Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-08

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)

There is an ongoing debate about whether History should be considered one of the most important subjects at school or whether science and technology deserve greater importance in the modern world. While history provides students with valuable knowledge about the past, Ibelieved that science and technology are more important for preparing young people for the future.

On the one hand, History is an essential subject because it helps students understand how societies and countries have developed. By learning about past events, students can understands the causes and consiquences of wars, political changes and social movements. This knowledge can also helps people avoid repeating mistakes made in past. For example, studying major conflicts such as the Worldwar can teach younger generations about the devastating effects of violence and the importance of cooperation between countries. Furthermore, hstory can help students develop a sence of cultural identity and appriciate their country's tradition.

On the other hand, there are strong reasons why science and technology may be considered amore important today. Modern societies depends heavily

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You introduce both sides of the debate and state a clear preference: “science and technology are more important for preparing young people for the future.” The History paragraph gives relevant reasons, including learning from conflict and developing cultural identity, with the World War example. However, the response stops as the second viewpoint begins (“Modern societies depends heavily”), so the science-and-technology argument is not explained, your opinion is not supported with reasons or examples, and the discussion is substantially incomplete. The required minimum length is also not met. To improve, complete both sides, develop your own position with specific support, and provide a conclusion that directly answers the question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph beginning “On the one hand” and a contrasting paragraph beginning “On the other hand.” These signposts make the intended discussion easy to follow, and the History paragraph progresses from its general value to examples and further benefits. However, the final paragraph ends mid-sentence, leaving the contrast and overall progression unfinished. Some links between ideas are also basic, relying mainly on “Furthermore” and “For example.” Complete the second body paragraph and add a concluding paragraph; use clear references and a wider range of linking expressions to connect reasons and examples without making the structure feel formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a suitable range of topic vocabulary, including “political changes,” “social movements,” “devastating effects” and “cultural identity.” These choices help communicate the History argument, and phrases such as “ongoing debate” and “modern world” are appropriate to the task. However, spelling and word-form errors are noticeable, including “consiquences,” “hstory,” “sence” and “appriciate,” while “Worldwar” is incorrectly written as one word. There are also awkward combinations such as “more important today” and “developed” in the context of societies. Proofread carefully and build accuracy with collocations—for example, “the consequences of conflict” and “a sense of cultural identity”—while extending vocabulary for the unfinished science-and-technology discussion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including the contrastive opening “While history provides students with valuable knowledge about the past…” and the example introduced by “For example.” Meaning is generally understandable in the completed section, but some errors in verb forms and agreement remain. For instance, “students can understands” should be “students can understand,” “knowledge can also helps” should be “knowledge can also help,” and “societies depends” should be “societies depend.” The opening also has “Ibelieved,” where the intended present-tense opinion is “I believe.” The unfinished final sentence prevents you from demonstrating control across a complete response. Check subject–verb agreement and the verb form following modal verbs, then proofread sentence boundaries and spacing.

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