Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-23

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)

if i would have opportunity to choose whether most of the time should be spend on learning facts or leaning practical skills for all level of education from children's to university students - i would say that leaning practical skills would be much more beneficial for all level of education than learning only on facts.

the first and foremost reason would be learning practical skills than the facts will develop students cognitive skills, they would be more creative through the practical skills. For example, the drawing subject or the medical students who are having knowledge doing work practically they built their brain much more than working on the facts, through that they can become an artist in the near future if they have good painting skills.

second reason to support my point would be having knowledge practically will enhance economic growth and earn good amount of earning. For example, children will get more opportunities working in hospitals, they are going to be successful in mechanical or electrical engineering, plumbing jobs which will boost the whole economy's growth and as well as they will earn good sort of income in the future. They do not need to worry about their bread and butter as they have got good skill and secure their life.

Overall, i believe that even though spending time on learning facts, from all level of education groups have their own advantages but having proper knowlege of hand-work experience and study will pays them more than learning on facts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position in favor of practical skills over facts across all levels of education. Ideas are presented to support this position, such as cognitive development and economic growth. However, the development of these ideas tends to be repetitive and somewhat generalized. For instance, the examples provided regarding drawing subjects, medical students, and engineering jobs lack specific depth or fully articulated exploration. The writer covers all parts of the task and maintains a clear position throughout, fulfilling the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs with topic sentences, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as "the first and foremost reason" and "second reason to support my point". However, paragraphing is poorly handled as the student only uses three massive blocks of text without proper visual or logical separation, and some transitions feel mechanical. Referencing is also occasionally unclear or repetitive, placing this response firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range, where organization is present but cohesion is faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations such as "cognitive skills," "economic growth," and "bread and butter." However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as "learning only on facts" instead of 'focusing only on facts,' "having knowledge doing work practically," and "earn good amount of earning." Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical inaccuracies restrict the score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. The opening sentence contains a major structural error ("if i would have opportunity..."). There are frequent punctuation errors, such as run-on sentences, misuse of dashes, and capitalization issues at the start of sentences. While meaning is generally conveyed despite the errors, the high frequency of grammatical slips and awkward phrasing prevents the response from achieving a higher band score.

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

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