Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-28

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 modern society, scientific discoveries and research play a pivotal role in the advancement of the community. Research has shown that the rate of pursuing science as a career is in constant decline among the students. This essay will try to present causes and effects.

Difficulty plays a significant impact on downgrading the image of such lucrative fields. It is because among students society has projected science field as a challenging career. As a consequence, influence of negative perspective is developed among the children. For instance, if a student is facing challenges in solving complex mathematical queries, it is highly probable that he would try to avoid science as his job. Ultimately, fear mongering has played a vital influence in students pursuing other careers than that of scientific field.

Consequently, it can lead to a substantial declination in research and innovation in niche areas. Students opting out from scientific field can result in the technological underdevelopment as well as discoveries of new tech in different lucrative niches. As a consequence, a country can't tackle the major challenges that can appear in the near future. As a context, if we need research in medical field for a cancer, if no one is contributing towards the advancement and discovery of such field, tackling such issue will be quite challenging. Finally, it will result in backward of social development and can result in major issues.

To sum up, I believe student should enroll and choose scientific field as their future job which will provide a substantial boost in the development of various sectors and can provide substantial benefit to the individual as well as the social infrastructure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both parts of the prompt: the causes (difficulty, negative perception) and the effects (technological underdevelopment, societal stagnation). The ideas are relevant, but the development is somewhat superficial. For example, the explanation of why science is perceived as difficult is a bit repetitive, and the link between student choices and 'technological underdevelopment' could be supported with more specific examples beyond a general mention of cancer research. The position is clear, but the conclusion introduces a recommendation rather than summarizing the main points discussed. To reach a higher band, ensure each point is fully explored with more depth and nuance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Consequently', 'For instance', and 'To sum up', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced, such as 'As a context' and 'As a consequence' used repeatedly. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be smoother. The use of referencing is mostly accurate, though some phrasing, like 'result in backward of social development', is awkward and hinders the logical flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at more sophisticated language like 'pivotal role', 'lucrative fields', and 'fear mongering'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'substantial declination' (decline), 'result in backward of social development' (hinder social development), and 'downgrading the image' (tarnishing the reputation). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they indicate a lack of precision that prevents a higher score. Expanding your range of collocations would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'scientific discoveries and research play a pivotal role in the advancement of the community' (article usage), 'if we need research in medical field for a cancer' (article usage), and 'student should enroll' (pluralization). While the meaning is generally clear, these errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, article usage, and ensuring that complex sentence structures are constructed accurately without awkward phrasing.

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

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