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)

Universities are the important stage for the education in life. However, it is argued that some university students want to learn other subjects with their main subjects. Others believe that giving all the time and paying attention to concerned subjects for a qualification is essential. I also agree that studying relevant subjects for a qualification is important.

on the one hand, there are students in the university that learn about other topics in addition to their main topics. There are many reasons for that. At first, they may learn other subjects to enhance their knowledge and vocabulary because these things are also important for a student in his education life. A student must have a vast knowledge about his field and he should be in a position to answer the questions related to his field. It is also possible that the students might have an extra time so, they read other subjects instead of wasting time. However, there may be some disadvantages like it makes student wayward and less interested in their essential things.

On the other hand, some students in the university that give all their time to study their related things. These are the people who do not want to study other topics which are irrelevant to their concerns. They might believe that learning other things is a waste of time. It is often possible that they do not have any enough time to focus on other things. Moreover, I would also like to say that a person must be interested in their corresponding things. There are many benefits of this. First, people have a extra time to completely focus on their essential topics which they consider difficult. Secondly, focusing on their related things encourage them to acheive high percentage in the annual exams.

In conclusion , i think that it is more important to give all the availabe time to learn about the related subjects as it will result in good performance in the exams.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state your position: the introduction and conclusion support prioritising subjects related to a qualification. The discussion of studying other subjects gives relevant reasons, including broadening knowledge and using spare time, while the second view explains that focused study may help students perform well in exams. However, the two sides are not developed equally: the benefits of broader study are mostly asserted, and the claim that it can make students “wayward” is unclear and unsupported. The argument for focusing on a qualification is more explicit, but relies mainly on exam results. To strengthen the response, explain the practical value of each view and add a specific example, while keeping your position clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “on the one hand,” “on the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. Within paragraphs, however, progression is sometimes mechanical, particularly with “At first,” “First,” and “Secondly.” Some links between ideas are also unclear: the point about having extra time does not fully explain why students choose other subjects, and “Moreover” introduces a statement about interest without a clear connection to the preceding idea. Improve cohesion by grouping related reasons, using more precise references, and explaining how each point supports the paragraph’s main claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “qualification,” “essential topics,” “knowledge,” and “annual exams.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “vast knowledge,” but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural and make the argument less precise. For example, “wayward” does not clearly express the intended disadvantage, and “related things” is repeated where more specific terms would help. Spelling and word-form errors such as “acheive” and “availabe” are noticeable. Build a more precise academic vocabulary for discussing breadth and focus in education, and check collocations and spelling so that your meaning is consistently clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “which,” and “that,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors occur in sentence structure and grammatical forms. For example, “there are students … that learn” and “some students … that give” are incomplete or awkward constructions; “a person must be interested in their corresponding things” also has unclear agreement and reference. Articles and plurals are inconsistent, as in “a extra time” and “makes student.” Capitalisation and punctuation need attention, especially the lowercase “on” and “i” and the spacing around commas. Practise forming complete subject–verb clauses and checking articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries.

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