Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-14

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)

In many region students are getting less interested in science subject and not choosing to study science at university. There are several reasons behind it. Both, the cause and effect on society is discussed further.

There are so many reasons for a learner to not choose science has their field at university. Firstly, a preference of a learner depends, if he/she does not want to carry their future related with science or they may not find themself knowledgeable about science. so that could be a reason for not choosing it. Secondly, in India many family have their own business so they want their child to handle their family business so they make sure he/she gets admission in business field at university. Furthermore, many students have also faced lack of job opportunity after completing their degree with science stream, so they often try to secure their future by choosing something practical.

Nevertheless, this may cause some effect on our society, Firstly, if students will start avoiding science from their life, they have to different kind of difficulties in their life. For instance, nowadays education has been given major priority in children life so, if the parents are not knowledgeable about science they will not able to teach their kids. Furthermore, if we omit science, then we as a society will not be able to produce good doctors, scientist, or engineer.

Overall, science plays a vital role in life and in our society. Although many students are avoiding it but it eventually help them in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: causes (personal preference, family business, job market) and effects (lack of parental guidance, shortage of professionals). However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about parental knowledge of science is a bit vague and could be better linked to the broader societal impact. The ideas are relevant, but they lack the depth and detailed examples required for a higher band. The position is clear, but the overall argument could be more robustly supported to fully satisfy the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Furthermore', and 'Nevertheless'. However, some of these transitions feel mechanical or slightly misused, such as the transition into the second paragraph. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the connection between the points is somewhat disjointed. While the overall progression is coherent, the use of linking words could be more natural and varied to improve the flow between sentences and ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'science', 'university', and 'future'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary (e.g., 'stream', 'degree', 'professional'), there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'carry their future related with science' and 'not knowledgeable about science'. To improve, the student should focus on using more sophisticated collocations and avoiding repetitive, simplistic sentence structures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader's flow. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('many family have', 'students is getting'), article usage ('in children life'), and awkward phrasing ('if students will start avoiding science from their life'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors suggests a lack of control over complex structures. More attention to basic grammar rules and proofreading for small errors would significantly improve the clarity of the writing.

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

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