Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

There is an ongoing debate about whether only a few students choose to learn science at university. This essay will discuss the main problems associated with this issue and its effects on the society.

One of the major cause is having variety of subjects. Learners are free to choose their subjects according to their interests and pursue their career in that field. It is not necessary that everyone love to learn science, some are good at maths,history and english. If all the students choose technical field, other sectors like banks and schools lead to lesser workers which effects the society. Secondly, students want to choose easily future goals because science is the subject which needs more attention and hard work to crack the entrance exam. Due to vast competetion only a few of the students got admissions and rest of them reappear for next year and continue their preperation. It is not good for their mental health and for their academics.

Nevertheless, choosing other subjects bring more opportunities to the learners. Their have variety of jobs which needs workers like lawyers, police men, drivers, teachers, sales man, accountants. These white collar jobs brighten he student's upcomings. Having variety of jobs not only balance the country but also rise the nation's economy and good for its overall development.

In conclusion, learners have right to choose their syllabus according to their wish by which they pay more attraction towards their study and obtain good marks in their examination.

AI examiner evaluation

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

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to address both parts of the prompt regarding the causes of fewer students studying science and the effects on society. However, the response falls short of the minimum 250-word requirement, clocking in at 246 words, which requires a downward adjustment in this category. While causes such as subject variety and academic difficulty are mentioned (e.g., "science is the subject which needs more attention and hard work"), the ideas are somewhat underdeveloped and mixed up with the consequences. Furthermore, the discussion on effects confuses the societal impact of science shortages with job market shifts in other sectors. Because the word count threshold is missed and the ideas lack full extension, a band score of 5.0 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is attempted, though the central body paragraphs contain multiple disparate ideas lumped together without clear separation. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or inappropriately, such as "Nevertheless, choosing other subjects bring more opportunities..." where the transition does not logically contrast with the preceding paragraph about exam competition. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and logical progression falters as the discussion shifts abruptly between causes, student mental health, and general job market variety. Overall, the organizational framework demonstrates basic cohesion consistent with a band 5.5 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student displays a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task. Words and phrases like "ongoing debate," "pursue their career," and "overall development" show an ability to convey basic meanings. However, there are numerous lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations throughout the text, such as "major cause" (instead of causes), "technical field" (when discussing science), "easily future goals" (unnatural phrasing), and "rise the nation's economy" (instead of raise or boost). Spelling errors like "competetion," "preperation," and "attraction" (used for attention) also occur. These errors do not completely block communication, but they restrict the score to a band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures (e.g., "If all the students choose technical field..."). However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the response, featuring frequent errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ("One of the major cause is," "everyone love," "other sectors... lead," "subjects bring"), missing articles ("in banking and schools"), and awkward phrasing ("brighten he student's upcomings"). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally manageable, but the high frequency of grammatical slips impedes smooth reading and prevents the script from reaching a higher band, justifying a score of 5.0.

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

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