Band 7 Example

Question: Where do children learn skills in your country?

Idea 1

Educational Institutions
Model Answer
I believe that school is where children learn the most skills. Teachers show them how to do things, which is different from how they learn at home. Kids are also tested at school, so they feel more pressure. They know they will be tested on what they learn, which makes them pay more attention.
I think that school is the place where they learn most skills. They are explicitly taught how to do things by teachers and this is very different from the way they are taught things in the home. Children are also evaluated at school so this puts added pressure on them as they know they will be tested on the skills they have learnt which makes them focus more.
Grammar Analysis
Passive voice: "They are explicitly taught how to do things by teachers" The passive voice is used here, emphasizing the teaching behavior of teachers, rather than the learning behavior of children, enhancing the expressiveness and complexity of the sentence. Present continuous tense: "Children are also evaluated at school" The present continuous tense is used here, showing that evaluation is an ongoing activity in schools, enhancing the timeliness and continuity of the sentence. Relative clause: "the skills they have learnt" This relative clause describes in detail the types of skills that children need to be tested on, increasing the amount of information and complexity of the sentence.
Vocabulary
  • explicitly
  • different from
  • evaluated
  • added pressure
  • focus

Idea 2

Family Environment
Model Answer
Definitely at home. We learn most of the life skills needed for living independently at home. Like cooking, we learn by watching and helping at home. As we grow older, we get more responsibilities at home, and these skills stay with us forever and are passed down to our children.
At home, for sure. Most of the life skills we will need for when we move out and live independently are learnt at home. Take cooking for example. We learn it by watching and helping at home. As we get older, we are given more responsibilities in the home and these are things that live with us forever and we pass down to our children too.
Grammar Analysis
Present participle as adverbial: "watching and helping at home" Using the present participle as an adverbial, describes the process of learning cooking skills, enhancing the descriptiveness and liveliness of the sentence. Passive voice: "are passed down to our children" Using the passive voice indicates that the passing down of skills happens passively, emphasizing the naturalness and importance of inheritance.
Vocabulary
  • life skills
  • move out
  • independently
  • responsibility
  • live with us
  • pass down