Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-10

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, not enough students are choosing science at university. This is a serious problem because science is very important for the development of a country. There are some reasons for this situation and it have many effects on society.

One main reason is that science subjects are difficult for many students. They need to study a lot and do many difficult exams. Because of this, students sometimes choose business, arts or other subjects which they think is easier. Another reason is that science education takes many years. Young people want to get a job quickly and earn money for their families. Also, some science jobs are not paid very well in some countries, so students are not interested in these careers.

This situation has some bad effects on society. First, there may be fewer scientists in the future. Scientists are very important for making new medicines, developing technology and solving environmental problems. If there is less scientists, these problems can become more difficult. For example, scientists are needed to make new medicines for serious diseases.

Another effect is that countries may need to employ scientists from other countries. This can make them dependent on foreign workers and may also cost more money.

In conclusion, science is not popular because it is difficult, takes a long time and may not give good jobs. This can cause problems for the future development of society.

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 somewhat limited due to the word count falling below the 250-word requirement. While the ideas are relevant, they lack sufficient depth and supporting detail to fully explore the implications of the issue. For instance, the discussion on the effects on society is quite brief and could have been expanded with more specific examples or a more nuanced analysis of long-term societal impacts. Because the response is under-length, it fails to fully develop the ideas as required for higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for causes and effects, and a conclusion. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat basic and repetitive (e.g., 'One main reason', 'Another reason', 'Another effect'). While the paragraphing is appropriate, the transitions between sentences could be more sophisticated to improve the flow and connectivity of the arguments. The overall structure is coherent but lacks the flexibility and variety expected at higher levels.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite simple and repetitive. The student relies on common words like 'difficult', 'important', and 'bad'. There is little attempt to use less common or more precise academic vocabulary. For example, instead of 'science subjects are difficult', a more sophisticated approach would involve terms like 'demanding', 'rigorous', or 'academically challenging'. While the meaning is always clear and there are no significant spelling errors, the range is limited, which 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 recurring grammatical errors. For example, 'it have many effects' (subject-verb agreement error) and 'If there is less scientists' (incorrect quantifier usage with countable nouns). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. The range of structures is somewhat restricted, and the student would benefit from incorporating more varied complex sentence forms, such as conditional clauses or passive voice, with greater accuracy.

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

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