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IELTS typing test.
Most IELTS Writing tests are now typed, and the clock does not care how fast your fingers are. Take the test on a copy of the computer-delivered Writing screen, then see how much of your 60 minutes the keyboard will eat.
Copy the passage exactly, capitals and commas included. The clock starts on your first key.
Copy this text
Cities around the world are experimenting with car-free zones in their historic centres. Supporters argue that removing traffic makes streets safer, cleaner and more pleasant for walking, and that local shops benefit from the extra foot traffic. Critics point out that deliveries become harder, that people with limited mobility may struggle to reach the centre, and that congestion can simply move to the surrounding roads. The evidence so far is mixed. Where planners have invested in frequent public transport and clear signage, the results have generally been positive. Where a ban was introduced quickly and without alternatives, businesses have often complained of falling sales during the first year. The graph compares the percentage of households with internet access in three
Waiting for your first key
What typing speed do you need for IELTS Writing?
IELTS Writing gives you 60 minutes for two tasks: at least 150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 for Task 2. Whatever the keyboard takes to put those 400 words on screen is time you cannot spend planning, thinking or proofreading. The arithmetic:
| Typing speed | Typing 400 words takes | Left of your 60 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 15 wpm | about 27 min | about 33 min |
| 20 wpm | about 20 min | about 40 min |
| 25 wpm | about 16 min | about 44 min |
| 30 wpm | about 13 min | about 47 min |
| 40 wpm | about 10 min | about 50 min |
| 50 wpm | about 8 min | about 52 min |
That is the best case, because it assumes you type without pausing. In a real essay you stop to think, so the honest number is your exam pace: the words you produce per minute while composing your own answer. The Exam pace mode above measures exactly that.
What the computer Writing screen gives you, and what it does not
- A live word count. Estimating 250 words by eye is obsolete: watch the counter and stop guessing.
- Cut, copy and paste inside your own answer, so reordering a paragraph costs seconds, not a rewrite.
- No spell-checker and no grammar checker. Every typo is a spelling mistake the examiner sees, so accuracy matters as much as speed.
- Both tasks on one clock. Task 1 and Task 2 share the 60 minutes, and the screen will not stop you spending 35 minutes on Task 1.
- Paper for notes. You can still plan by hand on the paper the centre provides.
A screen-by-screen guide to computer-delivered IELTS
If you type slowly: drill, or write on paper?
In selected markets you can book IELTS with Writing on Paper, where Listening and Reading stay on computer and you handwrite the Writing test. It is not offered for IELTS for UKVI, and you give up the word count and free editing. For most people the better fix is the keyboard: typing speed is the most improvable variable in the whole Writing test, and two weeks of short daily drills usually moves you up a bracket.
IELTS Writing on Paper: who should take the hybrid option
A two-week plan to close a typing gap
- Days 1–3Take the 3-minute Typing speed test once a day. Do not chase speed yet: get accuracy above 95% first.
- Days 4–7Ten minutes a day copying model IELTS paragraphs, with spell-check off. Your fingers learn the spellings you will need on test day.
- Days 8–11Switch to Exam pace. Write a 10-minute opening to a new Task 2 question each day and watch your words per minute.
- Days 12–14Write one full Task 2 essay in 40 minutes on a typed screen, then a Task 1 in 20. Check the word count you reached and how much time was left.
Frequently asked questions
- What typing speed do I need for IELTS Writing?
- About 30 words per minute is comfortable, and 40 or more means typing stops mattering. The two tasks need at least 400 words between them, so at 30 wpm the typing itself takes around 13 minutes of your 60, leaving the rest for planning, thinking and checking. Below 20 wpm, typing takes 20 minutes or more, and that comes straight out of your thinking time.
- Is there a spell-checker in computer-delivered IELTS?
- No. There is no spell-checker and no grammar checker, so every typo counts as a spelling mistake. You do get a live word count, and cut, copy and paste work inside your own answer.
- Is typing speed the same as how fast I write an essay?
- No. Copying a passage measures your mechanical speed, which is your ceiling. Writing your own answer is always slower because you think as you type. Use the Typing speed test to see how much of the hour the keyboard takes, and the Exam pace test to see whether you would actually finish both tasks.
- Can I write IELTS Writing by hand instead of typing?
- In selected markets, yes: the Writing on Paper option runs Listening and Reading on computer and lets you handwrite the Writing test. It is not offered for IELTS for UKVI, and you give up the live word count and free editing. Check that your centre offers it before you book.
- How can I improve my typing speed before the IELTS test?
- Ten to fifteen minutes a day for two weeks is usually enough to move up a bracket. Type real IELTS answers rather than random words, keep accuracy above 95% before chasing speed, and practise with spell-check switched off so your fingers learn the correct spellings.
- Does this IELTS typing test save or send what I type?
- No. The test runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored.