writing (5 minutes)

A short everyday task, usually a brief email or a short response to a situation. This tests whether someone can write clearly and appropriately in a low-stakes register.

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Section 2: Professional writing (10 minutes)

A longer, more formal task that needs a structured response and a position held across several paragraphs. This is where the difference between B1 and C1 usually becomes obvious. Not in vocabulary, but in whether the writing is organized and the argument holds together.

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Pasting is turned off

Candidates cannot paste into a written answer, for every assessment. What is being measured is whether someone can compose written language, and text arriving from the clipboard is not an answer to that. Candidates are told this before they start.

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What we look at

Each response is scored on five dimensions:
  • Task response: did they address the whole prompt
  • Organisation: logical structure, paragraphing, flow
  • Vocabulary: range and precision
  • Grammar: accuracy and sentence variety
  • Conventions: spelling, punctuation, formatting
The timer is a working constraint, not a race. Candidates who spend the first minute planning usually score better on organization than those who start typing immediately.