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)

In regards to the above topic, i feel it is subjective but however, i will talk about both because i am directed to give me my opinion on it.While growing up, i did not have the best education most especialy learning facts and not enough time in learning pracical skills.

In the year 2003, i was studying my undergraduate in one of the universities in Nigeria. There, we lacked good practical equipments. Mostly in chemistry, every studnet never had the priviledge to have a personalized titrating kit, we always share a kit with about 10 students, thereby reducing the practicality skills of the indivual. Allocations given to parastatals but again funds get diverted for their personal greed and leaving the practical learning hub in shambles. Governments hardly pay attention to public schools mostly because it is a public owned space, they feel less bothered compared if it were to be acquired by them.On this note, i solidly agree that too much time is spent on leanring facts and not enough learning practical skills.

On the other hand, it may differ from each tertiary institutions because some universities may have a standardized laboratory that will effectively manage each students ability to make a simple titration. In recent times, most private institutions has made it compulsory that every laboratory must be fully equiped, ranging from computer laboratories, to chemistry, physics and biology laboratories must be properly equiped for efficient growth and personal developement.

In concluion i feel there should be a balance where the governments and the public sector can collaborate alongside with the Ministry of Education.If successfully this can be achieved, there will be enough both learning facts and practical skills in our institutions now and and the future

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position agreeing that too much time is spent on facts rather than practical skills. Relevant ideas are presented, such as the lack of equipment in Nigerian universities and the contrast with private institutions. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others; for instance, the discussion on personal greed and government neglect is somewhat superficial and drifts into a rant rather than maintaining a balanced academic argument. To reach a higher level, the writer would need to extend and support all arguments more thoroughly with consistent depth throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, and the writing is divided into logical paragraphs. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transition phrases like 'In regards to the above topic, i feel it is subjective but however' are awkward, and referencing is not always clear, such as the abrupt shift to personal anecdotes without smooth transitional markers. Additionally, some cohesive devices are used repetitively. To improve, the writer should ensure that ideas flow more naturally from one sentence to the next by employing a wider variety of sophisticated and accurate cohesive links.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'parastatals', 'standardized laboratory', and 'collaborate'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form that occasionally cause slight strain, such as 'equipments' (equipment is uncountable), 'priviledge' (privilege), 'studnet' (student), 'pracical' (practical), 'indivual' (individual), and 'concluion' (conclusion). Furthermore, phrasing like 'fully equiped' contains minor spelling slips. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to expand their control of less common lexical items, ensure correct word forms, and eliminate spelling inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at subordination and relative clauses. There are, however, some errors in grammar and punctuation, including capitalization issues ('i'), missing articles ('in chemistry', 'each students ability'), subject-verb agreement issues ('every... student never had', 'laboratories must be properly equiped... for efficient growth'), and awkward clause structures like 'If successfully this can be achieved'. Despite these errors, they rarely impede overall communication. To move further up, the writer must produce a higher proportion of error-free sentences and demonstrate better control over complex grammatical structures and punctuation.

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