Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-08

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 5.0)

In many countries there has been a decline in the number of students not choosing to pursue science at their university.

This essay will examine the main causes of the reason for students not choosing science and what are the effects of it having on the society.

Firstly, one of the main driving factor for the decline in students not pursuing science has been due to the high cost of university fees which discourages students who come from a poor background and also due to the time taken for the students to finish their university studies requires a lot of financial support, due to which some students get a student loan which puts them in more debt before even finishing their studies and then having to pay of the debts later on.

furthermore, in contrast to the increased societal and academic pressure put on the students have been significantly increased which has increased the amount of depression, anxiety and fear in students to the point where the student under performs or some extreme cases they may subject to self-harm. due to the increased amount of studies and workload placed on the students they often spent less time outside and stop socializing with their peers and family leading them to be in a state of depression and isolation. Moreover, due to the uncertainty of the future jibs available in certain areas of the science field because of the emergence of AI has left some students uncertain about their future plans and ambition.

In conclusion, students has been discouraged due to the high cost of fees for university and due to the pressure placed upon them furthermore because of AI has left students unsure about their future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: causes and effects. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention financial burdens and academic pressure, the link to the 'effects on society' is underdeveloped. You touch upon the impact on the individual (depression, isolation), but you do not clearly explain the broader societal consequences, such as a lack of innovation or a shortage of skilled professionals. The conclusion is also quite repetitive and lacks a synthesis of the points discussed. To improve, ensure each body paragraph clearly links the cause to a specific, distinct societal effect.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is hindered by run-on sentences and repetitive phrasing. For example, the second paragraph is a single, very long sentence that makes it difficult to follow the progression of ideas. While you use some cohesive devices like 'furthermore' and 'moreover', they are often used to connect clauses that are already grammatically disjointed. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transition between the causes and the effects is abrupt. Improving sentence structure and using more varied cohesive markers would significantly enhance the clarity of your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic terms like 'high cost', 'a lot of', and 'bad'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'future jibs' (likely a typo for jobs) and 'subject to self-harm'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more academic collocations and precise terminology related to the topic, such as 'tuition fees', 'financial constraints', 'mental health implications', or 'technological displacement'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. The essay suffers from significant issues with sentence construction, particularly the use of long, convoluted sentences that lack proper punctuation. There are also errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'students has been discouraged') and word order. Many sentences are fragments or run-ons, which makes the text difficult to read. You should focus on writing shorter, clearer sentences and proofreading for basic errors like verb tense consistency and pluralization to improve your accuracy.

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

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