Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-04
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)
Opinions are divided whether pupils should learn other subjects rather than their main subjects or not. However, learning other subjects are beneficial for the students to gain knowledge. Moreover, it would open new job opportunities for them in future.
To begin with, acquiring new skills and learning new languages would help students to sharp their minds and would help them to gain more knowledge. It would yields substantial benefits to students as it would help them to learn new things. Furthermore, it would also plays a vital role in their upcoming life. Additionally, they would be employed in good business organizations and can posses a sharp mind also. However, it may results in increasing stress and could make the children pressurized. Learning other subjects rather than main subjects can have an adverse impact on their academic performances also. Similarly, stressed mind can cause mental illness and can have a bad impact on our health.
However, acquiring our leisure time on learning our main subjects rather than extra subjects would yields to positive outcomes also as it would help pupils to score good marks in universities. Significantly, it would help students to be an expert in individual skills and can open numerous option to them in future to earn a better livelihood. Additionally, pupils can give extra time and efforts to their main subjects instead of working on extra subjects which cannot help them to improve their formal academic results.
In conclusion, as learning extra subjects can yields substantial benefits on students' upcoming life. In contrasts, it also has a monumental impact on their mind and can cause mental illness.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the argument regarding 'stress' is mentioned twice without significant elaboration. While the prompt asks for an opinion, the conclusion is slightly contradictory, as it acknowledges the benefits of extra subjects but focuses heavily on the negative mental health impacts without fully reconciling the two views. To improve, ensure that each supporting point is distinct and directly contributes to a cohesive argument rather than restating similar concepts.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as 'In contrasts' in the final paragraph, which is grammatically incorrect. Additionally, the progression of ideas within paragraphs is occasionally hindered by repetitive phrasing. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring they are used in the correct grammatical context would help the flow of the essay significantly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. There is a reliance on basic terms like 'good' and 'bad', and some collocations are unnatural, such as 'acquiring our leisure time' or 'yields substantial benefits on students'. While the student attempts to use some academic vocabulary, the frequent errors in word choice and collocation occasionally impede the natural flow of the text. Expanding the range of vocabulary and focusing on correct word partnerships would be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Subject-verb agreement is a recurring issue, seen in phrases like 'learning other subjects are beneficial', 'it would yields', and 'it would also plays'. Additionally, there are errors with pluralization and preposition usage. While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly verb forms and subject-verb agreement, is essential for improvement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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