Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-24

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)

A few people believe that history is the most important topic in academic syllabus. While on the other hand, some people thought that Science and technology subjects are more essential for career developing. This trend has both positive and negative consequences.

It is widely believe that history is most important part of syllabus. By reading history books children have a better knowledge of past. They do not repeat the mistakes that our forefathers do in their life. Children also get experience tips by reading history. This subject is very important for arts students because it develops the knowledge of the student. Another significant factor of history is children learn about cultures and traditions of past. Some interesting stories and events which held in past tell a lot about history. For instance, if a student learn about Alexander his confidence will be rise up, he can make his life decisions by own and also a character of leadership will developed in his personality.

It is undeniable that science subjects are not important for students. Science subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Biology and technology subjects like Computer Science, BS computer and AI has significant value. In this decade technology and science subject students have vast career opportunities as compared to last decade. These students can easily get job and they have better practical skills than art students. These subjects are quite difficult but student become more creative. This can have significant impact on Pakistan growth because our country needs Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers etc.

To conclude, I think science subjects are more important than history subject. The reason is a student has more opportunities and career development options.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both perspectives and state a clear preference in the conclusion: science subjects offer more opportunities for career development. The history paragraph gives relevant reasons, including learning about the past, avoiding earlier mistakes, and understanding cultures. However, several points are asserted rather than explained: the claim that studying Alexander raises confidence and develops leadership is not clearly connected to how this happens. The science paragraph also lists subjects and career benefits, but the example of Pakistan’s needs is weakened by including lawyers among science-related professions. To strengthen the response, explain each main reason with a more precise example and develop the comparison between history’s wider value and science’s practical benefits more evenly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each viewpoint, and a conclusion. This makes the overall argument easy to follow, and phrases such as “For instance” and “To conclude” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. “While on the other hand” combines two contrast markers, and “This trend” in the introduction does not clearly refer to a trend. Within the history paragraph, ideas move from avoiding mistakes to arts students and then to Alexander without a strong progression. Group related points and use clearer links to show how each example supports the paragraph’s main claim; also make references such as “This” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “forefathers,” “cultures and traditions,” “career opportunities,” and “practical skills.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the response remains understandable. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “career developing,” “experience tips,” “confidence will be rise up,” and “make his life decisions by own.” Some expressions are also imprecise: “science subjects are not important” contradicts the argument that follows, while “Pakistan growth” needs a more natural form. Aim for accurate, natural combinations of words and check word forms. More precise vocabulary would make the comparison clearer without relying on broad claims such as “significant value.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “events which held in past” and a conditional example beginning “if a student learn about Alexander.” However, errors occur frequently and sometimes make the intended meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “It is widely believe,” “a student learn,” “his confidence will be rise up,” and “a character of leadership will developed”; these show problems with verb forms, agreement, and passive constructions. Articles and plurals also need attention, as in “the most important part” and “science subject students.” Practise forming accurate present-tense statements and conditionals, and check subject–verb agreement and auxiliary verbs before using longer sentence patterns.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.