Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-30
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)
History is an important subject at school as it gives knowledge about the past events that happened in a specific place while, some people argue that science and technology subjects have more importance than history. In my opinion science and technology subjects should be given more priority than history.
History is a subject which gives information about our past and explains events of history to students. It represents the efforts of our national heros and describe their achievements. This kind of knowledge is very crucial to students because they should know about the special events that had occured in the past. This would encourage them to love their country and develop a sense of responsibility. The students are taught to appreciate the nation they belong to and they should be proud of their nation. This is very useful for national cohesion of the country. For instance, recent surveys have shown that most of the schools include history in their school subjects.
Subjects like science and technology are of great importance to childrens as the advancements in these fields is increasing rapidly. The childrens should focus more on their science subjects because this will lead a change in the future. Giving more priority to these subjects can be useful for the students as this would be beneficial for their further life. Technology is bringing a change in the world so if the students will not give enough time to it they would fall back in using technology in their specific fields. Foe instance, some of the education systems are giving more priority to modern technology subjects.
In conclusion, history knowledge is very important for students but more priority should be given to science and technology subjects as these are much more important to them because the future is all about technology.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—the importance of history and the rising significance of science and technology—and clearly states the writer's personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and supported, such as mentioning national cohesion for history and future readiness for technology. However, some arguments feel slightly repetitive and could be extended further with more specific examples. For instance, the discussion on national heroes could be contrasted directly with technological innovation. Overall, the task is adequately fulfilled, meeting the criteria for a Band 6.5 or solid 6.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, two body paragraphs representing each view, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'For instance', 'In conclusion', and 'while'. However, some transitions feel mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'this will lead a change' or 'this would be beneficial'. Additionally, the flow between sentences could be smoother to avoid abrupt shifts. Cohesion functions adequately to make the essay generally coherent, placing it in the Band 6 category.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'national cohesion', 'advancements', and 'modern technology'. However, there are noticeable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'heros' instead of 'heroes', 'occured' instead of 'occurred', and 'childrens' instead of 'children'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success, and some phrasing is overly simplistic or repetitive, such as 'important subject' and 'more priority'. These lexical errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the score to Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and relative clauses like 'if the students will not give enough time'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, such as 'in history' versus 'to history' and the misuse of future tense in conditional clauses ('if the students will not give'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips are common enough to occasionally cause slight reader friction, although they rarely impede overall communication. This performance aligns with Band 6 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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