Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-27

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 5.0)

I disagree with the saying that people will spend their most of the time from primary schools to university level is mainly on learning facts than learning practical skills depends because multiple factors are involved and each person scenario is different from any other person.

One scenario is that the person is studying in an institute where there is no applied education only theoratical education is available therefore the person studing there unable to gather practical skill by default from the institute. However the same person do some research by himself and take practical courses either online or onsite in some institute to enhance his skillset that he also gain practical skills as well. Hence when he/she graduated will be able to work in the industry with the combination of theoratical as well as practical skills.

The second scenario is that the student is studing the applied education that gives the full exposure of practical skills to him more than theoratical and in that case his/her practical skill will be more polished then the learning facts. The result of this education is the graduate will not able to compete only on the based of practical skills.

At the end neither single way either learning facts or practical skills will be sufficant, the thing is you have to make a combination of both learning practical skills with the learning facts which can be possible from self learning we do during the time of learning either facts or practical skills from the institue to excel in life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by discussing whether too much time is spent on learning facts versus practical skills. However, the position taken in the introduction ('I disagree with the saying that people will spend their most of the time... depends because multiple factors are involved') is convoluted and lacks clarity. While the student attempts to support their ideas by dividing the response into different scenarios, the arguments remain somewhat repetitive and under-developed. The conclusion tries to synthesise a balanced view, but overall, the task response suffers from underdeveloped ideas and a lack of a clear, sustained position throughout the essay. This places the response in the Band 5 category.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, which helps give it a basic visual structure. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing sentence construction. Cohesive devices are used sparingly and sometimes inaccurately, such as 'At the end neither single way...' to introduce the conclusion. Referencing is often unclear, particularly with pronoun usage like 'the person' or 'he/she' referring back and forth in a confusing manner. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal organisation of ideas within paragraphs lacks clear flow, resulting in an overall arrangement that feels disjointed and mechanical. This aligns with the Band 5 descriptors for cohesion and organisation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on words like 'scenario', 'practical', 'theoratical' (misspelled as theoratical), and 'education'. There are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'studing' instead of studying, and collocational awkwardness like 'take practical courses... in some institute'. The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for conveying a simple message, but errors and lack of precision cause some difficulty for the reader. There is little evidence of less common lexical items used accurately or with stylistic awareness. This performance corresponds to a Band 5 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty and grammatically strained. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'people will spend their most of the time... is mainly on'), tense inconsistencies, and missing articles. Punctuation is also problematic, leading to run-on sentences that lack appropriate separation (e.g., 'However the same person do some research by himself and take practical courses either online or onsite in some institute to enhance his skillset that he also gain practical skills as well'). These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader and restrict the grammar to a Band 5 level.

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.