Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In various countries small number of students are choosing science at university. I will discuss causes of it and effects of this on society.

Students who study science in college find the subjects harder and the methods of teaching are outdated and also not effective for the students. Moreover, teachers also do not bother to change their teaching style and methods for students.

Futhermore, when students do not study properly in colleges then they do not get the results and marks that are required for further studies in science.

Another reason is that science seems boring to them. Nowadays, students need interesting subjects and topics to continue studying the science subject.

One of the reasons is that students want ease and comfort and most of them are addicted to mobile and social media they find easy ways to make money and get rich so they do not want to choose a tough subject.

In addition, science is an expensive subject to study because in almost every other university it's fee is very high, some students have financial issues they cannot afford good universities. Therefore, they decide to study in cheaper universities as a result some of them do not practice their profession and some leave it in middle of the semesters.

It effects the society in a way that the less students study science the less they grow in technology and advancement. As we can see that most of the countries do not have that much technology even in this era.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question by giving several possible causes—teaching methods, perceived difficulty or boredom, students’ preferences, and cost—and by identifying reduced technological progress as a social effect. These points are relevant, but the response only partly develops them. For example, the claim that students are “addicted to mobile and social media” and want to “get rich” is asserted without explaining how this leads them away from science or giving a supporting example. The effect on society is also brief and general: “less they grow in technology and advancement” needs a clearer explanation of consequences, such as fewer skilled researchers or slower innovation. Develop the strongest causes and effects with specific reasoning, and make the opening position more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall order: it introduces the topic, lists causes, and then turns to an effect on society. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” and “In addition” help signal relationships between points. However, the causes are presented as a sequence of separate claims rather than grouped into a clear progression, and several transitions are mechanical. The paragraph beginning “One of the reasons” introduces another cause without showing how it relates to the previous points. The financial explanation also moves from university fees to students leaving their studies and not practising their profession without making each link clear. Use distinct paragraphs for causes and effects, and connect each claim with explicit explanation and clear referencing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “teaching style,” “financial issues,” “technology,” and “advancement.” However, the range is limited and some wording is repetitive or imprecise, particularly repeated uses of “students,” “study,” and “science.” Several collocations are unnatural, such as “choose a tough subject,” “study the science subject,” and “grow in technology.” Spelling and word-form slips, including “Futhermore” and “effects” written as “effects”/“effects” inconsistently in meaning, also reduce accuracy; the final sentence uses “effects” as a verb where “affects” is needed. Aim for more precise academic phrasing, such as “pursue a science degree” or “technological development,” and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt some longer sentence forms, including the explanation beginning “because in almost every other university,” and the result structure “Therefore, they decide… as a result…”. Most ideas remain understandable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. For example, “most of them are addicted to mobile and social media they find easy ways” joins independent clauses without suitable punctuation or a conjunction. In “the less students study science the less they grow,” the comparative structure needs clearer punctuation and a more suitable verb pattern. There are also errors with articles, agreement, and possessives, as in “it's fee” and “the less students.” Practise accurate complex sentences, especially clauses with because, while, and as a result, and proofread sentence boundaries.

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

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