minutes on this task It is said that "Not everything that is learned is contained in books". Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? Why?
Sample Response
It is said that "knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruitthat tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad". It illustratescontrasts the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge refers to the awareness of the facts about an object or activityfacts surrounding an object or an activity, while wisdom refers to the judgment about how and whenjudgment as to how and when to use that knowledge. While knowledge can be gained from conventional sources of information such as books, but wisdom can only be acquired through experience.
We refer to books as sources of knowledgesources of information such as books for knowledge in our daily lives, yet the only way to master those skills is throughby practice. It is only through doing that one realises the intricaciessubtle intricacies of the taskactions being performed. This can be seen in our daily lives. At college, students are given courseworka coursework in programming that lasts about a semester. However, it is not the coursework that makes them good programmersmakes them a good programmer in their careersprofession. Rather, it isRather it is the continuingconstant experience they gain while they are programming that makes them a better programmer. After spending some timeAfter spending a certain time in the profession, they may not remember what they learnt fromin books but they can still be a good programmer.
History is filled with numerous examples that only underscore the above-mentioned fact. Michael Jordan learned to play basketball during his high school days. That is when he learnt the rules of the game. However, it was practice'practice' that gave him the required experience to hone his skills. The rules of the game did not change throughout his playinggaming career; rather he became more and more adept every time he played the game to become a legendary basketball player.
Thus, while books may teach a person how to do a particular task, they cannot sharpen his skills at that task. It can only be done through experience.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response presents a clear and well-supported preference for experiential learning, using focused programming and sporting examples to make its case convincingly. Its main limitation is that it partly replaces the requested comparison of two sources of knowledge with a distinction between knowledge and wisdom, leaving book-based learning less fully examined. A more direct, balanced comparison of what each source contributes would strengthen task coverage.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear preference for experience is developed with relevant examples, but the response only partly compares the distinct knowledge gained from each source.
Compare the unique benefits and limits of books and experience directly before explaining why experience is ultimately more important.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through a clear introduction, two focused examples, and a concise conclusion, with cohesive links used effectively.
Make the relationship between the knowledge-versus-wisdom framing and the requested source comparison more explicit across paragraphs.
Lexical Resource
A flexible range of vocabulary conveys precise ideas, although a few collocations such as "a coursework" and "gaming career" are unnatural.
Refine article use and collocational choices while retaining the response's effective topic-specific vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is generally controlled, with occasional errors in conjunctions, agreement, and reference that do not impede meaning.
Edit sentence boundaries and paired conjunctions, especially avoiding constructions such as "while ... but," and maintain consistent pronoun agreement.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
minutes on this task It is said that "Not everything that is learned is contained in books". Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? Why?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.