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)

There are multiple nations in the world where a trend in decrease of the popularity of science subjectscan be seen, leading students to choose subjects other than science. There are many reasons behind why the situation became like this along with many effects on society.

One of the primary reason for the decline of students picking science in universities is because of poor condition of education. It may depend on whaat type of country it is. For example in Bangladesh, there aren't many convenient recourses of books or laboratory available. Lack of such needs makes it harder for students to study these subjects. Why would the students want to unnecessarily make their life more complex by picking such subjects? So generally what students do is just pick alternatives like business or arts. Along with this, there may also be different type of job oppurtunities in different countries. For example a country may have many good job markets in the business sector and very few in engineering. Students may also not pick science based on their research about future job availabilities in their countries.

These impact in quite a few ways on society. One of them is teachers losing their position as teachers. Due to a decrease in demand for science teachers, many institudes may not require any science related mentors. This results in an increase in rate of unemployment. For example, India faced many problems regarding science mentors losing their job in the recent years. This has heavily effected the country. Due to such trend in students picking alternattives to science, a country may not develop quite well in the science sector. For example in a developing country, a lot of engineers is required to build many infastructure and bridges. However if there's not enough science graduates, the country may not be able to source many good engineers and may result in the nation developing at a very slow pace.

Overall, there are are many cons of students not picking science as their subjects. A balance of science and it's alternative must be maintained to keep the job market balaced as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring causes such as poor educational resources and job market trends, and societal effects like teacher unemployment and hindered national development. The ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as mentioning Bangladesh and India. However, some arguments remain somewhat generalized and under-developed, particularly regarding the depth of analysis on societal impacts. The position is clear throughout, but the development of ideas aligns best with a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6, where all parts of the task are addressed, but some points lack the fully extended exploration required for higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and effects, and a brief conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct themes. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'These impact in quite a few ways on society' is awkward, and referencing can be repetitive or unclear, such as the frequent use of 'this' or 'such' without precise antecedents. Cohesive devices are functional rather than flexible. These features place the response firmly in the Band 6 category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items like 'unemployment', 'infrastructure', and 'alternatives'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('subjectscan', 'whaat', 'recourses' instead of resources, 'institudes', 'effected' instead of affected, 'alternattives', 'infastructure', 'balaced') and occasional word-choice inaccuracies (e.g., 'poor condition of education', 'science mentors'). While these errors are noticeable, communication is not impeded, fitting the Band 6 descriptor where an adequate range is used with some inaccuracies in spelling and word choice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure. There are instances of effective complex sentences, but also frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'There are multiple nations in the world where a trend in decrease of the popularity...', 'Why would the students want to unnecessarily make their life...', and 'a lot of engineers is required' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and the errors do not impede overall communication, which matches the profile for Band 6.

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

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