Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-14

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 4.5)

in my opinion the university students want to learn about other subjects in addition to their main subject is not a bad idea. They want to learn about other subjects so that they can have experience about other subjects too. example is students doing history and biology in their junior class till senior class. Once they finish their secondary school. They already have the experience about the two subjects. Also those who believe it to just focus on studying for a qualificationvare not also wrong example someone who's studying counseling psychology in school doing Statistics as well or borrowing from another department like Economics or political department is wrong. Counseling psychology is a professional course on it's own and it should focus on just counseling and psychology courses so that student's can give their attention and time tothe course. In conclusion from my own experience courses should be borrowed outside department or faculty of the professional course because it will make students to burn out and it get students tired easily whereby it shouldn't be. I love the fact that the body of Education are working doing justice to that. students needs time to learn and retain back what has been thought by their lectures or teachers. Giving them too much courses or subject should follow protocol and guidelines of education. This will help for better understanding between the students and their teachers. That's where I will drop my pen!

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion4.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You give a relevant opinion that students may benefit from other subjects, while also recognising that concentrating on a professional qualification can be appropriate. However, the discussion is only minimally developed: the examples about studying history and biology and about counselling psychology are mentioned, but their relevance and consequences are not clearly explained. The response also does not fully compare the two views or build a clear, sustained argument from them. The conclusion introduces concerns about burnout and teaching, but these points are not sufficiently supported. The response is 227 words, so it is 23 words below the 250-word minimum; 13 words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count. Develop each view with a clear reason and a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: it begins with a view, considers the importance of focusing on a qualification, and ends with a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Also” and “In conclusion” signal some relationships between ideas. However, the overall progression is difficult to follow because several points are crowded into one long paragraph, and the discussion shifts from subject choice to burnout, education authorities, and teachers without clear transitions. Some connections are also unclear, particularly the sentence beginning “Also those who believe it to just focus…”. Use separate paragraphs for the two views and your opinion, and make each paragraph develop one main point in a logical order.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “qualification,” “professional course,” “department,” and “burn out,” so the reader can identify the general subject of your argument. However, the range is limited and several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, which sometimes makes the intended meaning difficult to follow. For example, “have experience about other subjects” would be more naturally expressed as gaining knowledge or experience in other subjects, while “borrowed outside department” does not clearly describe taking courses from another department. There are also spelling and word-form problems, such as “vare” and “thought” where “taught” is intended. Aim for precise academic collocations and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including a reason introduced by “so that” and a concluding sentence beginning “This will help.” However, the range is limited, and attempts to connect several ideas often produce faulty sentence structures. For instance, “the university students want to learn … is not a bad idea” has an unclear subject and verb relationship, while “it get students tired” has an agreement error. Missing or incorrect punctuation also makes the long section beginning “Also those who believe…” hard to interpret. There are further errors with articles, plurals, and possessives, as in “a professional course on it's own” and “student's can.” Practise building clear sentences and checking agreement, apostrophes, and sentence boundaries.

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