Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-07-27

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The ease of international travel and the spread of various kinds of mass media all over the world have made it more possible than ever for people to know how other people live in other countries.

Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence. Write at least 250 words.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

A thought of learning life skills such as car repair or banking by pupils has become increasingly common. This is because change in lifestyle has taken mammoth dimensions. I agree to the standpoint and will discuss the viewpoints.

A wonderful facet is associated with the phenomenon of encouraging students to learn practical skills which help them avoid formidable situations in life. The primary reason is it prepares them for future employment by giving real-life experiences. Since they can apply the knowledge learnt in the classroom to these hands-on activities, they learn communication and problem solving skills which are valued by potential employers. In addition, learning these skills and later performing them in the real world provides them a sense of accomplishment, which consequently boosts their confidence and makes them self-reliant. For instance, in 2024, an experiment was conducted in Canada which showcased that having vocational training at school level doubles the prospects of getting recruited in multinational companies.

Despite the above mentioned reasons, there are some people who think that schools are not the right place to acquire these skills, they have their viewpoint. The contributing factor is that they argue that giving time to such learning would hamper their academic growth. To elaborate, they are of the mindset that pupils should focus to strengthen their academic portfolio rather than wasting their time on learning practical skills which can also be learnt at home from their parents or siblings. Nevertheless, I still believe vocational training enhances a learner’s resume.

In conclusion, this essay has clearly discussed that gaining life skills improves employability and prepare learners to get riveting experience in all spheres of life by making them independent. I reiterate that vocational training should be part of the curriculum in all the schools.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.5
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response is significantly off-topic. The prompt asks about the advantages and disadvantages of international travel and mass media in helping people understand other cultures. However, your essay discusses the merits of vocational training and life skills in schools. Because you have completely misunderstood the task, you have failed to address the prompt. While the ideas regarding vocational training are developed with some logic, they are irrelevant to the specific question posed. To improve, you must carefully analyze the prompt's keywords and ensure your essay directly answers the specific question asked rather than writing a pre-prepared response on a different topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas within the context of your chosen topic. You use cohesive devices such as 'In addition,' 'Despite the above mentioned reasons,' and 'In conclusion' to link your points. However, because the content is irrelevant to the prompt, the overall coherence of the essay in relation to the task is compromised. If the topic were relevant, the paragraphing and linking would be sufficient for a higher score, but the lack of connection to the actual prompt limits the effectiveness of the structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a reasonable range of vocabulary, including terms like 'formidable,' 'vocational training,' 'multinational companies,' and 'curriculum.' There is an attempt to use more sophisticated language, which is positive. However, some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'mammoth dimensions' or 'riveting experience' in this context. While the vocabulary is generally adequate to express your ideas clearly, the lack of relevance to the actual prompt means the lexical range is not being applied to the correct subject matter. Focusing on topic-specific vocabulary for the actual prompt will improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'I agree to the standpoint' (should be 'with'), 'provides them a sense' (missing 'with'), and 'focus to strengthen' (should be 'focus on strengthening'). Despite these errors, your meaning is generally clear, and the grammar does not impede communication. You have a decent grasp of sentence construction, but you need to work on preposition usage and verb patterns to achieve a higher band. The variety of structures is sufficient for a mid-range score.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.