Writing prompts
A writing prompt is what a candidate writes an essay against. They are simpler than passages — there is no answer key, because the marking is done against the band descriptors rather than against a correct answer.
The fields
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Slug | Unique across all prompts |
| Task | 1 or 2 |
| Format | Academic or General Training |
| Prompt text | The prompt as the candidate sees it |
Task 1 is given 20 minutes and a 150-word minimum; Task 2 gets 40 minutes and 250 words. Those come from the task number, so setting it correctly is what gives the candidate the right clock.
Format matters more here than elsewhere
A candidate is shown only the prompts matching their exam type. An Academic Task 1 asks for a description of a chart or process; a General Training Task 1 asks for a letter. Filing one under the wrong format puts a task in front of someone preparing for a different exam.
What the plan does with them
The study plan only schedules a writing drill if a prompt for that task actually exists. If there are no Task 1 prompts, no candidate is ever sent to a Task 1 drill — the plan quietly works around the gap rather than sending people to an empty screen.
So adding the first prompt of a kind changes what every candidate is asked to do. That is worth knowing before publishing one.
Chart data
Prompts can carry chart data through the importer, but nothing renders it yet and there is no form field for it. An Academic Task 1 prompt that depends on a chart the candidate cannot see is not usable — describe the data in the prompt text instead.