Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-24

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 7.0)

Some opine that in many educational centres, from primary to tertiary levels, students are encouraged to memorize facts instead of gaining practical skills. I agree to the fact and believe that rote-learning is outdated and more emphasis should be given to hands-on skills.

The primary reason behind this paradigm is that the same traditional curriculum is adopted by educators every year which has led to the continuation of similar educational trends which were designed decades ago. Nevertheless, in modern times, considering how technology has revolutionized other aspects of human life, the old curriculum which focused on memorising facts must be improvised to allow more firsthand education. For example, numerous concepts in the science subject in schools are still taught as facts, and students are expected to memorize them. But if they learn from performing science experiments in the laboratory, they would gain firsthand knowledge and better understanding of the concepts.

Another contributing factor is that, even though in higher grades the practical portion of the studies are mandatory, it is not given equal weightage compared to the theoretical portion. For instance, in many secondary schools, practical exam only accounts for 20% and theoretical exam accounts for the rest 80% of the grades. This disparity has led to focusing more on learning facts rather than practical skills. Nevertheless, some pedagogical experts believe that the education system should provide equal weightage to both practical and theoretical aspects of the examination system.

To sum up, although students should spend time to asssimilate information as a part of the traditional syllabus, equal importance should be given to both theoretical knowledge and practical skills as it stimulates critical thinking and provide firsthand knowledge to students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating an agreement with the premise that education focuses too heavily on rote-learning. The position is maintained throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant and supported by examples, such as the mention of science experiments and the 80/20 weightage split in secondary school exams. While the arguments are well-developed, the essay could reach a higher band by exploring the potential counter-arguments or the necessity of theoretical knowledge in more depth to provide a more nuanced perspective. Overall, the response is focused and directly answers the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'The primary reason', 'Nevertheless', and 'For instance' are used effectively to link sentences and ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different arguments. The flow is smooth, and the relationship between the ideas is clear throughout the text, meeting the requirements for a band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some precision. Phrases like 'paradigm', 'pedagogical experts', and 'assimilate information' show an attempt to use less common lexical items. There are occasional minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'weightage' (which is common in some regions but less standard in international English) and 'improvised' (which usually means to create something spontaneously, whereas 'revised' or 'updated' would be more accurate in this context). However, these do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is good control over grammar, and the meaning is always clear. There are a few minor errors, such as 'the science subject' (should be 'science subjects') and 'practical portion of the studies are' (should be 'is'). Punctuation is generally accurate. While the range of structures is adequate, more variety in complex sentence forms would be needed to reach the band 8 level. The errors present are infrequent and do not cause any difficulty for the reader.

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.