Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-13

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 some countries, students prefer to study non-science subjects at university. This might be due to limited funding for science experiments and the unavailability of modern machines or techniques. The fields of medicine, offices, and even transportation, which are required for everyday human use, and the lack of development in these areas can make life more challenging.

In countries where funding for experiments is limited, students will not be able to get the results they want, and this is the reason they choose to study another course where they can find enough support for their projects. Another cause can be limited access to laboratories or other advanced machines; for instance, in Pakistan, in the field of biotechnology, students are not allowed to run PCR or use any other technology. This gap leads to students changing their subjects of interest.

These circumstances have a stronger effect on society; having no access to modern technologies results in using old technologies repeatedly, making life complicated. For example, instead of having modern tests that can detect disease at an early stage, people in such countries would still rely on traditional methods, which take months to give results. In business areas,they are still entering data manually because the computer versions available for them donot support the smart approach.

To conclude the essay, the government should take action to provide enough funding and access to modern technologies,so the country can introduce its own macines to make the lives more realiable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both causes and effects, and the examples about limited laboratory access in Pakistan, delayed disease testing, and manual data entry are relevant. However, the causes are mainly restricted to funding and equipment, while the effects are described broadly rather than explored in detail. The opening also mentions “medicine, offices, and even transportation” without clearly explaining how each is affected by low science enrolment. The conclusion introduces a recommendation, but the essay would benefit from a clearer explanation of the consequences for society, such as reduced innovation or dependence on imported technology. The response is six words below the required minimum, so it does not meet the task’s length requirement; develop the ideas further with specific explanations and examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on causes, a paragraph on effects, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the main direction of the essay. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes unclear. The opening sentence about “medicine, offices, and even transportation” does not connect smoothly to the stated causes, and the effects paragraph shifts from healthcare to business without a clear link between them. Some connections are also repetitive, particularly the repeated references to limited funding and access to technology. Use clearer topic sentences and link each example explicitly to the effect it illustrates. More precise referencing and transitions would make the organisation feel less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “funding,” “laboratories,” “biotechnology,” “PCR,” and “traditional methods,” which allows you to discuss the subject with some specificity. However, the range is limited in places, and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “modern machines,” “the smart approach,” and “make the lives more reliable.” There are also spelling errors in “macines,” “realiable,” and “donot,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise academic collocations, such as “laboratory equipment,” “digital systems,” and “improve quality of life.” Vary repeated terms such as “limited” and “modern technologies,” and check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “In countries where funding for experiments is limited, students will not be able to get the results they want.” Most of the meaning remains understandable, but some sentence structures are awkward or incomplete. For example, “The fields of medicine, offices, and even transportation … and the lack of development in these areas” does not form a clear, complete relationship between its ideas. There are also punctuation and spacing problems, such as “areas,they” and “technologies,so,” and the final sentence is difficult to follow because several ideas are joined together. Practise building clear sentences with one main point and check punctuation and clause structure.

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

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