This research mainly aimed to analyze EFL writing tasks between two groups of the most popular ESOL exam preparation courses in Iran: IELTS and TOEFL versus FCE and CAE. According to the criteria of writing task appropriateness based on the process-oriented approach to writing instruction, 114 learner participants were asked to rate EFL writing tasks based on a checklist previously developed and validated. An observation process was conducted of the actual task performance in class to help explain the significant results. According to learners’ goals, needs and motivation in Iran, these courses were initially divided in two and through the statistical procedures, the mean scores of learners’ ratings for all items of the checklist were compared between these groups. Significant differences were obtained in terms of several features especially related to writing procedures. The results are followed by a number of suggestions with the aim of improving the quality of writing instruction and task management for teachers, syllabus designers or material developers of these exam preparation courses.

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