Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-28

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 contemporary society, not many students in diverse countries are preferring to choose their career in science at university level. Education has gradually diversed in various field nowadays, students having multiple options to choose in their academic.

Education is one of the crucial thing in the world, most of the scholars find science stream typical and complicated. Apart from complication of this field students are focusing on their choices and interests. Moreover, science related degrees are often complex in theories and mathematical calculations may involve in this field. Due to heavy academic workload students opt other fields. Nowadays students are more attracting to remuneration packages offered by IT firms and business management, and faster career progesssion in such fields since science field require time engagement and analytical skills to develop over time.

On the other hand, this change in academic profession by pupils leads to shortage of science, engineers, medical researchers and other technical specialists. This can hinder technological innovation and research of new medical treatments. Lack of science graduates may make contries more dependent on foreign expertise and other country technology, reducing their competitiveness. In the long run industries may struggle to innovate new products and adopt to new technologies.

In conclusion, students are preferring to adapt with more financial incentives and they are finding more easy career prospects

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: you identify academic difficulty, workload and the attraction of better-paid careers as causes, then explain possible shortages of specialists and reduced innovation as effects. These are relevant points, but several are asserted rather than developed with explanation or examples. For instance, the claim that science degrees are complex could be linked to the time and effort students must invest, while the effects on medical research and competitiveness need a specific illustration. The conclusion repeats the financial-incentive point but does not clearly summarise the effects. The response is also 30 words below the required minimum, limiting the space available to develop your ideas. Add a relevant example and extend both sides of the discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an opening, a paragraph on causes, a paragraph on effects and a conclusion. The progression from reasons for students’ choices to consequences for society is generally understandable, and phrases such as “Moreover” and “On the other hand” signal relationships between ideas. However, the opening is vague, and the conclusion is incomplete: it restates one cause without bringing the discussion together. Some links are mechanical or do not express the relationship precisely, such as “On the other hand” introducing effects rather than a contrasting view. Develop a clearer sequence within each paragraph, use linking phrases that accurately show cause and result, and make the final paragraph summarise both parts of your answer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “academic workload,” “remuneration packages,” “technological innovation” and “foreign expertise,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also noticeable word-choice, collocation and spelling problems that make parts less natural or occasionally unclear. For example, “diversed in various field” and “science stream typical” do not express the intended meaning clearly; “career progesssion” and “contries” contain spelling errors. Phrases such as “adopt to new technologies” and “innovate new products” are also imprecise. Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than more complicated wording, and proofread spelling. Building a small set of reliable phrases for causes, consequences and career choices would improve precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a sentence beginning “Due to heavy academic workload” and a result clause about industries struggling to innovate. However, errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “students having multiple options” is a fragment, while “science field require time engagement” has problems with the subject and verb pattern. In “students are more attracting,” the verb form is incorrect, and “most of the scholars find science stream typical and complicated” lacks clear grammatical framing. Practise complete sentences with a clear subject and finite verb, check singular/plural agreement, and review articles and verb forms. These corrections will make your ideas easier to understand.

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

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