Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some university students want to learn about other subjects in addition to their main subjects. Others believe it is more important to give all their time and attention to studying for a qualification. Discuss both these views and give your opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Nowadays, some university learners want to learn more than one subject, while others believe that it is more important to give all their time and attention to studying their one main subject. This essay will discuss both perspectives before presenting my own opinion.

On the one hand, many undergraduates want to learn about other subjects in addition to their main subject. The main reason is that these learners thought that they could learn more than those students who learn only one subject. Moreover, learning more than one subject is quite beneficial for a student because he can know about different things from variety of subjects, pupils can get more knowledge and their views are also broad by studying several subjects. For example, those undergraduates who can learn other subjects in addition to their main subject, they have collected a great amount of knowledge in their minds. Therefore, this approach of students is beneficial for them and their career.

On the other hand, many other higher education students believe that it is more important to give their all time to studying for a qualification. This means that students can be focused on their main subject and can get all expertise that are very useful for their future career. This is because those students can only focus on one subject and work very hard on it, those become expert in their subject and their worth have increased in market. For instance, a software engineer can only focus on their degree, and learn all expertise about this, he becomes a skillful person and his demand in his field will be increased day by day. Hence, this thing is more important for undergraduates and I personally agreed with this view because it is very beneficial for university learners

In conclusion, although both views have their own advantages, I believe that students should be focused on their main subjects because focusing on main subjects can be helpful to learners in achieving their goals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both views and gives a clear personal position: the writer ultimately supports concentrating on a main subject. The two body paragraphs are relevant, and the software-engineer example helps illustrate the qualification-focused view. However, the discussion is unevenly developed. The benefits of studying additional subjects are mostly asserted—for example, that students gain “more knowledge” and broader views—without a specific illustration or explanation of how this helps them. The second view receives a more concrete example, but its claims about expertise and career demand could also be explained more precisely. To strengthen the response, develop each side with a clear reason and a specific, relevant example, while maintaining the stated opinion throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” makes the progression easy to follow, and the final paragraph restates the writer’s position. This meets the lower-band expectations and shows some features of stronger organisation. However, links within paragraphs can feel mechanical, particularly the repeated “This is because,” “For example,” and “Therefore/Hence.” Some sentences also combine several related points without clearly showing their relationships, as in the first body paragraph’s list of knowledge and broader views. Use more varied, precise links and organise each paragraph around one main reason followed by its explanation and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, with relevant terms such as “qualification,” “expertise,” “undergraduates,” and “career.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural or imprecise, which is consistent with this level. Examples include “their views are also broad,” “their worth have increased in market,” and “learn all expertise about this.” The repeated use of “subject,” “students,” and “beneficial” also limits flexibility. Aim to use more natural academic collocations and choose words that express the intended meaning precisely—for example, describe students as broadening their perspectives or improving their employability. This would make the argument clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because,” “while,” and “although,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, control is inconsistent, especially in longer sentences, and errors in agreement, verb forms, and sentence construction recur. For example, “these learners thought” shifts tense unnecessarily, “their views are also broad” has an incorrect form, and “those become expert” lacks a clear grammatical subject and has an agreement problem. The sentence beginning “This is because those students can only focus…” also joins ideas awkwardly. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly connected explanation, and check subject–verb agreement, tense consistency, and pronoun references before submitting.

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.