Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-25

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 the contemporary era, in numerous countries not much students wants to study science subjects at university level.There are several major causes and considerable factors that influence student to take this desicion, consequently society face its effects.

One of the dominent cause behind students not choosing to study science at university is compitition in this field. For instance, if we look back initially there was not that much compitition in this area more and more people took interest and studiesd science. Additionally, at that time science and engineering was two major areas and students have less options to choose other subjects. With the passage of time the flow increased and now medical and science become the toughest field. Furthermore, students avoid science at university level because they found other interesting subjects, which are more attractive and more easy to learn. In addition, some individuals not interested in it becuase it cost expensive and people who are less ecocomic previlage mostly avoid it.

There will be prominent and detrimental effects it have on society. Initially, there will be less researcher in future because most of the students are not willing to continue their education in science. It will directy effect the number of researchers in the upcoming decades or years. Secondly, it will drastically effect the healthcare sector. For example, if majority will leave science and study social sciences, there will emergence of crisis in the numbers of doctors and medical stuff. There will be patientce everywhere but not enough doctors and health stuff to treat. Finally, another main effect will in the technological development. if there is no science students, ultimately there will be no scientists and more developments.

In conclusion, numerous factors influence the many students not to study science like: tough compition, expensive,and lack of interest. However it directly effect the society in health care sector, less researcher and less developments.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying causes such as competition, high costs, and lack of interest, and societal effects like a shortage of researchers, doctors, and technological advancement. However, the development of ideas tends to be repetitive and somewhat superficial. For example, the points regarding the healthcare sector and lack of researchers overlap conceptually. While the position is clear and all parts of the prompt are covered, the ideas would benefit from greater depth and more precise supporting examples rather than generalisations. Therefore, the task achievement aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is divided into logical paragraphs with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and effects, and a conclusion. However, cohesion within and between sentences is frequently faulty or mechanical. The writer relies heavily on basic transitional phrases such as 'Initially', 'Secondly', and 'Finally', and referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'It will directy effect the number of researchers'. Paragraphing is present and helps structure the essay, but the overall progression lacks smooth transitions and sophistication. These features place the response firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range, comfortably supported by the Band 5.5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate ideas about education and society, attempting some less common items such as 'contemporary era', 'detrimental', and 'technological development'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'compitition' instead of competition, 'ecocomic previlage' instead of economic privilege, and 'medical stuff' instead of medical staff. Word choice errors like 'cost expensive' rather than 'expensive' or 'costly' occasionally impede precision. The vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, which corresponds to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement, such as 'not much students wants' instead of many students want, and tense inconsistencies like 'science and engineering was two major areas'. Punctuation and spelling errors are also common. While the writer attempts complex sentences, they are frequently faulty, leading to noticeable difficulties for the reader. These persistent errors across basic and complex structures mean the grammar performance fits best at Band 5.0.

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

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