Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-27

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)

There is an ongoing debate about the education of children. Some people believe that educational institutions should teach students practical skills along with the theoretical facts. I largely agree with the given statement. My inclination is elaborated in the ensuing paragraph with relevant examples.

The compelling reason to justify my stand is that practical skills help students to prepare for a better job. Because after graduation, they have to face real work issues instead of memorizing facts. For instance, students may know information about how books are manufactured, however they never know the steps of procedures.

The another benefit of teaching hands on skills is that, allows pupil to get ready for the problem- solving skills. This is because when it comes to the workplace matters, they already learned how to think critically and make decisions. To cite an example, providing them practical assignment related practical topics will lead them to work in team. Not only this, it will create conflicts and various opinion which leads them to learn team-work and make them better decision maker.

On the contrary, some people counter claim the mention support as theorical skills are vital to learn because it helps to get information about practical works how to follow the process and so on.

To conclude, while theorical courses are crucial to learn about practical courses to get information, i believe that real-world skills should be prioritized as it helps children to experience about real work place issues, and procedures.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the essay is slightly under the 250-word minimum, which impacts the development of ideas. While the arguments regarding job preparation and critical thinking are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped and lack depth. The examples provided, such as the manufacturing of books, are a bit vague and do not fully illustrate the point. To improve, you should expand on your examples and ensure that each paragraph provides a more comprehensive explanation of your reasoning to meet the length requirement and demonstrate a more thorough exploration of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'For instance', 'To cite an example', and 'On the contrary'. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'The another benefit'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your paragraph structure is more cohesive, with clear topic sentences that guide the reader through your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher score. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'theorical' (theoretical), 'counter claim the mention support', and 'experience about real work place issues'. These errors occasionally impede the clarity of your message. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more sophisticated vocabulary related to education and professional development. Avoid repeating basic words and try to incorporate more academic terminology to enhance the overall quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of your writing. Examples include 'allows pupil to get ready' (should be 'allows pupils'), 'they already learned' (should be 'they have already learned'), and 'various opinion' (should be 'various opinions'). Punctuation is also inconsistent in places. While these errors do not completely prevent understanding, they are frequent enough to lower the score. You should work on subject-verb agreement, article usage, and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately.

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

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