Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

In numerous countries, fewer students are choosing to study science at university. This is mainly because of social media and technology, as they get access to more information, which enables them to understand market requirements. This change has both positive and negative impacts on society; these are discussed in this essay.

Firstly, due to technological enhancement, students can access data related to their courses, studies, and interests. They can learn any thing from the internet, and this leads to the creation of many employment opportunities. Many of the students are aiming to be entrepreneurs, which is changing their interests in studies and significantly impacting subjects like science. In addition to that, social media also plays a crucial role, as it is attracting many youngsters to become influencers, which is much easier than learning science. Therefore, scholars are losing interest, resulting in a reduction in science students at university.

This has a substantial impact on the new generation and society. The positive development is that students are getting job opportunities on many social media platforms as video editors, media managers, and so on, which helps them grow financially and be independent. But it affects youngsters' social skills, as they spend time on social media platforms. They become more socially isolated as they work on online platforms.

In conclusion, students' choices are changing due to the tech revolution which leading them to choose other subjects over science. As a result the number of science students is reducing. However, there are positive as well as negative impacts on society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the task only partially, resulting in a lower band score. Crucially, the length requirement was not met as the response contains 248 words, falling two words short of the 250-word minimum (with 8 words copied from the task prompt excluded from the count). Furthermore, while the student attempts to discuss the causes and effects of fewer students choosing to study science, the ideas remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the link between technology and the drop in science students is overly generalized and jumps quickly to entrepreneurship and social media influencers without adequate explanation. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to ensure the word count requirement is fully satisfied and extend each main idea with specific, well-supported explanations and examples regarding both the causes and societal impacts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organization with a clear introduction and conclusion, but the text lacks a clear overall progression. Paragraphing is attempted, with distinct body paragraphs for causes and effects, yet the flow between sentences often feels mechanical or disconnected. For example, transitioning from the rise of technology directly to social media influencers lacks a smooth logical bridge. Cohesive devices are sometimes used inadequately or repetitively, such as the frequent reliance on simple connectors like 'Firstly' and 'In addition to that'. To improve cohesion and move up to the next band, the writer should employ a wider and more natural variety of cohesive links and ensure that ideas within and across paragraphs follow a logical, progressive sequence without abrupt leaps in topic.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to communicate the general meaning of the prompt. The student demonstrates an attempt to use less common items, such as 'technological enhancement', 'entrepreneurs', and 'socially isolated', but there are noticeable errors in word choice and phrasing, such as writing 'learn any thing' instead of 'anything', and 'scholars' when referring to university students. These lexical inaccuracies and occasional spelling slips do not severely impede communication, but they cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the writer must expand their lexical range and demonstrate greater precision in word choice, collocation, and word formation, ensuring that less common vocabulary is used naturally and accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms that are frequently flawed. Frequent errors occur in areas such as subject-verb agreement, relative clauses, and dependent prepositions, which can cause difficulty for the reader. A clear example of a structural error is found in the conclusion: 'due to the tech revolution which leading them to choose', where the participial phrase is grammatically incorrect. Punctuation errors are also present, such as missing commas in introductory clauses. To progress to a higher band, the student must incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence patterns with proper subordination and significantly reduce grammatical errors across the text.

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

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