Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-20
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 countries, fewer students are choosing to study science at university. This trend can be attributed to different factors which includes many reasons like increasing demand in other science related subjects and a massive decline in the science. In the contemporary society, most of the students find other subjects engaging and making it their first priority.
On the one hand, the enormous group of students chose science in the past. However, fewer jobs are available for this particular field because of the majority students choose this subject. This approach makes it difficult to find a job. Some other lazy students don`t have any interest in these fields because they require a huge focus and hard-work,
On the other hand, people are fascinated by other fields like media, information technology and other art field nowadays. They are attracted by these subjects because of its working flexibility , massive rising demand in economy. Most of the students study these fields in order to grow professionally and economically. These employments offer a decent salary making it the most significant factor of all.
When a wide range of students decide to take other subjects, many impacts on the society occurs. Country lack large number of scientists, researchers which effect the country`s economic growth as there lack to discover new medicines , treatments and drugs.
Lack of skilled scientists could reduce the country`s economic growth internationally as modern economies massively depend on research, innovation and technology advancements.
From my perspective students should take science subjects and government should take significant steps to enhance scientific study and give numerous employments to people.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: causes and effects. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The causes mentioned—such as 'lazy students' or 'working flexibility'—are presented in a rather simplistic manner. The effects on society are identified, but the explanation lacks depth and specific examples. The position is clear, but the arguments would benefit from more detailed elaboration to reach a higher band. The essay covers the requirements, but the analysis remains at a surface level, which is characteristic of a Band 6 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. There is a clear progression of ideas from causes to effects. However, some sentences are disjointed, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the link between 'enormous group of students' and the subsequent argument is slightly confusing. Overall, the structure is coherent, but the flow could be smoother.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'students', 'subjects', and 'fields'. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary (e.g., 'innovation', 'professionally', 'economic growth'), there are inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'massive decline in the science' and 'there lack to discover'. These errors do not impede communication, but they demonstrate a limited range that prevents the essay from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'factors which includes', 'many impacts... occurs'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'as there lack to discover'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of backticks instead of standard apostrophes. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors indicates a lack of control over complex structures, keeping the score in the Band 5.5 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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