Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-03

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)

It is often argued by some people that undergraduate students should learn other subjects in addition to their main subject. Meanwhile, other argue that they should only focus on the subjects related to their main field for a qualification. I believe that earlier perspective is more beneficial for students.

On the one hand, the supporters of studying subjects of various domains in addition to their main field believe that it helps students to gain basic knowledge of different fields rather than just relying on one main subject. As studying various kinds of subjects allow students to perform in interdisciplinary areas and gain more practical knowledge. Take an example of Germany, where most of the universities allow students to study interdisciplinary subjects in their first 4 semesters and after that they can focus on their main subject. This strategy creates more exposure to the knowledge of various domains. Thus, this technique is indeed beneficial for the pupils.

While on the other hand, the people who believe in focusing only the main subject say that this will enable students to master one discipline. As relying on one main subject give them more in depth knowledge of their field. For instance, a survey was conducted in multiple universities in London in 2024, it was qyuite evident from the outcomes that most of the students wanted to master skills in their selective domain rather than wasting their initial semesters in studying other subjects. Hence, aiming only the main subject could also be beneficial.

However, I believe that offering a broad curriculum to students make them find their own interrest. Moreover, mastering one subject make them skilled but knowledge from multiple subjects make them professional.

To sum up, even though proficiency in one main subject makes the students confident in their own field but excelling in multiple domains make them more adaptable to the real life problems so expertise in various fields is extremely beneficial.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether university students should study interdisciplinary subjects or focus exclusively on their main qualification, and a clear position is presented in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For example, the body paragraph supporting the view of focusing solely on the main subject relies on a generalised London university survey reference that lacks deeper elaboration, which prevents the response from reaching higher bands. The arguments presented are generally relevant, but further extension of the examples would be required to fully substantiate the claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression throughout the paragraphs. Information and ideas are organized into an appropriate introduction, two body paragraphs exploring opposite viewpoints, a clarifying personal perspective paragraph, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'On the one hand', 'While on the other hand', and 'However'. Nevertheless, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive in transitional phrasing, and referencing could be smoother in places, which keeps the organizational flow firmly at the middle tier.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their thoughts on higher education effectively. There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'interdisciplinary', 'curriculum', and 'adaptable'. However, some word-choice and collocation errors occur, such as writing 'earlier perspective' instead of 'former perspective', 'focusing only the main subject', and spelling 'qyuite' instead of 'quite'. These lexical inaccuracies do not impede communication, but they highlight the limitations preventing access to a higher lexical category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over foundational syntax and some multi-clause structures like concessive and conditional patterns. There are some grammatical and punctuation errors present, such as sentence fragments or dependent clauses punctuated as complete sentences ('As studying various kinds of subjects allow students...'), subject-verb agreement slips, and missing prepositions ('aiming only the main subject'). Despite these errors in grammar and punctuation, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the train of thought without significant strain.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.