Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-08

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 several countries students are tending more towards other fields and subjects rather than science, there can be numerous factors contributing to this trend including change in their attributions and interests towards other fields. There can be various outcomes of this trend namely, lack of skilled professionals and slower scientific and technological advancements.

On the one hand, there are many factors leading to this situation. One of the primary reason is, preference to technology instead of science. Students believe that by pursuing IT and other computer subjects, they can get better work opportunities. As a result, students think that pursuing computer subjects are better than pursuing science subjects. Furthermore, some students like to pursue creative fields. As they are more attracted towards creative fields other than scientific fields. Thus, they want to pursue subjects according to their own attributions. For instance, a student who is interested in computer but still pursues science would probably fail in it in future as he is not interested in studying that subject.

On the other hand, this can lead to several consequences in the future including lack of professionals and scientific advancements. If a large number of students donot study science and instead move towards other fields than there would be lack in the number of skilled people and scientist. Because of this, no major and new discoveries would be made. As a result, people will remain unaware about the hidden things and mysteries of the world. Moreover, no major scientific advancements would be made, as no professionals are present so no technologial advancemenst would take place. Thus, the world would eventually lack in new advancements. For instance, if no professionals are present then there would be no scientists and no technological advancemenst and hance no new discoveries and inventions in the world.

In conclusion, if a large number of students don't puruse science because of their other interests and likings then eventually the world would be at the verge of chaos. Thus, there should be balance among the selection of the subjects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both causes and effects, and your position is clear: students choose other fields because of their interests and perceived job opportunities, while society may face shortages of scientists and slower innovation. The examples about choosing IT and the consequences of having fewer scientists are relevant. However, the causes are only partly developed: the claim that students prefer technology to science is repeated rather than explained, and the creative-fields point is supported by an example about a student failing, which does not clearly show why science enrolment is declining. Effects such as reduced research capacity are also asserted broadly. Explain each cause-and-effect link more precisely and support it with a specific, realistic example to make the response more complete and convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for causes and effects, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow, and the main ideas are generally grouped appropriately. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some stronger control through paragraphing and a logical sequence. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, with repeated patterns such as “As a result,” “Thus,” and “Moreover.” The final example largely restates the preceding claims rather than advancing the discussion, and “As they are more attracted…” is a fragment that interrupts the flow. Use clearer links between claims and explanations, and avoid repeating the same point in different wording.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “work opportunities,” “skilled professionals,” “scientific advancements,” and “discoveries.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which keeps expression from being consistently clear and natural. For example, “change in their attributions” does not convey the intended idea; “interests” or “preferences” would fit. “Lack in the number” and “pursue computer subjects” are also awkward, while “technologial advancemenst” and “hance” contain spelling errors. Repeated use of “major,” “new,” and “advancements” further limits precision. Build a bank of accurate academic collocations and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “because,” “if,” and “as,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. However, control is uneven: some complex constructions are faulty, and agreement, articles, punctuation, and sentence boundaries need attention. For example, “One of the primary reason is, preference…” has a singular/plural mismatch and an awkwardly placed comma; “students think that pursuing computer subjects are better” has a subject–verb agreement problem. “As they are more attracted…” is a sentence fragment, while the opening sentence joins independent ideas with a comma. These errors sometimes make the reader work to follow the argument. Practise building complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check agreement and punctuation when editing.

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