Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-15
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 5.0)
In this contemporary world, education has become irreplaceable part of everyone's life. Some believe that the university should introduce extra curriculum subjects to their students, whilst others argue that they should mainly focus on achieving the qualification. Although both of these perspectives have their own merits, in my personal opinion universities should also provide extra side subjects and curriculum for students.
On the one hand, critics argue that when students are provided with various additional subject along with their main subjects, this will expose them with alternative subjects and give them opportunities to explore what they actually like. This mean that students will not only be able to switch their majors later on, but they can also have multiple careers choices. This clearly demonstrated that this gives them freedom to make choices and explore what they like.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response suffers severely from being under-length, containing only 137 words compared to the minimum requirement of 250 words. While the introduction presents a clear position and briefly touches upon both views in the prompt, the body paragraph only discusses the benefits of learning extra subjects and completely fails to address the opposing view that students should focus solely on their main qualifications. Due to this significant under-development and the failure to meet the minimum word count threshold, the task response is heavily penalised.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text demonstrates a basic logical organisation with a clear introduction and the start of a body paragraph using cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'This mean that'. However, paragraphing is incomplete as the essay is cut off, and the lack of a concluding paragraph or second body paragraph limits overall progression. Referencing is generally clear, but the under-developed structure places it firmly in the lower-middle bands for coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'contemporary world' and 'alternative subjects'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and collocation issues, such as writing 'an irreplaceable part' instead of 'an irreplaceable part of' (missing article), 'extra curriculum subjects' instead of 'extracurricular subjects', and 'side subjects'. Spelling and word choice errors do not heavily impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and subordinate clauses like 'Although both of these perspectives have their own merits...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'the university should introduce' (plural noun 'universities' is needed based on context), 'various additional subject' (missing plural 'subjects'), and 'This clearly demonstrated' (tense agreement error, should be 'demonstrates'). Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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