Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-18
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people say that now is the best time in history to be living.
What is your opinion about this?
What other time in history would be interesting to live in?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
It is often argued that in this modern era,academic institute should focus on practical subjects, and arts and music subjects are not necessary to learn. In my opinion, science and mathematics subjects are crucial to learn as we need this knowledge in every field of life. But we can not ignore the importance of music and art such as it makes students energetic, and they get a chnace to show their hidden talents.
To begin with, practical subjects are important to acquire the knowledge of mathematics and science which is necessary for students who want to pursue their further studies in colleges and universities. These courses helps the pupils to learn theory as well as practical, for instance, in science subject teachers teach students how water reacts with different acids, but in labs they show them how it actually works which help them to understand the topic more clearly.
On the other hand, music and arts subjects are equally important because students need to time relax from their hectic schedule of study. If students learn how to play various instruments, they may develop a new hobbie or may acquire their future in music industry. Moreover, these subjects encourage students to do something different from studies. For instance, a student might not good with studies but he i
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt partially, discussing the importance of practical subjects versus arts and music, but it notably misses the second part of the prompt regarding what other time in history would be interesting to live in. Furthermore, the length requirement is NOT met, as the essay stops abruptly at 217 words, well short of the 250-word minimum. The student provides some relevant ideas, such as how science subjects bridge theory and practice and how arts provide a mental break, but these ideas remain somewhat under-developed due to the truncated length and lack of focus on the historical time period aspect of the question. Consequently, Task Achievement is penalised for the missing prompt element and under-length issue, resulting in a band score of 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays some overall organization with recognizable paragraph breaks, starting with an introduction, followed by a body paragraph on practical subjects, and a partial paragraph on arts. However, the progression is disrupted because the essay is incomplete, breaking off mid-sentence with 'a student might not good with studies but he i'. Cohesive devices are used simply, such as 'To begin with' and 'On the other hand', but referencing and logical flow are compromised by the abrupt ending and lack of addressing all prompt questions. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is left unfinished. These limitations in overall progression and the truncated structure place the performance at a band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and topic-specific terms such as 'practical subjects', 'hectic schedule of study', and 'hidden talents'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'academic institute' (instead of institutions), 'need to time relax' (instead of time to relax), and 'acquire their future in music industry' (instead of pursue a career). Spelling and word formation errors also appear, such as 'chnace' and 'hobbie'. While communication is generally maintained despite these flaws, the repetition and inaccuracies prevent the lexical score from exceeding a band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'If students learn how to play various instruments, they may develop a new hobbie...'. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are several structural and agreement errors, including 'science and mathematics subjects are crucial to learn as we need this knowledge' (plural/singular mismatch), 'These courses helps' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'science subject teachers teach' (missing articles and punctuation). The response also ends with an incomplete sentence fragment ('he i'). Because complex sentences often contain errors and the grammar is noticeably flawed throughout, a band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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