Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-01

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 this recent years, there is an ongiong trend where many students do not prefer to study science at university in many nations. The are several reasons for this trend and has a negative impact on soceity. The same will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.

There are several reasons for students not choosing science related subjects at university. First and foremost, is availability of more courses for students at university. In the past, there were a limited range of subjects. This can effect to students in future. This is because, as many courses are available students get confuse what to choose and some time make wrong decisions. As a result they will not get a good job in their field and will have less income. For instance, many young people at universities select courses that pay higher income and are directly connected to job market.

Another main reason for people not choosing science related subjects is due to complexity of it. Many students feel that science subjects are complicated and requires a lot effort to crack exams. So, students prefer choosing subjects which are easy to learn and pass exams. Therefore, students in science stream are less. This effects the innovations of country and growth of technology will be slow in various sectors. To exemplify, government and teacher should encourage the students to learn science with providing facilities like digital board in schools.

To conclude, students avoid science related subjects because they have many more other options and its is very compicated to study. But, students stops learning science then the growth of technology and innovations will stop.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: causes (availability of courses and complexity of science) and effects (economic impact and slowed innovation). However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the link between 'availability of more courses' and students making 'wrong decisions' is not fully explained or logically connected to the decline in science enrollment. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not fully synthesize the points raised. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations and concrete examples that clearly illustrate how these causes lead to the specific effects mentioned.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'First and foremost', 'As a result', and 'To conclude', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'The same will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.' Additionally, there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as 'This can effect to students in future,' where the antecedent of 'This' is ambiguous. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer to previous nouns will enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. You rely on basic terms like 'good job', 'wrong decisions', and 'easy to learn'. There are also some noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'effect to students' (should be 'affect') and 'crack exams' (too informal). Spelling errors like 'ongiong', 'soceity', and 'compicated' occur throughout the text. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and ensure you are using the correct word forms (e.g., noun vs. verb) to convey your ideas more professionally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('students stops learning', 'science subjects... requires a lot effort') and incorrect verb forms ('This effects the innovations'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are missing articles and awkward phrasing throughout. While the meaning is usually clear, these persistent errors prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage would significantly improve the quality of your writing.

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

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