Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-22

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)

Many people believe that schools and colleges nowadays focus too much on teaching textbook information instead of training students in useful life skills.I share this opinion as strictly focusing on textbook knowledge makes it difficult for students to handle everyday challenges and professional work environments.

On the one hand, learning mostly facts is not useful for young students. Most schools nowadays force children to remember mathematical formulas and grammar rules by heart. Because the curriculum is heavy with theory, teachers do not get time to focus on interactive or practical activities in the classroom.This happens because schools only want students to pass written exams. As a result, students do not learn useful practical skills. For instance, many students pass school with very good marks.

Secondly, the lack of practical learning is also highly evident in higher education. At universities, undergraduate students spend a significant amount of time attending lectures and memorizing theories to clear their exams. Unfortunately, universities fail to provide the hands-on experience and professional skills that modern companies require from fresh graduates. To illustrate, a civil engineering student might understand every drawing and theory on paper, but they lack the practical knowledge to supervise an actual construction site without senior help. Consequently, because Higher education Gives too much importance to theoretical knowledge, colleges graduate students who hold high degrees but lack career readiness.

In conclusion, although learning academic theories is necessary to pass exams, present-day school and college courses focus too heavily on remembering textbook theories instead of practical work. In my opinion, this method limits students' analytical skills and leaves them completely ready for exams but unready for actual employment. To fix this issue, educational bodies should introduce more hands-on activities and practical life skills into the curriculum alongside textbook learning.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response clearly addresses all parts of the task by presenting a well-developed position on whether too much time is spent on learning facts rather than practical skills. The introduction clearly states the writer's perspective, which is maintained throughout the essay. Both body paragraphs explore different educational levels (schools and universities) with relevant examples, such as the civil engineering student lacking hands-on site experience. The ideas are extended and supported effectively, showing a thorough engagement with the prompt. Although there is a minor contradiction in the conclusion where the student accidentally writes 'completely ready for exams but unready' instead of 'completely unready', the overall task response easily satisfies the criteria for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Information and ideas are coherently sequenced, moving smoothly from primary/secondary education to higher education in the body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Secondly', 'To illustrate', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the text, though occasional mechanical referencing or slight punctuation omissions (such as spacing after periods in a couple of instances) prevent it from reaching a higher band. Overall, the structural progression is logical and easy to follow, making this a solid Band 7.0 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, such as 'professional work environments', 'curriculum is heavy with theory', 'hands-on experience', and 'career readiness'. Less common lexical items are attempted with some awareness of style and collocation. However, there are a few noticeable inaccuracies and awkward phrases, such as 'completely ready for exams but unready for actual employment' (where 'unready' is slightly unnatural or contradictory to the intended meaning of unprepared). Spelling and word choice are generally accurate enough that communication is never impeded, fitting comfortably into the Band 6.5 or 7.0 descriptor. Awarding a 6.5 reflects the occasional minor lexical slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating subordinate clauses effectively (e.g., 'Because the curriculum is heavy with theory, teachers do not get time to focus on interactive or practical activities'). There are frequent error-free sentences, and good control of grammar overall. However, a few minor mechanical errors are present, such as missing spaces after periods in the second and third paragraphs (e.g., 'classroom.This' and 'theories to clear their exams.') as well as capitalization slips like 'Higher education Gives too much importance'. These minor inaccuracies keep the score at a 6.5, as the majority of sentences are well-controlled and meaning is always clear.

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