Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-27
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)
Within the subjects in the school, History plays a major role, according to some people, while the others believe that the subjects like Science and Technology are more important than history. History is a valuable subject and all people should learn history at least one year at the school. On the otherhand, with the developement of the world without proper knowledge of science and technology we can't go forward. According to my opinion, all three subjects should learn by the students, but need to focus more on science and technology.
Firstly, when it comes to History, we all know it combines with the culture and tradition of a country. Learning them help to understand the traditional values of ancient things and places. It causes to create a person with empathy and creativity. It helps positively to overcome challenges in the future. Therefore, learning History is essential for the purpose of creating a good person. And also, we can overcome mistakes by learning about our past leaders and we can encourage ourselves by reading the things that they have done.
On the other hand, in the developing world we need to learn much about Science and Technology. Because today most of the actions in our lives depend with the technology. Without the knowledge of both of them, it is very difficult to go forward in most job fields. Todays world many scientists try to go to Mass. Therefore, at least we should know the scientific reasoning and the use of technology to survive in the todays world.
In conclusion, students need to learn all history, science and technology as acombinationto overcome the challenges and make a good future.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You discuss both perspectives and state a clear preference: “all three subjects should learn by the students, but need to focus more on science and technology.” The History paragraph gives relevant reasons, including understanding cultural values and learning from past leaders. However, the Science and Technology case is less developed: the claims about jobs and daily life would be stronger with a specific example, and “try to go to Mass” is unclear and does not effectively support the argument. Your conclusion also shifts towards teaching all three “as a combination” without explaining how this relates to your preference for greater focus on science and technology. Develop and support each side more evenly, and keep your position consistent. The response meets the stated length requirement; the 10 words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count. (10 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for History and Science and Technology, and a conclusion. “Firstly” and “On the other hand” help signal the shift between the two views, so the reader can follow the main structure. However, connections within paragraphs are sometimes mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “It helps” and “And also.” Some links between ideas are not fully clear, such as how learning about past leaders directly helps students “overcome challenges in the future.” The final sentence introduces the idea of studying subjects “as a combination” without preparing for it earlier. Use more precise referencing and transitions that show the relationship between claims, and make sure the conclusion follows logically from the discussion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “culture and tradition,” “traditional values,” “scientific reasoning,” and “job fields.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural or unclear. For example, “it combines with the culture” does not express the intended relationship clearly, while “go to Mass” appears to be an unsuitable or confusing example in this context. Spelling and word formation also need attention, as in “developement” and “otherhand.” Aim for more precise academic phrasing and check common collocations and spelling; this will make your arguments easier to understand and more convincing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast in “while the others believe…” and a conditional structure in “Without the knowledge… it is very difficult…”. However, errors are frequent, and some sentences are difficult to interpret. Examples include “all three subjects should learn by the students,” where the passive construction is not formed correctly, and “Learning them help,” which has an agreement error. Other problems include “depend with the technology” and “in the todays world,” showing difficulty with prepositions and articles. Sentence fragments also occur, as in “Because today most of the actions…”. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, passive forms, articles, and complete sentence construction before adding more complex structures.
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.