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)
Opinions are divided on whether History is the most vital school subjects or whether science and technology. While valid arguments exists on both sides. I personally side with the latter view due to advancement in technologies.
On the first hand, proponents of people beleiving history is essential emphasize that knowing about our past and essential point in time are essential. Advocate argue that, if we are well known about history of our society or country as a whole, then we will be recognized as a informed citizen who can help tourist and normal visitors. For example: most of the world leaders around the world are wellknown about their country histoty. Therefore, this perspective hold merits in terms of giving priority to History subject more.
On the other hand, I advocate for giving more attention to science and technology is far more advantageous. The primary reason behind this is due to technological development. To ellaborate, if we are using any modern computers or machines we needs people to become computer literal. This also allow the people to form bridge between people and technological items. For example, a study found out that, those who study science and technology are earning more and are able to receive desired salary. Thus, the benefits of this approach clearly outweigh the alternative viepoints.
In conclusion, while compelling points exists for both opinion, the perspective is farmore advantageous. I am convinced that students should be enforced to study science and Technology as it is a crucial steps .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether History or Science and Technology are more important school subjects, and provides a clear personal opinion favouring the latter. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the first body paragraph argues that knowing history helps tourists, which is a weak and underdeveloped support for the importance of history. The second body paragraph mentions that studying science leads to higher earnings, which is relevant but presented with simplistic reasoning. While a clear position is maintained throughout, the ideas would benefit from greater extension and more sophisticated examples to reach a higher band. Overall, the response meets the core requirements of the task adequately, aligning with the Band 6 descriptor.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'On the first hand' (though non-standard collocation), 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the transitional phrase 'On the first hand' is incorrect, and referencing in sentences like 'this perspective hold merits' suffers from agreement errors. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct ideas, but the logical flow between sentences within paragraphs occasionally stumbles due to grammatical fragmentation. Cohesion is adequate for a Band 6 score.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used provides an adequate range for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'proponents', 'advantageous', and 'alternative viewpoints'. However, there are numerous noticeable word-choice, spelling, and morphological errors throughout the text. Examples include 'subjects' instead of 'subject', 'exists' instead of 'exist', 'beleiving', 'well known', 'histoty', 'ellaborate', 'literal' instead of 'literate', and 'farmore'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the vocabulary score to Band 5, as the frequent inaccuracies in less common words and basic spelling issues cause some difficulty for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and concessive clauses ('While valid arguments exists on both sides, I personally side with...'). However, the text contains frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement ('arguments exists', 'this perspective hold') and sentence fragments ('or whether science and technology', 'To ellaborate, if we are using any modern computers or machines we needs people...'). Punctuation is also problematic in places, with stray full stops breaking up dependent clauses. Although the meaning is generally retrievable, the high frequency of errors places this response firmly at Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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