Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-22

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)

People have different views about whether students should learn non-academic subjects as well as academic subjects or it is essential to provide all their time and attention only for academic purpose.

While there are some drawbacks of learning other subjects with academic books, I strongly believe that it will allow students to broaden their knowledge.

There are number of reasons why reading non-academic books is important to a student. One possible reason is that by reading non-academic subjects students can enrich their knowledge. They can get any idea about the world which will be very essential for them. I think that every student should read foreign affairs to know the world politics. It will help them in future when will take job preparation. For instance, I am taking job preparation and I read many other books apart from academic courses. It helps me a lot and I can explore many unknown topics which are very interesting and informative. I read some medical books as well to learn about some medical terms and medicines. Nowadays, I am very familiar with a lot of medical related treatments since I have read a number of medical books.

Despite the above arguments, it is undeniable that reading other books simultaneously with academic courses has some drawbacks. Firstly, If they continuously read other subjects, they might not do well in their main exam. Thus, their CGPA will drop which can reduce their confidence. in addition, they might distract from their academic life and feel less interest in academic courses. One of my friends Rahim read more non-academic subjects than academic books. But last year he failed in a major course and become very frustrated. Then he stopped reading off topic contents and this year he made a very good result.

Therefore, I argue that those who can adopt easily with this, they may continue. But students who can't cope with this should focus on academic.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefits of broadening knowledge versus the risks of academic distraction. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example regarding 'medical books' is a bit anecdotal and could be more effectively linked to the broader academic context. The conclusion is a bit abrupt and could have been more fully developed to reflect the complexity of the prompt. Overall, the response covers all parts of the task well, but the depth of analysis remains at a functional level rather than a highly sophisticated one.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Despite the above arguments', 'Firstly', and 'Therefore', which help guide the reader through the text. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. For example, the use of 'academic books' and 'non-academic books' is frequent, which could be improved by using more varied referencing or pronouns. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'foreign affairs', 'world politics', and 'CGPA'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is a reliance on simpler phrasing. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'get any idea about the world' or 'take job preparation'. To reach a higher band, the student should aim for more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary to avoid repetition of basic terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with article usage ('the world politics'), verb tense consistency ('when will take job preparation'), and prepositions. Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'those who can adopt easily with this, they may continue'. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors like the lowercase 'in addition' at the start of a sentence. The majority of sentences are understandable, but the frequency of errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band.

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

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