Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-03

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)

Science is not being selected by most students at university.This is due to lack career guidance and understanding of the importance of science by students. Additionally there is a myth that science is difficult.This essay will discuss the causes and its impact on the society.

One of the reasons why science selection is less is that countries are not investing much on career guidance hence students donot know the importance of science courses. For instance, if students are guided through their career selection they are more likely to select subjects that are in line with their capabilities as this will improve their self awareness.

It is also argued that science is a difficult subject.This myth makes students to hate the subject at high school, as a result, they dont wish to continue with it at tertially level.for example if students believe that science is difficult,they donot work hard on it leading to poor grades hence not continuing with the subject.

This might have negative impact on the society as countries will not have future scientists and they will be no innovations.

in conclusion the causes of less number of students venturing into science are poor creer guidance and believes that science is difficult. This can affect the society since we will have less scientists.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your response addresses both parts of the prompt regarding the causes of fewer students studying science and the impacts on society. However, your ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, you mention that poor career guidance and the myth of difficulty are causes, but you do not fully elaborate on why these issues persist or how they specifically deter students beyond brief examples. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met as your response contains only 214 words, falling short of the 250-word minimum. To reach a higher band, you need to extend your supporting ideas with more detailed explanations and examples, and ensure you meet the minimum word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, including an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and effects, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is at times faulty or mechanical. For example, transitional phrases are repetitive or missing, such as starting sentences abruptly with phrases like 'This myth makes students to hate the subject' without smooth links. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as pronoun usage referring back to previous ideas. To improve, you should employ a wider and more natural range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother logical transitions between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'self awareness', 'tertially level', and 'innovations'. However, your text contains noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form—such as 'lack career guidance' instead of 'a lack of career guidance', 'tertially level' instead of 'tertiary level', and 'creer' instead of 'career'. These inaccuracies do not entirely impede communication, but they restrict your score. To achieve a higher band, you should expand your control of less common lexical items and refine your spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your writing uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('if students believe that science is difficult, they donot work hard'). However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the text, including missing articles ('impact on the society'), punctuation omissions around conjunctions, and spelling/spacing issues within grammatical patterns like 'donot'. While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they can cause some difficulty for the reader and show limited control over complex structures. To improve, focus on reducing basic grammatical slips and ensuring accurate punctuation and article usage.

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

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