Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-28

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)

Nowadays, in many countries few children are taking an interest in studying science at universites. There are reasons, why it affects society and economy in bad manner. In this essay we will discuss the causes and effects.

From my perspective, there are many factors due to which students have lack of interest in science. Initially, many children have difficulty in studying and understanding science related subjects; such as chemistry, physics and maths. Due to the lack of interest they choose other fields related to arts and economics. Subsequently, the teaching methods affected them so much, because they asked the children to learn by heart rather than showing them practical examples. For instance, a science student don't understand how to perform an operation by reading in books, so it's crucial to do practical work.

In addition, It has bad impact on society and on economy of the country. If students don't study science there is lack of doctors, engineers and businessman. We have to rely on robotic things or we should hire people from other countries related to these fields. Furthermore, it also affects the economy because many funds come from these fields and for the development we have to hire international people. For example, for the construction we have to depend on international engineers, so it costs a lot and it affects the budget of country.

In conclusion, students not choosing science because they find it hard to understand, it is due to the teaching methods and lack of interest. This will have a devastating impact on the economy and society of any country. We should improve our teaching methods and try to build interest among students by practical experiments and their advantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the causes and the effects of fewer students choosing to study science. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The ideas are generally relevant, covering causes such as student difficulty and poor teaching methods, and effects like shortages of professionals and economic impacts. However, some of the ideas are slightly under-developed or rely on broad generalisations, such as the claim that a lack of science students means we have to rely entirely on 'robotic things'. This keeps the task response firmly at a Band 6.0 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression. Information and ideas are divided into appropriate paragraphs, featuring a standard introduction, body paragraphs for causes and effects, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transitional phrases like 'Subsequently' and 'In addition' are used, but referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'It has bad impact' where the pronoun lacks a precise antecedent. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but overall cohesive devices need more flexibility to reach a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related words such as 'chemistry', 'physics', 'economy', and 'engineers'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and spelling, such as 'universites' instead of 'universities', 'in bad manner' instead of 'in a negative way', and 'a science student don't understand' (subject-verb agreement error impacting lexical grammar). Attempts at less common vocabulary sometimes lead to awkward phrasing. Communication is not impeded, but these limitations place the lexical score at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional clauses ('If students don't study science...') and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('a science student don't understand'), missing articles ('the budget of country'), and punctuation errors. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur regularly enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 6.5, making Band 6.0 a fitting descriptor for the grammatical control displayed.

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