Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-18
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)
Nowdays a lot of student want to study additional subjects like history or to learn practical skills subjects like carpentry,mechinics etc. Whereas, some say it is more important to focus on main study course. While both views have merit I personally agree with that learning addaitional courses are essential with primary subject.
On the one hand, some universitry learner say that main focus of study should be the particular choosen subject. Because it improves performance in academics and later professional existance. Majority of pupils first priority is to study main course relavent education at university without any additional subject so, that to master specific field. Therfore, it aid them to focus on that area to enhance grades better and skills in relavent field due the reason it create more opportunities in the later lif. For insatnce if computer science student mainly concentrate on his own subject it aid to seek more information about their subject without hesitation.
On the other hand, majority of the university scholar desire to learn additional courses with the main subject of study. I think this is positive thinking because it provide more neccessary information related to history or any practical subjects etc. In some institutions it is to study additional courses mosty religious or practical skills. It enables learners to gain knowledge of basics of the others like in pakistan hisroty ther are mostly topics are about pakistan history and geography so these are useful for them to aware of nation and ancestor prehistory. Moreover additional subjets like basic carpentry enable them to household basic works and if they donot find any field relavent jobs so they can suppport themself by learning these additional courses.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether university students should study additional subjects or focus solely on their main qualifications, and the writer provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction. The ideas are relevant and supported with explanations, such as mentioning career opportunities and practical skills like carpentry and history. However, some arguments lack full development and tend to over-generalise, such as the brief mentions of Pakistani history and general household tasks. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, which aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.0, as all parts are covered even though some ideas remain slightly under-developed and limited in scope.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, separating the introduction, the two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a concluding thought. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand', which helps guide the reader through the arguments. Nevertheless, cohesion is at times mechanical, and referencing is not always clear, as seen in repetitive sentence structures and clunky transitions like 'due the reason it create more opportunities'. Paragraphing and logical progression are present, but the overall control over cohesive ties places this response firmly at a Band 6.0 level.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'qualification', 'concentration', and 'profession'. However, there are numerous spelling errors ('Nowdays', 'mechinics', 'addaitional', 'relavent', 'insatnce', 'hisroty', 'suppport', 'themself') and occasional word-choice inaccuracies ('professional existance', 'prehistory'). These errors occasionally distract the reader, although they rarely impede overall communication. The presence of these spelling mistakes and limited flexibility in precise collocation prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.5 a fair and accurate evaluation for lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and subordinate clauses such as 'While both views have merit I personally agree with that learning addaitional courses...' and 'if computer science student mainly concentrate on his own subject it aid to seek...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors involving subject-verb agreement ('a lot of student want'), missing articles ('is to study additional courses', 'in pakistan hisroty'), and awkward phrasing. While these errors do not completely obscure meaning, they occur frequently and demonstrate a weaker control over complex structures, which corresponds to a Band 5.0 in grammatical range and accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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