Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-15

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)

Across the developed world, it is often argued about the nature of subject selection during higher education years. Some students mandate that the major selected in university should be the main focus of students, other advocate that fewsupporting subjects might be included during the university hours. I strongly believe that minor cources linked with the main subject should be opted by the university students to excel academically.

Students who support sticking to their main subject may be concerned about distractions from opting diverse range of supporting subjects in their crucial study hours. In order to avoid these interuptions and avoid wastage of quality study time on unnecessary cources, students usually want to elect only one major in their university. Moreover, to have a better grasp on the subject with sheer connetion in all the aspects, student tend to opt only one qualification. For instance, the students at the university of Michigan in US have to slelect only one maajor subjec for their under=graduate and graduate years which helps them have complete focus and attention on that major.

On the contrary, apart from selecting only one qualification, some university students also want to acquire knowledge about the supporting subjects of their main course. To dive deeper into subjects applications and to know about its interconnectedness with wide scope of other subjects, students often want to learn about other subjects in addition to their main subject. This can certainly help them broaden their academic knowledge. Furthermore, such students can have more oppurtunities for diverse specialiation in graduate programs. For instance, students opting botany a smajor with biostatistics, environmental consevations and pathology as supporting subject can slect any of the subject for their graduate study.

In my opinion, I believe that university students want to learn about other subjects in addition to their main subjects due to few compelling reason mentioned above. A wide range of subject can widen cognitive skills along with a wide range of futuristic oppurtunities they tend to come with

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and state a clear preference for studying related supporting subjects, so the response covers the main parts of the task. The first body paragraph explains the concern that additional subjects may distract students and uses the Michigan example; the next explains how related subjects can broaden knowledge and create graduate-study options. However, the first view is developed less fully, and the example about Michigan is asserted rather than explained or connected convincingly to the argument. Your opinion is clear in the introduction and conclusion, but the final point about cognitive skills and future opportunities is brief and unfinished in its explanation. Develop each reason with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation and a more specific, relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a concluding opinion. Transitions such as “Moreover,” “On the contrary,” and “Furthermore” help signal the movement between ideas, and the overall progression is understandable. At times, however, the links feel mechanical, and some references are unclear—for example, “its interconnectedness” does not clearly identify what “its” refers to. The conclusion also repeats the opinion without bringing the discussion to a fully developed close. Improve cohesion by making references explicit, varying transitions, and ensuring each paragraph develops one central point in a clear sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of academic vocabulary, including “interconnectedness,” “broaden their academic knowledge,” and “diverse specialisation.” However, word choice and spelling errors are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: examples include “mandate” for students’ views, “few supporting subjects,” “cources,” and “oppurtunities.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “sheer connetion in all the aspects” and “futuristic opportunities.” These issues limit the precision and control expected at this level, even though the main ideas remain understandable. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and proofread spelling; simpler, well-chosen expressions will be more effective than ambitious wording used inaccurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including purpose clauses such as “In order to avoid these interruptions” and a conditional-style explanation of how supporting subjects may help students. The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “Some students mandate that the major … should be the main focus …, other advocate” has faulty sentence coordination and agreement, while “students opting botany a smajor with …” lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are also issues with articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries, particularly in the final sentence, which is incomplete in its development. Work on accurate clause construction, agreement, and punctuation while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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