Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-19

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 6.0)

An emerging trend in university has occured. Fewer students are choosing to study science in university than ever before. This is happening in many universities around the world. This trend has several causes along with various effects on the society.

Firstly, more students are interested in other fields such as engineering, techology, artificial intelligence and medicine. These fields are thriving and have more positions for employment than before. Recent changes in political and socio-economic dynamics and rise of new societal norms such "eco-living" has made it possible to shift companies interest to prioritize recruiting graduates specialized in these fields. Other fields on the other hand, are given less ipriority by students, especially that the previously mentioned fields incorporate maths, science and physics in their modules. This makes students think that studying science alone is irrelevant and less impactful than implementing science in various fields to solve serious problems.

Next, the consequences of students' preferences in this regard can be significant. A imbalance is triggered in the distribution of researchers in different fields. People working on science programs will become less. This causes research and development in this domain to slow down or even halt. In a world where every new invention can transform people's lives, any slow down in development can be brutal for societies. A few examples such as testing of a new vaccine to cure cancer, demonsrate the importance of science fields in saving lives.

To conclude, govermental and educational policies should be actively protecting such vital domains such as science, they also must be actively encouraging students to study these domains, to protect humanity from future disasters.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt by discussing the causes of the decline in science students, such as the rise of multidisciplinary fields, and the effects on society, including slower research and development. The student's position is clear throughout the essay. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the mention of cancer vaccine testing. However, there is a minor tendency to over-generalise regarding how all students view studying science alone as irrelevant, which places the essay firmly in the Band 7 category. All parts of the task are well-covered with clear, logical support.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are presented coherently with an introduction, well-defined body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Firstly', 'Next', and 'To conclude', although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate the causes from the effects. Referencing is mostly clear, though a few minor mechanical cohesive ties prevent the response from achieving a higher band score, making Band 7 an accurate descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, employing terms such as 'socio-economic dynamics', 'multidisciplinary', and 'brutal for societies'. There are some less common items used with awareness of style, but occasional spelling and word-choice errors occur, such as 'occured' instead of 'occurred', 'techology' instead of 'technology', and 'ipriority' instead of 'priority'. Additionally, the phrase 'A imbalance' contains a minor article error. Despite these flaws, the vocabulary is adequate for the task and communication is never impeded, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'In a world where every new invention can transform people's lives...'. There are several grammatical errors present, including punctuation and agreement issues like 'govermental and educational policies should be actively protecting... they also must be actively encouraging'. However, the majority of sentences are understandable, and these errors rarely impede communication. The control over grammar and sentence variety aligns closely with the Band 6 descriptors.

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

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