Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-18

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 recent times are lesser number of students are choosing science as a subject to study at university. This situation creates several challenges like less shortage of skilled professional and financial effects, but there are also effective measures like improving financial incentives and changing the way of teaching at schools.

First and foremost, the problem, shortage of skilled professional is a very serious problem, which will lead to negative development of society. The less professional workers the less development and growth will happen. For instance, there will be less doctors and engineers in the country, and the work they perform, will not be done and will lead to a great problem. Furthermore, financial effects will affect the monetary benefits of the country, profits from them will also be reduced and can lead to a loss. Many carriers will be finished if not enough students enrolled for them.

There are the problems and effects caused by this problem to the society. These problems can be reduced by taking some measures like, firstly initiating financial incentive. The government can provide some financial reward or increase the salaries of individuals working at a science related jobs. For instance, they can raise the salaries of the doctor and provide scholarships on science related courses at the universities. secondly, changing the style of teaching at schools, teachers can teach students in a more practical way so that students creates their interests in science and then choose courses related to it at universities.

In conclusion, not enough students studying science at universities can effect the society as, shortage of skilled professionals amd the financial effects, but these problems can be solved by improving financial incentive and dynamic way of teaching.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to address all parts of the prompt by discussing both the causes and effects of students avoiding science at university, as well as offering solutions. However, the prompt specifically asks for causes and effects, while the student introduces preventive measures and solutions instead, which indicates a slight misinterpretation of the task requirements. The position is stated, but ideas are occasionally repetitive and lack full development. For example, when mentioning financial effects and shortages of professionals, the explanations remain somewhat general and circular, such as stating 'the less professional workers the less development and growth will happen.' While the student covers the main themes, the inclusion of solutions rather than focusing deeply on causes and effects limits the score. Overall, the task is addressed partially, aligning best with Band 5.5 descriptors, which rounds to a 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is divided into four paragraphs, following a standard structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There is a clear overall progression, starting with an introduction and moving through causes, effects, and solutions. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'First and foremost', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion', but their use is sometimes mechanical and repetitive. Additionally, referencing and logical links within sentences are occasionally faulty, as seen in the phrase 'the problem, shortage of skilled professional is a very serious problem'. Paragraphing is present and helps segregate ideas, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs lacks flexibility. These features place the response firmly in Band 6.0, where information and ideas are generally coherent, but referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'financial incentives', 'dynamic way of teaching', and 'skilled professional'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the text. For instance, the student writes 'less shortage of skilled professional' instead of 'a shortage of skilled professionals', 'science related jobs' instead of 'science-related jobs', and 'amd' instead of 'and'. Spelling and word-formation errors occur, such as 'carriers' instead of 'careers' and 'creates their interests' instead of 'spark their interest'. These inaccuracies do not entirely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5 because the vocabulary control is inconsistent and contains frequent errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting conditional and relative clauses such as 'which will lead to negative development of society' and 'so that students creates their interests'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in articles, prepositions, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure. Examples include 'In recent times are lesser number of students are', 'the less professional workers the less development', and 'not enough students studying science at universities can effect the society'. The misuse of comparative structures ('the less... the less') and verb forms heavily impacts the accuracy of the writing. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader, the grammar performance fits the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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