Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-29

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 this modern era, there are very small number of students opting to learn science at universities in different nations. This trend has resulted in several serious problems, and may negatively impact on society.

To begin with, the students are less interested in science as there is more competition in the field and science is more complex and not everyone's cup of tea. Subsequently, many students take science field and couldn't handle the pressure which may lead to mental strain. For example, there are many science students who commit suicide because they cannot handle the pressure and the difficulty of science.

On the other hand, the world is evolving rapidly and the demand for science is growing. It is very important for student to be familier with the knowledge of science to stand out from the crowd. Moreover, if students are lacking in the field of science they may not sustain in this competitive world. The field of science is getting wider and to survive, someone need to get into it. For instance, the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence has already captured some of the jobs which can be perform without human interpretation. Therefore, to survive in this competitive world, one need to familier with the science and such scientific discoveries.

To conclude, the fear of not able to study science and competitive environment has resulted them not to opt science, but it may adversely affect their future growth as technological advances can be understand if someone study science field prior.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing causes such as complexity and pressure, and societal effects related to technological advancement and competitiveness. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial. For example, while the point about suicide due to academic pressure is striking, it is stated rather than fully explored or balanced against other sociological factors. The conclusion slightly misinterprets one of the causes discussed earlier. The overall position is discernible, but the ideas require greater depth and broader elaboration to reach a higher band. Consequently, the response aligns best with the Band 6 descriptor, where all parts are addressed, but some elements are under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing a coherent overall arrangement. Transitional phrases such as 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' are used to structure the text, though some cohesive devices feel mechanical or awkward, such as 'Subsequently, many students take science field'. Paragraphing is handled adequately, but referencing and logical progression occasionally falter; for instance, the link between the causes of students avoiding science and the societal effects is sometimes blurred. There are also instances where pronoun referencing is imprecise. These issues place the response solidly at Band 6, where cohesion is sometimes faulty or repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations such as 'competitive world' and 'technological advances'. However, there are numerous lexical and collocational inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'very small number' instead of 'very small percentage', 'familier' (spelling error), 'take science field' instead of 'pursue science', and 'human interpretation' instead of 'human intervention'. Furthermore, expressions like 'not everyone's cup of tea' are too informal for an Academic task. The presence of these errors, which occasionally cause slight strain for the reader, points directly to a Band 5 or 6 descriptor. Balancing the vocabulary range against the frequency of word-choice errors, a score of 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting complex clauses with conditional and causal structures like 'Moreover, if students are lacking in the field of science they may not sustain...'. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors involving subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions, such as 'student to be familier', 'someone need to get into it', 'someone need to familier with', and 'fear of not able to study'. Additionally, awkward phrasing like 'have resulted them not to opt science' demonstrates weak control over verb complements. Because these errors recur frequently and sometimes impede smooth comprehension, the performance reflects the Band 5 level.

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

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