Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-16
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)
Some students in the higher institution want not to study just their courses but also other subjects while others believe that it is necessary to study just courses related to their degrees.I am of the opinion that students should focus squarely in their field to be a professional and master in it.
Having a little knowledge of everything helps one to appear smart in the sight of people. It also helps people to solve their own problem at the first instance without looking lost. No one knows tomorrow and because of this, we should be able to have a touch of everything incase of opportunities, especially the one we did not see coming. For example, during nursing convention last month, we were told the story of a man who was able to secure the job of managing a company just because he did entrepreneur in school. it was even shocking because he studied nursing but decided to add business management as one of the electives.
On the other hand, mastering a field makes one very proud especially when he/she is amongst strangers. When it comes to professional courses, it would not make sense to combine it with other subjects because it needs total focus, resilience and determination. Some courses offered in the university including Medicine, Nursing and pharmacy needs total submission to be renowned and certified to practice. For instance, a known physician in a small hospital in Onitsha could not progress to being a consultant because he was combining being a doctor and a musician. He got laid back and his colleagues surpassed him.
In conclusion, although having little idea about different causes is good, it is advisable to focus in your field
to develop mastery of it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—learning multidisciplinary subjects versus focusing solely on a major—and presents a clear personal opinion. The position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the nurse who secured an administrative job thanks to an entrepreneurship elective, and the physician who failed to progress due to divided interests. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise, and certain points, like the discussion on appearing smart, lack deeper academic development. These limitations align closely with the Band 6 descriptors, as the task is addressed relevantly, but some ideas remain slightly under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, moving logically from the introduction to supporting body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'Having a little knowledge', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the arguments. However, paragraphing could be managed with greater flexibility, and some referencing and transitional links feel slightly mechanical, such as the abrupt transition into the nurse example. While the progression of ideas is generally clear, these minor faults place the writing firmly in the Band 6 category.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'professional courses', 'resilience', 'determination', and 'consultant'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are sometimes accompanied by inaccuracies or awkward collocations, such as 'focus squarely in their field', 'appear smart in the sight of people', and 'did entrepreneur in school' (instead of 'studied entrepreneurship'). Spelling and word-choice errors are present, but they do not impede communication. This balanced mix of appropriate terms and minor lexical inaccuracies reflects a Band 6 level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and conditional structures, as seen in 'mastering a field makes one very proud especially when he/she is amongst strangers.' However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'Some students in the higher institution want not to study' (awkward negation), 'incase' (spelling/compounding error), and 'Some courses... needs' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors occur with some frequency, they rarely impede overall communication, fulfilling the Band 6 requirements.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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