Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-14

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 around the globe, the number of students persuing science at university is falling. It may be a result of factors like finding science difficult or to have interest in other majors. It is alarming for our society because in this era of technological advancement, everyone should have knowledge of science and contribute in the betterment of the society.

The most significant reason of students shifting towards arts at university is that in high school, they find science difficult. They can't help themselves with all those equations, units and formulas and as a result they eventually opt non-scientific fields. This might occur due to difference in our abilities as humans. Some are more likely to remember these things than others.

Personal interests of a students are also unignorable. If a student is more interested in music, he will never choose to study science as it makes no sense for him. Many students choose their careers in high schools and if science does'nt align with their careers, they simply omit it. There is a rise in number of students that want to become a sportman in past few decades. Other than that, now people are less attracted to traditional careers like a doctor and an engineer and are more into studying business. This shift of interests is also a primary reason for decine in students studying science at university.

At present, the world is speedily advancing in science and to keep our pace with it, it is necessary to have more and more students in science. In china, almost all students opt sciences and it is a key factor of their development. If a country wants advancement in this era, it should have enough people in persuing science at university.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying the causes of falling science enrolment (difficulty of subjects, changing career interests) and the effects on society (hindering technological advancement and development). The writer presents a clear position throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and lacks depth. For instance, the discussion on students finding science difficult in high school touches on equations and formulas, but does not fully extend the argument with broader societal contexts. Similarly, the mention of China as an example is brief and could be better integrated to support the effects on society. Despite these minor under-developments, all parts of the task are adequately addressed, positioning this firmly at a Band 6.5 or 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into four paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs focusing on causes, and a concluding paragraph touching upon effects. There is a logical overall arrangement, moving clearly from the introduction to causes and then to societal impacts. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'The most significant reason', 'Other than that', and 'At present', which help guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and paragraphing show some mechanical faults. For example, the second body paragraph begins abruptly with 'Personal interests of a students', and referencing pronouns like 'he' or 'things' can occasionally be vague. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but overall cohesion feels a bit repetitive in structure, leading to a Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'technological advancement', 'traditional careers', and 'primary reason'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('persuing' instead of pursuing, 'decine' instead of decline, 'sportman' instead of sportsman) and occasional awkward word choices, such as 'opt non-scientific fields' instead of opting for non-scientific fields. Less common vocabulary items are attempted, but some inaccuracies in collocation and word formation prevent the score from reaching a higher band. Communication is not impeded by these lexical errors, but they remain noticeable throughout the response, fitting the Band 6 profile well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures like 'If a student is more interested in music, he will never choose to study science'. There is a reasonable variety of sentence structures used across the essay. However, numerous grammatical errors are present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Personal interests of a students are', 'science does'nt align'), missing prepositions ('contribute in the betterment' instead of to), and punctuation or article mistakes ('in china', 'a sportman'). While these errors occur frequently, they rarely impede overall communication. The presence of these systematic errors places the response securely in the Band 6 category.

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

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