Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-05

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)

It is irrefutable that most of the pupils are not interested in science related subjects at the university and hence, do not select it for their education anymore. This essay will look into the possible reasons behind this trend which mainly include difficulty in understanding and suggest some solutions to mitigate the issue in the upcoming paragraphs.

Commencing with the feasible causes, the most prominent one is that students find it cumbersome to understand the topics of science thoroughly. This is mainly due to the fact that this includes a wide range of topics, whose every detail is important to get good grades in the exams. To prevent from this unnecessary burden, students find it easy to leave the subject. Moreover, science has further many sub-subjects such as chemistry, physics and biology, which are quite tedious to learn. However, students at the college want to enjoy their life at this age. They do not give their preference to those subjects, which take their excessive time in learning only because it is a time-consuming subject. Eventually,a sufficient number of scholars drop their idea of choosing science.

Moving towards the solutions, which are not simple, however, steps should be taken on a war footing. The most significant one is to start smart classes at the universities. It is generally seen that more and more colleges prefer digital classes to provide fundamental and sophisticated knowledge to learners these days, which not only make them fascinated but also effective to broaden their horizon in science theories and practicals.Not only this, teachers should make them understand the appropriate usage of chemistry and physics in daily lives by organising small exhibitions or science awareness campaignes, which could eventually worthwhile for them to learn this subject with full enthusiasm rather than feeling bored.

To sum up, although difficulty level of the subject is higher and thorough knowledge is essential to gain good marks, by facilitating it with digital ambience and by providing some knowledge about how it is applied in everyday life are the basic solutions to tackle with this problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the causes and effects of students avoiding science, although the execution shows uneven development. While the introduction promises to cover causes and solutions, the prompt actually asks for causes and effects on society. The writer shifts into solutions in the body paragraphs instead of focusing entirely on societal effects, which leads to partial task completion. Some ideas, such as students finding science cumbersome or wanting to enjoy college life, are introduced but remain under-developed rather than fully extended with specific examples. To move to a higher band, the writer must ensure all prompt requirements are strictly met, replacing the discussion of solutions with a clear exploration of broader societal impacts, and fully developing each point with robust supporting details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used to separate ideas, such as moving from causes to solutions. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing can occasionally be unclear. For example, transitional phrases like 'Commencing with the feasible causes' and 'Moving towards the solutions' are somewhat rigid and formulaic. Cohesive devices are employed adequately to connect sentences, but referencing pronouns like 'this' in phrases like 'To prevent from this unnecessary burden' lack a precise antecedent. To achieve a higher band, the writer should use a wider and more natural range of cohesive devices and ensure seamless logical transitions between paragraphs without relying on heavy-handed signposting.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'cumbersome', 'sophisticated knowledge', and 'war footing'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'take their excessive time in learning only because it is a time-consuming subject' and 'campaignes' (spelling error). Phrases like 'drop their idea' are somewhat informal for an academic essay. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a level where vocabulary control is still developing. To reach the next band, the writer needs to expand their range of precise academic vocabulary and collocation, using less common lexical items more accurately and consistently while eliminating basic spelling slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as in 'It is generally seen that more and more colleges prefer digital classes to provide fundamental and sophisticated knowledge...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including awkward prepositional usage ('To prevent from this unnecessary burden', 'tackle with this problem') and minor punctuation issues like the missing space after the comma in 'Eventually,a sufficient number'. Despite these errors, the structures used rarely impede communication. To improve to a higher band, the writer should increase the proportion of error-free complex sentences and refine grammatical control regarding prepositions, articles, and punctuation consistency throughout the text.

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

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