Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-26

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 4.0)

The causes of students not wanting to study science is majorly because some of them view it as being a hard subject with alot of biology and chemistry in it.

Another reason is not having enough motivation of being scientists, which will adversely affect the economy in that less scientists will be available and much work will be accumulated.

Another effect is loss of new innovations in science, the already made innovations will lack expansion and new development which will thus mean we believe in everything that was innovated in the past.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You identify a plausible cause—students may see science as difficult—and mention two possible social effects: fewer scientists could leave work uncompleted, and innovation may slow. However, the response only minimally addresses the question: the causes are not explained in enough detail, and the effects are asserted rather than supported with relevant examples. The claim that science contains “alot of biology and chemistry” does not explain why students avoid it, while the point about motivation is not clearly connected to the cause. The response also does not meet the 250-word minimum, so there is too little development to cover both parts adequately. Explain each cause and effect, and illustrate them with specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The ideas are presented in a broadly understandable order: a cause is given first, followed by effects. The opening phrase “Another reason” signals a new point, and “Another effect” helps the reader follow the shift to consequences. However, the response has no developed paragraph structure, and the relationship between ideas is sometimes unclear. For example, “Another reason is not having enough motivation” does not specify whether this refers to students’ motivation or society’s, and the sentence then moves directly to an economic effect. The final sentence also combines several claims without showing how they connect. Use separate paragraphs for causes and effects, and add linking explanations between each claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “scientists,” “economy,” “innovations,” and “development,” so the main subject is clear. There are also attempts to express consequences through phrases such as “adversely affect” and “lack expansion.” However, the range is narrow, and several choices are imprecise or unnatural: “majorly because” is awkward, “alot” is incorrectly written as one word, and “loss of new innovations” does not clearly express a reduction in future scientific progress. “Much work will be accumulated” is also an unsuitable collocation for describing a shortage of scientists. Aim for precise phrases such as “a demanding subject,” “a shortage of qualified researchers,” and “scientific advances may slow.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response communicates its basic points using simple sentences and some attempts at longer structures, such as “which will adversely affect the economy” and “which will thus mean…”. Most of the meaning remains understandable. However, sentence structures are repetitive, and some grammatical choices make relationships unclear. In “The causes of students not wanting to study science is,” the plural subject “causes” requires “are”; the sentence also has an awkward construction. The phrase “not having enough motivation of being scientists” needs a different grammatical pattern, such as “not being motivated to become scientists.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and build longer sentences with clear clauses, while checking punctuation and sentence boundaries.

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