Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-09

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)

There is an ongoing debate about whether students should focus on learning their main subjects, or if they should learn about other subjects additionally while they are at university. Focus the attention only on the qualification is beneficial for being prepared to the field, while learning about other subjects can improve the individual critical thinking. I believe that students should learn about other subjects while in university to complement their education.

Focus on topics related to a field can help students to deep their knowledge in that area. Mainly because their can pay total attention to what is related to their field, with no distractions. In Brazil, for example, there are some universities who offer students undergraduate degree focused at the job market. They have the same value than others undergraduate degree, and they focus mainly in preper the students to that field. As a result, students finishes their graduation fully prepared to the job market, without addition time spent in other subjects.

On the other hand, those who spent time learning about other subjects tend to improve their critical thinking. That can be benefit students because they can enhace their knowledge in different subjects. For example, medical degree often offers philosophy and psychology in addition to the main subjects. That help students to develop critical thinking, resulting in more empathetic doctors. Therefore, I believe that it is important to discuss different topics at university rather than focus only in the main subjects.

To conclude, some people prefer to focus on studying only what is relevant to the job market. However, I believe that students can enhace their critical thinking when learning about different subjects at university, and it is important to study those topics as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and state a clear opinion: the introduction supports learning additional subjects, and the conclusion restates this position. The two body paragraphs give relevant reasons, including focused preparation for employment and the value of philosophy and psychology in medical education. The example of medical students becoming more empathetic helps illustrate your view. However, the first argument is more fully explained than the second, and the Brazil example is broad: it does not show specifically how a focused degree benefits students beyond preparing them for work. To strengthen the response, explain the consequences of each approach in more detail and make the examples more precise. Your position is clear, but fuller development would make the discussion more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The progression from focused study to broader learning is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the other hand” and “To conclude” help readers track the argument. Some linking is mechanical, however, particularly the repeated use of “For example” and “As a result.” There are also places where connections between claims could be clearer; for instance, “That can be benefit students because they can enhace their knowledge” does not clearly explain how broader knowledge leads to improved critical thinking. Use a wider range of linking methods and make references such as “That” more explicit to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “qualification,” “critical thinking,” “job market,” and “empathetic,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “complement their education.” However, noticeable word-choice, collocation, word-form, and spelling errors limit precision: “deep their knowledge,” “enhace,” “preper,” and “same value than” are not natural or accurate forms. Repetition of “subjects,” “focus,” and “students” also makes the vocabulary range feel limited. Build accuracy with common academic collocations and check spelling and word forms; this would help you express your relevant ideas more naturally and flexibly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “while” and a result clause introduced by “As a result.” Most of the argument remains understandable, but errors in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and verb forms occur across the response. For example, “Focus the attention only on the qualification is beneficial” lacks a grammatical subject, while “students finishes” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. In “That help students,” the verb also needs to agree with its subject. Some sentence patterns are awkward or incomplete, which reduces accuracy. Practise forming clear subject–verb structures and checking agreement, articles, and verb forms, while continuing to use varied sentence types.

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