Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-17

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)

Some people believe that history is an important subject to teach in schools, while others argue that science and technology are more important in the modern world. I believe that both have an important role in education; students who like to study the past can read history books, but how can they gain knowledge about different things to study in science and technology?

On the one hand, people who like to learn about the past even he can read history books. It can help individuals to learn about the culture, traditions, and how to live their daily life of differenys countries. In addition, then peoples reads about past events, it can help them in modern societies to avoid these things in the future and cannot repeated this mistake again. For example, teaching about the major conflicts to the new generation can avoid this habit and spend their lives with peace and patience.

On the other hand, science and technology are essential subjects in modern society because they have a direct impact on society and the economy. Many people can learn about science and technology because it is beneficial for their careers and brings a lot of opportunities. For instance, software engineers in weather forecasting and in the medical field have a large amount opportunties that the company can pay good salaries.

In my opinion, both cover the same areas, but science and technology can have more value because it is important for the economy and the socity.

In conclusion, to learn about the history is important role in the development of the progress of the country, but science and technology are the positive impact on the young generation. I advise you to make this subject more essential for everyone to learn and build a strong nation.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the importance of history and the rising prominence of science and technology, and a clear position is provided. However, the development of ideas lacks depth in certain areas. For instance, the introduction poses a rhetorical question rather than clearly outlining the essay's direction, and the supporting arguments tend to generalise without sufficient elaboration. In the second body paragraph, the example regarding major conflicts is relevant but somewhat abbreviated. Despite these limitations in full extension, the main aspects of the prompt are covered, and the writer's stance is maintained throughout. This performance aligns best with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised correctly to separate the two differing views. However, cohesion at the sentence level is frequently faulty or mechanical. Expressions such as 'On the one hand, people who like to learn about the past even he can read history books' demonstrate weak referencing and flawed cohesive links. Furthermore, logical progression between sentences is occasionally disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing clause structures. While the text is generally readable, the mechanical nature of the cohesive devices and referencing errors prevent the response from achieving a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, touching upon relevant themes such as 'culture, traditions', 'modern societies', and 'software engineers'. However, there are noticeable errors in word formation, spelling, and collocation, such as 'differenys', 'peoples reads', 'cannot repeated', and 'opportunties'. Less common lexical items are attempted but often used inaccurately or unidiomatically. Although these lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips do not completely impede communication, they cause noticeable strain for the reader and prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in grammatical structures. Nevertheless, control over these structures is inconsistent, leading to frequent errors in tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and clause connection. Examples include 'even he can read history books', 'then peoples reads about past events', and 'to learn about the history is important role'. Many complex sentences contain structural faults that can cause difficulty for the reader, though the core meaning usually remains discernible. These persistent grammatical inaccuracies place the response firmly in the Band 5 category.

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