Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-25

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)

There has been an ongoing debate about the education in all levels of primary schools and universities, that they spend too much time on the learning of facts while practical skills are not focused enough. Practical skills are necessary to excel in professional life whereas knowledge based on facts is insufficient for future requirements. This essay will discuss both perspectives and explain why I believe that practical knowledge should be focused more.

Nowadays, as the world is transforming globally, majority of professions are skilled based while most of the simple jobs have been taken over by artificial intelligence. The academic curriculum that is mostly followed by institutions is based on the theoretical learning. These systems prefer students to achieve higher percentages by conventional cramimg and memorizing methods. Although these techniques helps to secure positions and excel academically, they fail to grasp the practical aspects of professionally required expertise. For example, learning of science is more based on reading the books and working on notebooks while real life experiments are hardly performed in the laboratories.

The education in early years of life helps to shape the minds of young individuals. The learning based on practical approaches can encourage children to understand better and retain the knowledge for longer period of time. This will eventually result in more interest for learning skills based on their talents and capabilities. There is a dire need to understand the academic changes around the world which helps the individuals to master different fields.

In conclusion, knowledge based on facts should be taught in educational institutions but more focus and time should be given to enhance the capabilities required to excel professionally.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt clearly and maintains a consistent position throughout. You have identified the core issue—the imbalance between theoretical facts and practical skills—and provided relevant arguments for both sides, ultimately supporting the need for more practical training. The ideas are generally well-developed, though the second paragraph could benefit from more specific examples beyond the mention of science labs to further strengthen the argument. Overall, the response is focused and directly answers the question, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices effectively, such as 'Nowadays,' 'Although,' and 'In conclusion.' However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother to better link the discussion of professional requirements to the developmental benefits for children. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the overall structure supports the argument well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some precision, using terms like 'academic curriculum,' 'professional expertise,' and 'transforming globally.' There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'cramimg' (spelling) and 'skilled based' (should be 'skill-based'). While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, the range is somewhat limited, and some phrasing feels slightly repetitive. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring accurate spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'the education in all levels' (should be 'education at all levels') and 'techniques helps' (subject-verb agreement error). Additionally, 'learning of science is more based on' is slightly awkward. While these errors are present, they do not impede communication. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and preposition usage to increase the number of error-free sentences.

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