Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-14

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 6.0)

It is believed by many folks that educational institutions focuses highly on learning the facts instead of practising real-life skills from kindergarten to higher education. I agree with the statement because practical skills are important as it helps in many aspects of life of younger generation.

The major point is practical skills build better communication, problem-solving skills in an individual. It is very important for the future of the young children. Practising practical skills in a younger generation makes them confident in their life, which helps them in their future as well. For example, some folks who do not practice practical skills in their life, they do not have the confidence even if they are right about anything. They cannot express their view points if they do not have confidence.

Moreover, practical skills helps in the employment. Skills, such as problem solving will help in copying the pressure during the job. For example, a student can memorise factual information and get good grades, but when they start working their job, they will find writing professional emails, managing budget or working effectively in a team hard. Factual and theoretical knowledge is still important because they are the foundation of developing practical skills. But the problem only arises when the educational institutes only focus on the rather than real life experiences.

To conclude, factual information is important, but not on the sake of practical skills. As it will help the students to be more productive and confident in their future. And it will help them living their life productively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating an agreement with the view that education focuses too much on facts. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you provide examples like 'writing professional emails' or 'managing budget', the explanation of why these are neglected in schools remains a bit superficial. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting arguments are more thoroughly explored and that you provide a more nuanced discussion on the balance between theoretical knowledge and practical application, rather than just stating that one is better than the other.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'For example', and 'To conclude' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. For instance, the transition between the importance of confidence and the shift to employment skills could be smoother. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'practical skills' at the start of multiple sentences. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas will help improve the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some relevant topic-specific terms like 'theoretical knowledge', 'employment', and 'productive'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is a reliance on simpler phrasing. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'copying the pressure' (likely meant 'coping with') and 'on the sake of' (should be 'at the expense of'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and a wider range of academic vocabulary to express your ideas with greater sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'educational institutions focuses' (should be 'focus') and 'practical skills helps' (should be 'help'). There are also minor punctuation and phrasing errors, such as 'some folks who do not practice... they do not have'. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining complex sentence structures will be beneficial.

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

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