Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-16

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)

It is often argued that not enough students are choosing to study science at university.I believe that it may have many reasons but the main reason is that students trying to find their own interests and not following what their parents told them.

One major reason is that parents give their children the freewill of choosing what field they want to study in, and not forcing them to study in a field that they don’t like.This is because many years ago most families were strict and not giving the chance to their child for finding it own interests, in another words this habit could cause a significant issues for instance, their children starts to be dependence on their family in a very harmful way. however, now days students have the ability to choose what they keen on and there is no force from their family, as a result, student can easily following the carrier that they want.

although students choosing a major that they like, has some positive impact, but there is also some negative impact. for example, there is not enough doctors and scientists anymore and in a long term this can lead to the point where government needs to give scholarships to international student and be more flexible about the people who want to study these majors such as science in their country.

in conclusion, it is important to choose the major that has great impact and also make good amount of money but it is also essential to not force and blame anybody for choosing what they like

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt (causes and effects), but the development is inconsistent. The argument regarding the cause—that students now have more freedom to choose their interests—is somewhat contradictory, as it implies that science is simply not an 'interest' for many. The effects are touched upon, specifically the shortage of professionals, but the explanation remains superficial. The conclusion introduces new, slightly irrelevant advice about money rather than summarizing the main points. To improve, ensure that each paragraph provides a clear, logical link between the cause/effect and the specific context of science education.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is frequently interrupted by awkward transitions and unclear referencing. For example, the phrase 'in another words this habit could cause a significant issues' is used incorrectly to introduce a consequence. Cohesive devices are present but often used mechanically or inaccurately, such as the misuse of 'however' and 'although'. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks a clear progression of ideas, making it difficult for the reader to follow the argument's development.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally limited and repetitive. There are several instances of word-choice errors and non-standard collocations, such as 'give their children the freewill', 'starts to be dependence', and 'following the carrier'. The student attempts to use some academic vocabulary, but the lack of precision often obscures the intended meaning. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on learning common collocations and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical form (e.g., 'dependent' instead of 'dependence').

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'their children starts'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'student can easily following'), and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences and missing spaces after periods. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar limits the clarity and professional tone of the writing.

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

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