Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

In many countries fewer students pursue science in the university. The major cause of it is people loosing their interest due to lack of practical experience in labs and more students pursuing computer courses due to digitalization around the globe. The other reason is lack of job market for science graduates. It will produce less researchers and new discoveries in the science wil be limited affecting economy.

Now a days, fewer people pursuing STEM program is concerning. It is mainly due to the reason that the funding for research activity has declined leading to less practical work. This causes the student to loose interest in their study. It will produce devastating effect with less scientist and researchers leading to no evolution, discovery or solution to scientific problems.

The other major cause contributing in it is the shift of students interest from science field towards the less competitive fields like business ,marketing and computer fields. Students are trying to ace with the worlds progress by incorporating their brains and work in moderinizing world to grow in their career. It causes severe effects as the job market is declining for science student and no innovative brains will lead to poorly developed country in science causing the fall of GDP.

Less student chosing science in university is worrisome as it will affect the economy growth and slow innovation. The major reason for it is less attractive job and pay pacakges and strong challenges with funding and acknowledgement.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both causes and effects, identifying reduced research funding and practical lab experience, competition from other fields, and limited science employment. You also connect these issues to fewer researchers, slower discovery, and economic harm. However, the ideas remain broad and are often asserted rather than explained or supported with a relevant example; for instance, the claim that this could cause “the fall of GDP” needs a clearer causal explanation. The response also repeats the same points in the opening and conclusion rather than developing them further, and the conclusion introduces pay and acknowledgement without explaining them in the body. The response is six words below the required minimum. Develop each cause-effect link and add a specific example to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an opening, separate paragraphs on causes and effects, and a concluding statement. Basic links such as “The other major cause” and “It causes severe effects” help show relationships between ideas. However, progression is uneven: the opening already lists causes and effects, and later paragraphs repeat these points without adding much development. Some references are unclear, particularly “It will produce devastating effect,” where the reader must infer what “it” refers to. The final paragraph largely restates earlier claims rather than drawing them together. Organise the response around one clearly developed cause per paragraph, followed by its social effect, and use more precise referencing to make the links easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “research activity,” “scientific problems,” “innovative,” and “GDP,” which helps communicate the subject. There is also an attempt to vary wording through terms such as “devastating effect” and “slow innovation.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “pursuing science in the university,” “no evolution,” and “job market is declining for science student.” Spelling errors such as “loosing,” “wil,” “moderinizing,” and “pacakges” are noticeable and reduce precision. Build a more reliable range of natural academic collocations, and proofread spelling and word forms so that your ideas are expressed clearly and accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including cause-and-effect constructions such as “The major cause of it is…” and “leading to less practical work.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors are frequent and some sentences are difficult to process. Examples include “fewer people pursuing STEM program is concerning,” which has problems with sentence structure and agreement, and “Less student chosing science…,” which lacks a complete, correctly formed clause. Articles, plurals, and verb forms are also inconsistent, as in “the student,” “less scientist,” and “Students are trying to ace.” Use complete subject–verb sentences, check singular and plural agreement, and punctuate longer sentences carefully. Shorter, accurate sentences would help establish control before adding more complex structures.

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

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