Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-08

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)

Nowadays, from primary schools to universities spent too much time on learning facts instead on learning practical skills that has become a widely discussed issue. Few people believe that students spending more time on learning books and not giving the time to practical skills. I completely agree with this view because learning facts is not enough to grow in future everyone need to learn different skills.

Firstly, one of the main reason why I agree is that nowadays students really don't have any skills to develop in schools or universities and also they just focus on learning facts on books and for that reason students are very week by mentally and they take a hard stress in their life. This is because in school they don't teach you about practical things they give information about books. For example, by focusing on practical students can learn in easy way and they can understand everything by practically instead of reading books.

Secondly, another important reason is that many students don't understand the books so they need to give them information via practical so they can understand easily. Moreover, by learning skills students can gain knowledge very quickly and also they can fit any hard information in their mind.

In conclusion, I completely agree that many students don't get practical skills and they just focus on learning facts. This is mainly because students can learn easily from skills and they can develop more skills they can get in their future life and learning practical skills is much more needed as compared to learning facts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is limited. While you state that practical skills are important, the arguments are repetitive and lack specific, concrete examples. For instance, you mention that students are 'very week by mentally' and 'take a hard stress', but these points are not clearly explained or supported with relevant evidence. To improve, you should focus on expanding your arguments with specific examples of practical skills (e.g., financial literacy, critical thinking, or vocational training) and explaining how these would benefit students in a real-world context, rather than repeating the same general points about 'learning books'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion', but the internal flow within paragraphs is often disjointed. Some sentences, such as 'This is because in school they don't teach you about practical things they give information about books', lack clear logical links to the preceding statements. To achieve a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one, creating a smoother transition of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. You frequently use the same terms, such as 'learning facts', 'practical skills', and 'books'. There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'very week by mentally' (likely meaning 'mentally weak') and 'fit any hard information in their mind'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and synonyms to avoid repetition. For example, instead of 'learning books', you could use 'theoretical knowledge' or 'academic curriculum'. Expanding your range of collocations will help you express your ideas with more precision and sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'universities spent' instead of 'universities spend'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'they can understand everything by practically'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some run-on sentences that lack necessary commas or conjunctions. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like verb tense consistency and article usage. Increasing the variety of complex structures while ensuring accuracy will help raise your score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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