Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-29

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)

Universities are the place of higher education. A group of people believe believe that, graduates should learn additional subjects such as, communication skills, computer and many more. However, others argued pupils should more focus on core subjects. In my perception, students should not only focus on the main subjects but also take part in other subjects. Prior to my stance, both viewpoints would be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs with valid reasons and appropriate examples.

Discussing the former view, there are enormous benefits of the extra subjects. First and foremost, the main subjects are more rely on the additional subjects. To cite an example, core subjects contains a bunch of explanations and presentations. During the presentation, it is not mandatory to having good presentation skills, but it also requires a good communication skills. In addition to, good communication skills play a significant role in students and it is also helpful after graduation. Moreover, in today's digital world each and every assignments and projects are submitted via online module. At that movement, pupils require computer knowledge.

Nevertheless, proponents have their own opinion, many individuals think that, graduates should entire focus on the main subjects, because those subjects are the base of the professionalism. If the students are more dependent on the additional subjects like; sports and seminars, as a result, they are not interested in the academics as well as they loss their academic journey.

In conclusion, graduates should not only depend on the core subjects, but also focus on the extra subjects, but students get an equal importance to the main subjects and additional subjects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether university students should learn additional subjects or focus solely on core qualifications, and a clear personal position is presented in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as the mention of communication skills and computer proficiency being vital for modern assignments and future careers. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on communication skills is reiterated without much extension, and the counter-argument regarding core subjects is brief and slightly underdeveloped. The response fulfills the requirements of the prompt adequately, earning a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each viewpoint, and a concluding paragraph. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'Discussing the former view', 'First and foremost', and 'Nevertheless, proponents have their own opinion'. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty, as seen in awkward transitional phrases like 'Prior to my stance' and referencing issues such as 'At that movement' instead of 'At that moment'. Logical progression is generally maintained, but some sentences feel disjointed, placing this response firmly in the Band 6.0 category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'professionalism', 'proficient', and 'significance'. However, there are notable lexical errors, inappropriate word choices, and collocation issues throughout the text. Examples include 'believe believe that', 'more rely on' instead of 'rely more on', 'it is not mandatory to having', and 'they loss their academic journey' instead of 'lose'. Spelling and word-form errors, such as 'movement' for 'moment', occur frequently. While communication is not severely impeded, these noticeable inaccuracies restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure through conditional and relative clauses. Nevertheless, the text contains a high frequency of grammatical errors, particularly concerning verb tenses, infinitive forms, and prepositions. Examples include 'graduates should learn additional subjects such as, communication skills' (unnecessary comma and missing articles), 'others argued pupils should more focus' (incorrect word order), and 'core subjects contains' (subject-verb agreement error). These recurring errors can cause occasional difficulty for the reader, placing the grammatical performance at a Band 5.0.

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