Task
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?
Candidate’s Answer
This is an answer written by a candidate who achieved a Band 6.5 score.
I agree with people who say that too much time is spent on learning facts and not enough on learning practical skills, in all levels of education.
Since I was a child, I’ve been studying in different sorts of institution and I could realize – mainly when I started to work – that most of the time we spend more time on ‘what’ or ‘why’ do something than ‘how’ to do it.
For sure, I believe it’s important to know the theory through which ‘things works’. This knowledge encourage reflection, research, and so on …
That’s why the education standard is: on one side there is a teacher explaining the subject and on the other side there are the students trying to learn everything.
Usually, there are few practical classes, when we can really develop our skills, for example: laboratory classes and computer classes.
Even in my university course – Industrial Engineering – there are few practical tasks.
That’s why I think the structure of education could be more balanced in terms of theory and practical skills. I this way people would be more capable to cope with personal and professional problems.
I believe that some institutions have already realized the importance of this balanced education. Some evidences to prove it: the increasing number of study cases and tasks which involve real problems like solving a marketing problem in a real company. Other evidence is the increasing number of MBAs offered around the world.
Therefore, I agree that we need to promote more the practical skills, but, as I see it, this change has been occurring.
Examiner’s Comment
The candidate addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout the response. Ideas are presented, extended and supported, arranged coherently and there is a clear overall progression. Cohesive devices are used effectively, but paragraphing is not adequate—many of the ‘paragraphs’ consist of a single sentence. The range of vocabulary is sufficient to allow some flexibility and precision, and shows an awareness of style and collocation (reflection, research, balanced in terms of theory and…, personal and professional problems). There is a variety of complex structures with frequent error-free sentences and good control over grammar and punctuation.
