Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-12

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)

Many people claim that primary and universities education wasting plenty of time on learning facts rather than learning practical skills. In my opinion, schools and universities should spent time on learning practical skills which is more obvious and help develop growth, make students successful.

Schools and universities spent too much time on learning facts by giving lectures to students , work of assignments, where students generally not able to achieve skills on practical basis. Furthermore, institutions charges extra fees from the students, for gain practical assessment for instance, some schools and universities charges extra fees apart from curriculum, if students want to participate in sports or other facility they have to pay extra fees.

However, I completely disagree with the fact that institutions spending too much time on learning facts. Should be spent much time on learning practical skills which can be helpful for students for achieve career goal and develop learning skills. Additionally, practical knowledge is also mandatory to learn a new things and become creative. Learning only facts can not make individual sufficient to do any practical task. Gaining knowledge of something is better only when the task done by practically.

In conclusion, primary schools and universities should spent much time on practical learning because only much time spent on facts can not help students more confidents towards the goals ,whereas practical knowledge create more opportunities for students who focus more practical work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the balance between facts and practical skills in education. However, the position is inconsistent; the student states they disagree with the premise that too much time is spent on facts, yet the entire essay argues that schools should focus more on practical skills. This contradiction weakens the overall argument. Furthermore, the response is under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. Ideas are presented but lack sufficient supporting evidence or detailed examples, leading to a repetitive structure. To improve, ensure your position is clearly defined and maintained throughout, and expand on your points with more specific, illustrative examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is hindered by the contradictory stance mentioned above. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore' and 'In conclusion', they are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately. For instance, the transition 'However, I completely disagree' does not logically follow the previous paragraph, which also argued for practical skills. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the progression of ideas feels disjointed. To improve, focus on using transition words that accurately reflect the relationship between your ideas and ensure each paragraph has a clear, singular focus that supports your main thesis.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is frequent repetition of basic terms like 'learning', 'facts', 'practical skills', and 'fees'. Some word choices are imprecise, such as 'work of assignments' instead of 'completing assignments' or 'make individual sufficient' instead of 'enable individuals'. There are also minor errors in collocation, such as 'gain practical assessment'. To improve, try to incorporate a wider variety of synonyms and more sophisticated collocations to express your ideas with greater clarity and academic tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('institutions charges', 'schools and universities spent'), incorrect verb forms ('should spent', 'task done by practically'), and missing articles. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and the correct use of modal verbs followed by the base form of the verb (e.g., 'should spend' instead of 'should spent').

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

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