Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-13

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say History is one of the most important school subjects. Other people think that in today’s world subjects like Science and technology are more important than History.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example form your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The growing influence of history and science subjects have sparked various debates. Some people believe that history is one of the crucial school subjects. Other individuals argue that in modern time subjects such as science and technology are more important than history. In this essay, I will discuss both views and give my opinion with some suitable examples.

On the one hand, the history subjects are very essential in school. When students are reading the history subjects then they get the information about the past time. For example, when students study the history subjects they easily understand what happen in 1947 and 1965. Most people are not know about it that the Pakistan is established in 1947. Histroy connect the people with their religion and culture then individuals easily represent their culture with foreign people . On the other hand, nowadays science and technology subjects are very important for students. When students get lecture about computer subjects in school then they easily work on the internet and earn the good money. Some science subjects such as physics and biology are very useful in modern time. When students study the biology they get the information about human diseases.

However, we should not ignore the history subjects, but science and thecnology subjects are more important than history. The science has change transport system, now people easily can go from one place to another place within short time.

In conclusion, I think science and technology subjects have significant advantages and notable disadvantages, and their impacts depends on how effectively they are managed in society.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the importance of history and the opposing view favoring science and technology, while also providing a personal opinion. The position is stated, although the development of ideas tends to be limited and repetitive. For instance, the arguments regarding history are somewhat superficial, mentioning that students 'get the information about the past time' and citing specific dates like 1947 and 1965 without deep elaboration. Similarly, the arguments for science and technology touch upon internet usage and biology for human diseases, but these points are underdeveloped. The conclusion contains a slight contradiction by mentioning 'notable disadvantages' of science and technology, which were not previously discussed in the body paragraphs. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing it at a Band 6 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different views and the writer's opinion. However, cohesion is frequently mechanical and repetitive, heavily relying on basic transitional phrases such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'When students... then they...' at the start of sentences. Furthermore, referencing and logical progression within paragraphs sometimes falter, as seen in the abrupt transition in the third body paragraph starting with 'However, we should not ignore the history subjects...'. While the text remains readable, the repetitive cohesive structures and occasional awkward transitions prevent it from achieving a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but it lacks range and precision. The student frequently repeats common words and phrases, such as 'subjects,' 'history,' 'science,' and 'students.' There are noticeable attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are often marred by inappropriate word choices or word formation errors, such as 'thecnology' (technology) and 'earn the good money.' Collocations are sometimes unnatural, as in 'reading the history subjects' rather than 'studying history.' Although communication is not impeded and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic arguments, the frequent lexical limitations and spelling errors keep this criterion at a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, often utilizing subordinate clauses introduced by words like 'when' and 'because.' However, control over grammar is inconsistent. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('establish in 1947'), subject-verb agreement issues ('Most people are not know about it', 'impacts depends'), and redundant auxiliary structures ('when students study the history subjects they easily understand what happen'). Punctuation and capitalization errors also appear, such as 'Histroy' and missing commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, their frequency means that error-free sentences are in the minority, corresponding to a Band 5.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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