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

In some countries, it can be very difficult for people over the age of 50 to get good jobs, despite their experience.

What do you think are the causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve it?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

In contemporary societies, the proposition of learning life skills such as automobile repair or banking by pupils has become increasingly popular in the general populace. The notion is that it boosts their employment prospects and makes them self-sufficient, which helps them avoid formidable situations in life.

The primary catalyst is that it prepares them for future employment by giving real-life challenging 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 practical skills equips them to face difficult real world situations, 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 had doubled the prospects of getting recruited in multinational companies.

Despite the above-mentioned reason, there are some demographics who argue that schools are not the right place to acquire these skills, they have their viewpoint. The contributing factor is that giving time to such learning would impede their academic growth. To elaborate, they are of the mindset that pupils should focus on strengthening 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 positively enhances a learner’s resume.

In conclusion, gaining life skills not only improves employability but also prepares students to get valuable experience in all spheres of life. I agree that vocational training can be an integral part of the curriculum in all the schools, therefore a nuanced approach which can balance the hands-on teaching with academic learning would be highly beneficial for the students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks for the causes of and solutions to the difficulty people over 50 face in the job market. However, the student has written an essay about the benefits of teaching life skills like automobile repair to school pupils. Because the response fails to address the specific task requirements entirely, it cannot be assessed as a relevant response to the prompt provided. In an actual IELTS examination, this would be treated as a memorised or irrelevant response, resulting in a very low score for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

Despite the content being irrelevant to the prompt, the essay itself is structured logically. It uses clear paragraphing, with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'The primary catalyst', 'In addition', 'Despite the above-mentioned reason', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to link ideas. The progression of the argument is clear, even though the argument itself does not address the task question. The internal logic of the essay is sound, which prevents a lower score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'contemporary societies', 'formidable situations', 'multinational companies', and 'nuanced approach'. The language is generally precise and appropriate for an academic context. There are no significant spelling or word-choice errors that impede communication. While the vocabulary is well-suited for an essay, it is being applied to the wrong topic, which limits the ability to demonstrate the specific lexical range required for the actual prompt.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The essay displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a high level of grammatical accuracy, with very few errors in tense, subject-verb agreement, or punctuation. Complex structures, such as 'Since they can apply the knowledge learnt in the classroom to these hands-on activities, they learn communication and problem solving skills', are handled with control. The writing is fluent and easy to read, showing a solid command of English grammar, even though the content does not fulfill the task instructions.

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