Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-04

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)

Well, it is undeniable that education plays a pivotal role in everyones life. On that note, a fraction number of people believe that schools and colleges spent more time on theory and not much time on practical skills. In this essay I will not only discuss reasons behind my agreement but my inclinations will also be highlighted.

There are number of reasons behind this notion. The first and foremost reason is that, it saves time of students as well as faculty. To be more precise, practicals usually takes too long time so faculty prefer to study most of the task theoractically instead of practically. For example, students has many lactures and classes that needs to complete in one semester and they do not have enough time to spend half of the day in lab for practical, it waste their time and they could not get enough time for study and finish syllabus.Another striking reason behind this is, it reduce cost of the organisation. In other word, practicals need a lot of equipments and chemicals to follow the procedures that all schools and universities could not afford. Thus, school and university spent more time on thery.

There are plethora of drawbacks of this notion. To begin with, it reduces childrens understanding and skills because if they do not follow it practically they have to read theory and memorise it but if they do practically they can easily remember it. Moreover, students are not able to perform task when it comes in front of them. For example, if medical students do not practice it practically blood collection, testing and all procedure, when it comes to do practically they could not follow it. Therefore, practical skills is also important.

To recapitulate, even though there are some drawbacks such as students could not follow it practically, I still believe that small organisations and schools are not able to afford it and they do not have enough time to follow this practices.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether too much time is spent on learning facts rather than practical skills, presenting a clear position that agrees with the statement. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed, which aligns with a partial coverage of the task. For instance, the reasons provided regarding saving time and reducing institutional costs are stated rather than deeply extended. In the second body paragraph, the arguments about student comprehension touch upon relevant issues like medical training, but the explanations lack depth and logical progression. To reach a higher level, the writer would need to fully develop each supporting argument with more thorough explanations and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some organization with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, yet it lacks a clear overall progression. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas is occasionally disjointed, such as when the final conclusion abruptly revisits arguments about school affordability and time constraints rather than synthesizing the main points effectively. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on transitional phrases like 'The first and foremost reason is that' and 'Another striking reason behind this is'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, leading to a choppy flow that impedes the overall readability of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing a sufficient range to communicate basic points, though it features noticeable errors and repetition. The writer attempts less common vocabulary items, such as 'plethora', 'undeniable', and 'recapitulate', but encounters issues with word choice, word form, and spelling. Examples of these inaccuracies include 'fraction number of people', 'theoractically', 'lactures', 'equipments', and 'thery'. These lexical errors do not completely block communication, but they cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect limitations in precise vocabulary control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response employs a limited range of structures, with frequent errors that can cause difficulty for the reader. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, these are often faulty, featuring errors in subject-verb agreement, plurals, prepositions, and verb forms. Examples of these frequent issues include 'everyones life', 'schools and colleges spent', 'practicals usually takes too long time', 'classes that needs to complete', 'it reduce cost', and 'students are not able to perform task when it comes in front of them'. Punctuation and article usage also show persistent inaccuracies, indicating that basic and complex sentence patterns are not yet handled with consistent control.

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