Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-17

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)

Some people desire to learn about other subjects alongside their main courses. So, It is debated whether to add a new subject or not. In my opinion, it is crucial to add a new subject related to development skill and life experience because it helps a lot in the future of students. However, I firmly believe that it is better to prioritize academic qualification. because with a good academic degree, students can get better job in future.

One major aspect of adding new subjects related to day to day skills is that they can assist students to master development skills including cooking, laundry and communication. If schools start to schholing these activities students can get a lot of benefits. For instance, some schools of Nepal are teaching moral education alongside mandatory courses. From there students can learn to respect their elder and also teaches skills like basic farming, cooking and this contributes to society and themself.

On the other hand, there are plenty of students who fell hard to even complete their principal courses. If we add new subject, then it would be very competative for them to finish their education. For example, many people at tribhuwan university are leaving their education in mid way because the curriculum is very hard to follow. If we add another one then students might fell exhausted and can demotivate them. Therefore, for majority of the students it is better not to introduce new courses.

In conclusion, although by introducing subjects related to skills development can facilitate both society and students, I strongly concur that it can plummet the academic results and demotivate the students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and give a clear overall preference for prioritising academic qualifications, while also explaining potential benefits of practical subjects. The examples of moral education in Nepal and students leaving Tribhuvan University help make the discussion relevant. However, the position is not fully consistent: the introduction says you believe students should add a subject, then says qualifications should take priority, and the conclusion supports the latter without resolving how the two views might be balanced. Some points are also under-developed; for example, the link between practical skills and future benefits is asserted rather than explained, and the university example does not show specifically how an additional subject would cause students to leave. Clarify your position from the start and develop each example more directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” make the main stages easy to follow. The progression is generally coherent, but cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and the opening paragraph contains conflicting signals about your opinion. Some references are also unclear, as in “From there,” which does not precisely identify what the students learn from. The conclusion repeats the contrast but does not fully connect it to the position stated earlier. Use clearer links between claims and examples, and make pronouns and references explicit so the reader can follow the reasoning without having to infer connections.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to education and student life, including “academic qualification,” “mandatory courses,” “curriculum,” and “demotivate.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but word choice and spelling errors are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less clear. Examples include “development skill,” “schholing,” “fell hard,” “competative,” and “plummet the academic results.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “future of students” and “leaving their education in mid way.” Aim to learn common academic collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise phrasing would help you express the relationship between extra subjects, workload, and academic performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If we add another one then students might…” and a concession in the conclusion. However, errors in sentence boundaries, agreement, articles, and verb forms remain frequent enough to affect clarity. For example, “However, I firmly believe…” is followed by a sentence fragment beginning “because,” while “students can get better job” needs an article and plural agreement. In “students can learn to respect their elder and also teaches skills,” the subject and verb do not agree. There are also punctuation and capitalisation problems, such as “So, It.” Practise checking each sentence for a complete main clause, consistent subjects and verbs, and correct articles.

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