Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-17

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 6.5)

A growing number of people contend that the schools and universities focus too much on teaching facts instead of giving emphasis on practical knowledge. I firmly believe that some educational institutions invest more time on theoretical aspects and due to this students are not well equipped to secure an employment after their studies.

To commence with, the main reason why some people argue that the schools and colleges are not providing essential practical training is that freshers are unable to crack the interviews due to knowledge gap. To exemplify, since most of the engineering colleges only teach theories related to syllabus without providing a deep dive practical analysis on how a machine or a technology works. As a result, children lack practical competencies which are indispensable to crack an interview. To exemplify, during my studies of computer science and engineering, I noticed that my college's syllabus consist of more theoretical chapters rather than teaching how to build computer and web applications. Additionally, In the recent years an increasingly number of engineering students choose to pursue an MBA degree. This means that initially learners wanted to become an engineer but due to lack of skills they were unable to secure a job. Hence, they opted for higher education in a completely different field of study.

On the other hand, some people think that colleges and universities are providing enough practical knowledge. The dominant reason is that either their children or they themselves have done engineering or diploma from a renowned institute. Although most of college fail to provide practical trainings, there are some good institutions which focus more on practical aspects of education. Their students not only gain practical skills but also learn interview cracking techniques. Consequently, they are able to grab a high paying job. For example, there are some top tier institutes in India such as IITs and NITs. After complete graduation from these colleges, 98% of the students were able to secure a job because they invest more on job ready skills.

To recapitulate, this essay has discussed that students are unable to secure a job and they are switching their field from technical to administration side are the reason why some people believe that educational centres are not proving enough practical training whereas also explained that few people think the opposite because their children have studied in top-tier colleges which provide market ready skills.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments are relevant, particularly the focus on the gap between academic theory and industry requirements. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The second paragraph relies on repetitive examples (engineering/computer science), which limits the depth of the argument. While the position is clear, the conclusion is a bit summary-heavy rather than reinforcing the main argument. To reach a higher band, you should aim to broaden the scope of your examples beyond engineering to demonstrate a more comprehensive understanding of the issue across different levels of education.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph has a central topic, and there is a progression of ideas. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Additionally', and 'Consequently'. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the use of 'To exemplify' twice in the same paragraph. Additionally, the referencing in the final paragraph is a bit clunky, making the sentence structure difficult to follow. Improving the flow between sentences and using a wider variety of linking words would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'indispensable', 'competencies', and 'top-tier'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'deep dive practical analysis' (which is slightly awkward) and 'After complete graduation' (should be 'After completing graduation'). You also repeat the phrase 'secure a job' multiple times, which limits the lexical variety. To improve, try to use more synonyms and collocations related to the topic of education and employment to show greater flexibility and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'the schools and universities focus' (should be 'schools and universities focus'), 'an increasingly number' (should be 'an increasing number'), and 'most of college fail' (should be 'most colleges fail'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are some issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. The errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for these small, recurring errors would significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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