Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-19

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)

As the world continue to undergo significant transformation, it is crucial to strike a balance between theoratical learning and technical skills in the education sector. I firmly believe, that manual skills are giving a better career opportunity but it is unfortunate that more time is spent on cognitive learning. It appears as if people tend to start learning practical skills later instead of it being offered in every stage of education.

Throughout the educational system, time is spent on academic knowledge. This still dominates because these sectors are of the belief that acquiring conceptual understanding is the only thing that is needed. Things have changed and it is evident that many people are struggling to get career opportunities as a result of having only factual knowledge. For example information and technology graduates are struggling to get jobs because artificial intelligence have taken over the duties and responsibilities. Industries prefer hands on experience.

However not all education sectors are still glued to book learning only. Since the world is evolving most school are now adjusting their models of learning because not every individual is talented to academic learning. Recently most schools have been introducing trade courses which shows that they now value the impact they have on career growth. For example most countries have been recruiting trades personal and offering courses for that attracting more and more people. One of the countries with this is Australia.

In conclusion, it is true that all education sectors have been focusing more on the academic side instead of the practical side. However, schools are now realising that practical skills are equally important hence they have started to incorporate them in the education models.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you believe practical skills deserve more attention, while acknowledging that schools are beginning to respond. You address both the dominance of factual learning and the value of practical training, and examples such as trade courses and recruitment in Australia are relevant. This meets the task well, but the support is uneven. The claim that AI has taken over duties and is causing IT graduates to struggle is broad and not clearly explained, and the Australia example is mentioned without showing how it supports your argument. To strengthen the response, explain the effects of practical training with a specific example and develop the reasons behind your view more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The progression from the dominance of academic learning to recent changes in schools is easy to follow, and transitions such as “However” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. Some links between claims are less clear, however. For instance, the move from AI replacing duties to industries preferring hands-on experience needs an explicit explanation. The second body paragraph also shifts from schools introducing trade courses to countries recruiting tradespeople without fully connecting these points. Use clearer referencing and explain how each example supports the paragraph’s main idea to make cohesion more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “theoretical learning,” “practical skills,” “conceptual understanding,” and “career growth.” These choices make the subject clear, and phrases such as “strike a balance” are appropriate. There are also attempts at more specific language, but some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “manual skills are giving a better career opportunity,” “glued to book learning,” and “trades personal.” Spelling errors such as “theoratical” and “personal” for “personnel” also reduce precision. Aim for more natural academic phrasing and check word forms and spelling; this would make your argument sound more controlled and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a subordinate clause in “because these sectors are of the belief…” and a contrast introduced by “However.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “As the world continue” needs subject–verb agreement, “artificial intelligence have taken over” has an agreement error, and “most school are” needs a plural noun and matching verb. The comma after “I firmly believe” is also unnecessary. Review agreement, articles, and punctuation, and edit sentences such as “It appears as if people tend to start learning practical skills later” to ensure the relationships between ideas are expressed accurately.

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