Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Around the world, countries do not have enough students that choose to study science at universities. The causes and effects on the society will be explored in this essay.

The changing landscape of student choices for their undergrad is not random. Economy has seen some rises and prominent fall offs throughout the years leading to a constanly fluctuating job market. The science fields struggle to cope with offering jobs to new graduates right as they finish their degrees. This is due to oversaturation in the science field, as it has been constantly parroted that a science degree would guarantee a job stability and a good pay as well. The more graduates there are, the harder it is to find a job leading to a stiffer competition which may really discourage passionate students to pursue a science program. Another major issue is that a lot of university programs are out of touch with what potential employers require. Universities prefer to keep what has been known to work the best, contrary to what the new technologies and trends bring to the table.

On society as a whole there is a range of effects when science becomes a secondary option. Growing technological sectors across all scientific fields require brainpower that seems to be decreasing. This is detrimental, as not only potential progress for new scientific breakthroughs is stifled but society as a whole cannot even maintain what we currently have to this point. The technical and practical jobs have seen a gradual rise, however there is always a need for a scientist to oversee and to react for any potential issues. Another problem is that for a person to become a verified scientist, it takes a lot of time combining both academia and professional experience. This affects the potential deadline that there is if not enough people are pursuing scientific degrees. Society as a whole can recognize by then that it needs a lot of time to cope with the demand for scientific graduates. Ironically this can have a positive effect. New students may feel encouraged to start relevant undergraduate programs once again seeing how society and economy now would need scientists.

Science is required for maintaining and progressing as a society. Education is paramount for fostering new generation of scientists. Students moving away from science is coincidental with changes in economy and trend preferrences which in the future can cause a sudden stop in progess that we are seeing in science.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the causes and the effects of fewer students studying science. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others, which is characteristic of this level. For instance, the causes regarding oversaturation and outdated university programmes are introduced, but the explanation of how these specifically drive students away could be extended further. Similarly, the effects on society, such as the potential stagnation of technological sectors and subsequent economic adjustments, are relevant and clear, yet some arguments tend to generalise without sufficient supporting examples. The position throughout the essay remains generally clear, and all main requirements of the task are covered adequately, though greater depth and extension in explaining the outlined points would be needed to reach a higher level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and effects respectively, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to divide the central themes. However, cohesion is at times somewhat mechanical or faulty, as seen in transitions like 'On society as a whole there is a range of effects' which feels slightly abrupt. Referencing is also not always entirely clear, such as with pronouns like 'this' or 'it' where the precise antecedent can occasionally require re-reading to fully grasp. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the management of cohesive devices lacks the flexibility and seamless integration required for higher bands, showing elements of both the required band and early indicators of advanced coherence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'oversaturation', 'stifled', and 'paramount'. There are, however, some inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout the text, such as 'prominent fall offs', 'constanly fluctuating', and 'trend preferrences'. Despite these slips and minor spelling issues, the vocabulary used is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly without impeding the reader's understanding. The lexical range meets the criteria for this band by showing an awareness of topic-specific terminology while still containing noticeable errors in precision and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing incorporates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures like conditional and relative clauses. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation present throughout the text, such as missing articles ('Economy has seen', 'to react for any potential issues'), prepositions within patterns, and slight awkwardness in subject-verb agreement or clause structures. Crucially, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the arguments easily. The control over basic structures is sound, and while complex sentences are attempted, they sometimes contain minor inaccuracies typical of this band level.

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