Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-07-30

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that in all levels of education, from primary schools to universities, too much time is spent on learning facts and not enough on learning practical skills.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Some individual believe that in all the different levels of education, that the time spent on learning theories is much than the one given to practical learning (skill acquisition).

Nigeria is a country that is still struggling with challenges in the educational sector, this can be attributed to the neglect by the government to improve on the existing standard and quality of learning, starting from learning equipment to unqualified teachers and in fact, a lot of issues begging for attention, i was thought from primary to university without any practical experience on the subject matter.

I total align myself with the believe because it is true, you can hardly see a primary or even secondary school in Nigeria with computer or other skills learning aids

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 125 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the student clearly states their position in agreement with the prompt, the arguments are underdeveloped and lack the necessary depth and supporting evidence required for a full essay. The response touches on the educational challenges in Nigeria, but it does not explore the broader implications of the topic across all levels of education as requested. Due to the severe under-length, the task is only partially addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into three short paragraphs, which is a basic attempt at structure. However, the progression of ideas is limited by the brevity of the text. Cohesive devices are sparse and sometimes misused, such as the run-on sentence structure in the second paragraph. The connection between the introduction and the body paragraphs is weak, and the overall flow is disjointed. To improve, the student should use a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in contrast') to connect sentences and paragraphs more logically.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally functional but limited in range. There are instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'much than the one given' instead of 'much more than the time given' and 'I total align myself' instead of 'I totally align myself'. The student relies on basic terminology and struggles to incorporate more sophisticated or academic vocabulary appropriate for an IELTS essay. To reach a higher band, the student needs to expand their range of collocations and use more precise academic terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('Some individual believe'), tense consistency ('i was thought' instead of 'I was taught'), and sentence structure (run-on sentences and comma splices). The range of structures is very limited, consisting mostly of simple or poorly constructed complex sentences. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas. Significant improvement in basic sentence construction and grammatical accuracy is required to convey ideas effectively.

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