Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-11-02

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 6.0)

In a lot of countries students are not choosing to study science at universities instead they are leaning towards other subjects. There can be a lot of reasons behind it and it can have effect on a society.

Students used to have a lot less options when it came down to what to study at a university. Most popular options were arts, science or engineering. This has changed over the past few decades. Students now have many options to choose from. For example from where i have done bachelors, there were around 40 different degrees to choose from and i am certain the amount must have increased over the past few years. This has caused students to grab other degree which aligns with them better than a degree relating to science.

One other main reason is that science subject has a lot of competition now. There are less jobs available than students passing with science subjects hence leading to students opting for other degrees.

Decreasing in science students can have effect on a society and it probably is not in a positive way. Science has been the leading cause for research and development in almost any field in a modern era for decades. Less science students mean less development. Science is also crucial for health and to stay healthy. For example, even around a centuary ago people did not use to live very long and healthy life. Science has increased human life span by a lot and we dont even have to look back that much. Also with a real life example, according to different articles, medical science students are decreasing by a large margin in Pakistan and even today the number of people in medical fields do not even meet the minimum requirement regarding to our current population so the problem will most likely be worse in the coming years as students choosing science relating degrees are decreasing.

In conclusion, It is very important that we encourage and make it easy for students to lean towards science subjects. We can also divide science subjects into further sub subjects or various degrees so students have more options to choose from.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both parts of the question and maintain a clear overall position: you identify wider study choices and competition for jobs as causes, then explain possible effects on research, development and healthcare. The examples about degree options and medical staffing in Pakistan help make the discussion relevant. However, the causes are not equally developed: the point about job competition is asserted rather than supported with an explanation or example, and the claim that students have more choices could be linked more clearly to why science is losing out. The effects section is more developed, but some claims, such as “Less science students mean less development,” are broad. More precise explanation and evidence would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on causes, a paragraph on effects and a conclusion. The progression from educational choices to employment competition, and then to societal consequences, is easy to follow. Linking phrases such as “For example,” “One other main reason” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. At times, however, connections between ideas are mechanical or unclear. The sentence beginning “There are less jobs available…” does not fully explain how this competition leads students away from science, while the long Pakistan example combines several points without clear internal signposting. Use more precise referencing and divide complex explanations into clearer steps to make cohesion more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “research and development,” “medical science,” “life span” and “degrees.” There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “aligns with them” and “minimum requirement.” However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “students,” “science” and “a lot,” and several choices or collocations sound unnatural: “grab other degree,” “science subject has a lot of competition,” and “lean towards science subjects.” Spelling and word-form slips, including “centuary” and “bachelors,” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise academic vocabulary for describing enrolment, career prospects and workforce shortages, and check collocations and spelling during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “Students used to have… This has changed…” and the cause-and-effect structure “There are less jobs available… hence leading to…”. Most of the meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “it can have effect” (missing article), “Most popular options” (missing article), “There are less jobs” (uncountable noun agreement), and “Less science students mean” (plural agreement). The long sentence beginning “Also with a real life example” is difficult to control and contains several linked clauses. Work on articles, agreement and sentence boundaries, while keeping complex sentences shorter and checking that each clause has a clear subject and verb.

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