Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-21

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)

Most countries are showing a decline in the percentage of pupils not opting to study science in undergraduate courses. Students believe that science is a hard subject with reasoning and logic with not many career options due to which they do not choose it. Consequently, this belief leads to shortage of professional in science subject leading to regression in the field.

Social media has led to the popularity of the concept of rag to riches with career path like youtube, crypto and many other leading to the belief that short cut can make you successful overnight. This trend has changed the thinking of individuals to choose the subject they perceive easy as compared to science because it is a back up plan. Furthermore, there is no proper career counseling in most countries due to which they think there is not enough job opportunities and most field are saturated making it hard to find a job.

The effect of this thinking has led to shortage of individuals interested in science subjects which has led to shortage of skilled workers in many countries. Canada and many other countries have a career pathway for hiring skilled workers from developing countries to fulfill this shortage in their own country. First-world countries are hiring from developing countries for research assistant with the opportunity of free studies in that country to fill the gap of regression in science fields.

To conclude, popular beliefs of becoming millionaire overnight has led the youth to not opt for science subject which in turn has affected the nations skilled workers number. Spreading awareness about the effect of this could lead to increase in the interest of the youth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: causes (perceived difficulty, lack of career counseling, social media influence) and effects (shortage of skilled workers, reliance on international recruitment). However, the development is somewhat uneven. The first paragraph contains a logical error in the opening sentence, stating that students are 'not opting' to study science, which contradicts the premise of the prompt. While the ideas are relevant, they are occasionally under-developed; for instance, the link between 'rag to riches' content and the avoidance of science could be more explicitly connected to the perceived time-investment required for scientific degrees. Overall, the position is clear, but the analysis lacks the depth required for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Consequently,' 'Furthermore,' and 'To conclude,' which help guide the reader. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the transition 'due to which' used repeatedly. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the first paragraph where the subject of 'it' is ambiguous. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the flow between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'saturated,' 'career pathway,' and 'research assistant.' However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'shortage of professional in science subject' (should be 'professionals in scientific fields') and 'regression in the field.' The phrase 'rag to riches' is used correctly, but the overall range is somewhat limited, and the repetition of basic terms like 'shortage' and 'countries' indicates a need for more varied synonyms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the precision of the writing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('shortage of professional'), missing articles ('in science subject'), and awkward phrasing ('the belief that short cut can make you successful'). Punctuation is generally functional, but some sentences are clunky due to poor clause construction. The writer demonstrates an ability to form complex sentences, but the control over these structures is inconsistent, leading to errors that occasionally require the reader to re-read for clarity.

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

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