Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-21

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)

In the modern era, it's become popular among university students to learn about other courses and subjects in adittion to their core subjects. While others oppse that it is necessary for students to devote all their time and focus to study their main subjects. In my opinion, student should focus on the subject relevant to their qualification to get deep knowledge and give their free time to other subjects.

One tha one hand, learning about othe subjects can help students to study and read more. For example, a student of law wants to learn about subjects related to business can help the student to know about business. Which can help the students to in real life. Moreover, It can also familiar students with books also students reading skills can be improved. Which help students to read and comprehend any topic given to them.

On the other hand, crtics argue that it is very important for studetns to study subjects relevant to their qualification. Because this helps students to achieve good grades and give in depth knowledge to students which can help students in job market relevant to their field. Furthermore, learning about other subjects in addition to their main subjects divert the students focus and resulting to low grades.

In conclusion, in my personal view, students shoulde devote their free and lesuire time to learn about other subjects to improved their reading skills and know about other subjets. However, I also believe that students give time and attention to those subjects which are close to their degree and qualificatoin, because it will help them to achieve good grades and increase their chances of being hired.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and give a personal position: you support prioritising degree-related study while using free time to explore other subjects. The law-and-business example is relevant, and you explain that specialist study may help with grades and employment. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The benefits of broader study are mostly described as improving reading, without explaining other concrete outcomes, and the claim that additional subjects divert attention is not supported with an example. Your position is present but its balance is not fully clear: the opening says students should focus on qualification-related subjects, while the conclusion gives a similar but more qualified view. Develop each side with specific reasoning and make your preferred balance explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Phrases such as “On the other hand” help signal the change in viewpoint, and the main ideas are generally grouped by topic. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Which can help the students to in real life” is detached from the preceding sentence, while “Moreover” introduces a point that is not clearly connected to the business example. Repeated references to “students” also make the writing feel repetitive. Build clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and use pronouns or varied referencing where the meaning remains clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “core subjects,” “qualification,” “in depth knowledge,” and “job market,” so the reader can follow the general discussion. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors reduce precision. Examples include “familiar students with books,” “divert the students focus,” and “resulting to low grades”; these expressions do not sound natural in context. There are also noticeable spelling errors such as “adittion,” “opps e,” and “qualificatoin.” Aim to learn common academic collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms for the benefits and drawbacks of studying additional subjects would help you express ideas with greater clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “While others…” and a reason introduced by “Because.” However, complex structures are often incomplete or inaccurately formed, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For instance, “While others oppose that it is necessary…” is not a complete sentence, and “learning about subjects related to business can help the student to know about business. Which can help…” breaks the idea into a fragment. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and verb forms, as in “student should focus” and “students shoulde devote.” Practise building complete sentences around one main clause, then check subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries.

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