Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries not enough students are choosing to study science at university. What are the causes of this? What effects does it have on society?

Give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Science is the most advanced and important field in today's world. Its quite tough for a person to do progress without knowing the significance of STEM( Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). It is widely observed that in several countries not sufficient pupils are selecting to study science at university.

This emerging choice of many students can be due to financial stability or may be due to the vast distance between the residence and university. By focusing on students coming from different backgrounds, and by constructing more universities, this problem can be solved.

First cause is the availability of insufficient funds for the majority of people. A lot of students from different countries belong to average or even below average families in some cases. For them, it's almost impossile to collect fees in millions. As a result, they sacrifice their dream to study science in a proper science learning environment. Second main cause is the availability of universities in a near location to home. For example, some students can't afford to live in far-off place from their residence.Unfortunately, they loose hope to study in a university, and finally get anadmission in a near-by institute.

To eradicate these causes, the university's administration department must keep in mind students of mediocre families. They should design a flexible fee structure. For instance, students having an average earnings must be allowed to submit the fee in smaller installments according to their will power. Moreover, university should also offer scholarships to the deprived ones. So that, they can also get advance education in fully equipped environment, and would be able to serve the country later. Second cause can be solved by the involvement of government. They should build universities in town and less populated areas. So that. pupils of that area don't bother to travel a far-off place to get admission and to continue their education.

In conclusion, I would say that by focusing more on fee structures and development of further universities the problems faced by pupils from different parts of the world can be overcomed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify two relevant causes—financial barriers and the distance to a university—and suggest responses such as flexible fees, scholarships and building institutions in less populated areas. However, the task also asks about the effects on society, and this part is largely missing. The brief claim that scholarship recipients could “serve the country later” does not explain the wider consequences of fewer science graduates, such as shortages of skilled workers or slower technological development. Much of the response instead focuses on solutions, which are not requested. To address the task more fully, explain the social effects directly and support each cause and effect with a specific example or clearer reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, paragraphs on causes and proposed solutions, and a conclusion. The use of signposts such as “First cause,” “Second main cause” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the main points. However, the progression does not consistently match the question: the body moves from causes to solutions without a developed section on effects, so the argument feels incomplete. Some linking is mechanical, and “So that” is used as a sentence fragment after a full stop. Improve the organisation by giving causes and societal effects their own clearly focused paragraphs, then use linking phrases to show how each idea relates to the question.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “financial stability,” “flexible fee structure,” “scholarships” and “fully equipped environment,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There is also an attempt to use less common expressions, but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “do progress,” “average earnings,” “will power” for ability to pay, and “overcomed.” Spelling and spacing slips, including “imposile,” “loose” and “anadmission,” also reduce accuracy. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall message, but the range and control remain uneven. Aim for precise collocations, for example “make progress,” “low-income families” and “overcome these challenges,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional and purpose structures, as in “For them, it's almost impossible to collect fees…” and “They should build universities…”. The main meaning is generally understandable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation recur. For example, “So that, pupils…” is an incomplete sentence, while “Its quite tough for a person to do progress” has problems with the contraction and sentence pattern. There are also issues with articles and number, such as “university should also offer scholarships” and “a far-off place.” Work on forming complete clauses, using articles consistently, and checking punctuation around sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these patterns would make the argument easier to read.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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