Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-23

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 recent few years, the attention to study in university has been increased. Mostly, people are now preffering to do degrees and want to be educated.

In the university era we always have a chance to enhance our skills instead of just getting good grades in the specific subjects.

In the universities mostly students prefer to learn about new things or any other subjects and some students also want to just pay attention to their studies. It always must be the student's choice whether they want to continue with other subjects or just want to focus on the qualification. For instance, if any student is interested in graphic designing and he or she is a student of biotechnology then there must be an option for that particular student to choose or study about that also because it can happen that he/she can get more career options in that interested field. Besides this, there is also a case from my life where one of my friends was just wanted a degree and she did not show any kind of interest in other subject or activities which led her lack of confidence in the end of the degree.

In my opinion, it should depend on the conditions like if any student want to persue his/her career in other subject then they must given a chance to prove theirselves instead of bounding them. Besides this, students should take care about their main subjects like it should not happen that they are just paying attention to the other subjects and ignoring their main subjects which can cause bad results in the end. Furthermore, the other point is that those students who are just focusing on the qualification, remain in the back at the end because they do not participate in other activities or subjects which could help them to be bright student and also the confidence to talk to someone confidentely. It can also groom their personality, but they just want the degree and do not show interest in other subjects.

By concluding this discussion, every student should see what they want to achieve and what are their responsibilities and they should always react according to the situation where they can handle both their main and other subjects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and give a clear preference for allowing students to explore other subjects while maintaining attention to their main qualification. The graphic-designing and biotechnology example is relevant, and the account of your friend supports your point about confidence. However, the two views are not explored equally: the case for concentrating solely on a qualification receives little explanation beyond the friend’s experience, and some claims—such as focused students “remain in the back”—are unclear or insufficiently supported. Develop the benefits of specialisation, such as deeper expertise or stronger performance, then compare these with the advantages of broader study. A more precise conclusion that directly weighs the two positions would also strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overall structure, moving from an introduction to examples, your opinion and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Besides this” and “Furthermore” show attempts to connect ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the discussion shifts from subject choice to confidence, activities and personality without clearly showing how each point relates to the main argument. Several transitions are repetitive, and the final paragraph largely restates earlier ideas rather than drawing the discussion together. Organise each body paragraph around one view, use clearer references to connect examples to claims, and make the conclusion summarise your comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to education and personal development, including “qualification,” “career options,” “confidence” and “groom their personality.” These choices allow you to communicate the main ideas, but the range is sometimes repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “subjects,” “students” and “attention.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “the attention to study,” “remain in the back” and “react according to the situation.” Spelling errors, including “preffering,” “persue” and “confidentely,” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise range for discussing specialisation and broader learning, and check spelling and natural word combinations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if any student is interested … then there must be an option” and clauses explaining consequences. The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the attention … has been increased” has an awkward tense construction, while “if any student want” has subject–verb disagreement. In “she was just wanted a degree,” the verb pattern is incorrect, and “they must given a chance” is missing a passive verb form. Pronoun and agreement choices also need attention in “theirselves.” Practise accurate verb forms, agreement and passive constructions, then proofread longer sentences for complete, well-controlled structures.

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