Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-08

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 6.0)

Learning other subjects, in addition to main subjects is wanted by few students studying in universities. These extra subjects are either of their interest or there is a scope of these subjects in future.

Some students choose subjects which are not on their curriculum only because they are interested in it. University offers variety of courses which can be taken as an elective in addition to compulsory core subjects. Students will not get much opportunity to learn these different subjects when they pass their college and pursue jobs. It is better to learn these subjects when they have plenty of free time. Steve Jobs took cursive handwriting classes when he was in a college only because of his personal interest. It proved to be a great decision when he started creating different fonts for his Apple computer.

Other students feel that university is not offering few courses which could be of great importance in future and they pursue these extra subjects. Most students have decided what job or business they will be pursuing when they graduate from university. Many times these subjects are not offered by universities which makes students learn these subjects from external sources. Few years ago, the use of AI was increasing day by day and companies were hiring the people who had some experience with AI. However in Computer Science course curriculum, AI was not a core subject. It was either offered as an elective or was not a subject at all because there were less number of professors who actually had knowledge of AI. So, students learnt these courses from either electives or online from any educator. The phenomena of students taking external AI courses increased so much that most of the universities introduced its specialization in Computer Science bachelors as well as masters degree.

Therefore it can be said that pursuing other subjects in addition to core subjects offered by universities will be far more beneficial in future than studying only main subjects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both views regarding the breadth of university studies. You have provided relevant examples, such as Steve Jobs and the rise of AI, to support your arguments. However, the task requires you to clearly state your opinion. While you provide a concluding sentence that leans toward one side, the position is not clearly established in the introduction or maintained consistently throughout the essay. To reach a higher band, ensure your opinion is explicitly stated in the introduction and supported throughout the body paragraphs. The development of ideas is generally good, but the link between the two views and your own perspective could be more cohesive.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'However' and 'Therefore', to link ideas. However, the transition between the two viewpoints could be smoother. Some sentences feel slightly disjointed, and the use of referencing is occasionally mechanical. For instance, the start of the second paragraph, 'Some students choose...', follows the first paragraph abruptly. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph flows naturally into the next will help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'curriculum', 'compulsory', and 'specialization'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'there is a scope of these subjects' (should be 'there is scope for these subjects') and 'less number of professors' (should be 'fewer professors'). While you attempt to use more sophisticated vocabulary, some phrasing remains slightly simplistic or unnatural. To improve, focus on using collocations more accurately and incorporating a wider range of academic vocabulary to express your ideas with greater precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'Learning other subjects... is wanted by few students' (passive voice is slightly awkward here) and 'The phenomena of students taking external AI courses increased' (should be 'phenomenon'). Additionally, there are minor issues with articles and pluralization, such as 'in a college' (should be 'in college'). The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will strengthen your writing.

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

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