Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-28

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)

It is irrefutable that learning instituations including primary schools and universities devote a considerable about of time in teaching facts instead of practical skills. I completely agree with this statement give by some people due to the following reasons.

The fundamental cause of not focusing on teaching real-world skills is the exam specified approach. Teachers are entitled to teach students from theoratical books and focus mainly on the topics which are predicted to appear in exams. This is evidents in students of schools, colleges and universities that they chase better results than engaging more in learning other useful skills like, hoe to fix a leaking pipe. Therefore, in order to score more they learn the concepts as described in their books.

Moreover, teaching facts from the beginning make students capacable of understanding the cycle of day and night, occurances of natural disasters and ways to handle them and protect themselves. Schools and universities are providing professional support in learning these subjects deeply because they are the base of professional development.

Although learning facts teaches the children about physics and the phylosphy of nature, practical skills such as doing household chores, handling money and so on provides the direct insight on real life situation. By learning all these skills along with the learning facts young adults can have a smoother transition from being student to be an independent adult.

In conclusion, undoubtedly the time provided for learning facts compared to hands-on practise is significant. I agree with this statement because this not only make children be focused on text they read in their books but also keeps them away from the real world practises. Eventually, by not having brief knowledge on practical skills they suffer to become self-sufficient.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, agreeing that too much time is spent learning facts rather than practical skills. The ideas are generally well developed, as seen in the body paragraphs where the student discusses the exam-focused approach of schools and the value of fundamental knowledge. However, there is some minor tendency to over-generalise, and certain supporting points, such as the mention of natural disasters, lack full contextual integration. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.5 to 7.0, and fits comfortably within Band 7 due to the clear position and well-extended supporting arguments throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, starting with an introduction, followed by well-sequenced body paragraphs discussing exam pressure and foundational knowledge, and concluding with a summary of the writer's stance. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Although', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to link ideas, although there are minor mechanical errors in cohesion and referencing (e.g., 'give by some people'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively, creating a coherent overall arrangement that guides the reader smoothly from one point to the next, aligning well with the Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student attempts a range of less common vocabulary appropriate for the task, such as 'irrefutable', 'fundamental cause', and 'self-sufficient'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'instituations' instead of institutions, 'about' instead of amount, 'give' instead of given, 'theoratical' instead of theoretical, 'evidents' instead of evident, 'hoe' instead of how, 'capacable' instead of capable, and 'occurances' instead of occurrences. These inaccuracies occasionally distract the reader, though they do not seriously impede overall communication, placing the response securely in the Band 6 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating structures such as conditional and concessive clauses (e.g., 'Although learning facts teaches the children about physics...'). However, there are frequent grammatical and mechanical errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('teaching facts from the beginning make students') and prepositions ('devote a considerable amount of time in teaching' instead of 'to teaching'). Punctuation and word-formation errors are also noticeable. While the meaning remains clear and communication is rarely impeded, the frequency of errors prevents the grammar score from reaching a higher band.

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