Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-02

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 6.5)

When the topic of the most important school subjects for students is discussed, opinions are divided. Many people say that History is one of the most important subjects in schools, while others argue that subjects like science and technology are more important than other subjects. Both viewpoints, along with my opinion, will be explained below.

Discussing the first view, the foremost argument supporters would put forward is that History can help to understand the past. To justify it further, students learn about wars, political changes, cultures and major events. For instance, learning about major wars can help students understand the reasons behind current international relationships and conflicts. Furthermore, History helps children develop a sense of cultural identity. To be more precise, History helps young people understand their country's traditions, values and heritage.

However, the second view has its own claim. The significant argument is that Science and technology creates more career opportunities for individuals. To be more specific, modern jobs increasingly require scientific and technological skills. For example, advances in technology have created new career opportunities in fields such as software development, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, allowing young people to pursue well-paid and specialised jobs. In addition, technology helps people in their daily lives. Technology is essential for communication, education, transportation and business.

To conclude and offer my viewpoint, I strongly support the latter viewpoint because science and technology create more career opportunities and help people in their daily lives. For these reasons, they are more important than history in the modern world.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on the importance of History versus Science and Technology and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The main ideas are generally relevant and extended, meeting the requirements of the lower band comfortably while showing elements of higher development. For instance, the discussion on how history helps understand international relationships and cultural identity is well supported. However, some ideas show a slight tendency to overgeneralise or remain partially under-developed, such as the broad claim that 'technology helps people in their daily lives' without deeper elaboration on specific societal impacts. To reach the next level, all arguments would need to be thoroughly sustained and nuanced without leaning on generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a clear central topic, starting with an introduction, moving to the two contrasting views, and finishing with a decisive conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Discussing the first view', 'Furthermore', and 'However'. However, some of the cohesive referencing and transition phrases feel slightly mechanical or formulaic, such as 'To justify it further' and 'To be more specific', which prevents the cohesion from being entirely natural or sophisticated. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate the distinct arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task and attempts some less common lexical items related to education and technology, such as 'international relationships', 'cultural identity', 'software development', and 'artificial intelligence'. Word choices are generally appropriate and communication is not impeded by lexical errors. Nevertheless, there are some minor limitations in precision and collocation, leading to occasional repetition of basic terms like 'subjects' and 'important'. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate a wider, more flexible range of vocabulary with more sophisticated idiomatic phrasing and precise collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The writer demonstrates a good control of grammar and punctuation, incorporating a variety of complex sentence structures alongside simple forms. Frequent error-free sentences are present, particularly in the longer explanatory clauses like 'For instance, learning about major wars can help students understand the reasons behind current international relationships and conflicts.' Control over verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and subordinate clauses is solid. While a few minor slips may persist, they do not impede communication. To push further into higher bands, the response would need an even wider range of structures with a higher proportion of consistently error-free complex sentences.

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