Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-08
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people feel that the government should pay the costs of running universities so that a university education will be free for anyone who wants it.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 6.0)
Some individuals think that the expenses for higher education should be covered by the government for students who want it. I partly agree with this statement as it can give the equal opportunity to everyone. However, completely funding education would place a great burden on government.
On the one hand, university education should be free for those students who cannot afford the high cost of educational institutions because of their financial background. As a result, talented students can make their career according to their choices without thinking about the expenses of their study. Moreover, it provides the equal opportunity to everyone. For example, a person from a poor family can become a doctor or engineer.
On the other hand, fully free education in universities can be a burden on governments because government has to pay attention on other sectors such as healthcare and transportation. Thus, if too much money is allocated to universities, then other important sectors may have less funding. In addition, wealthy families, who can easily afford the expenses will also take the benefit by not paying a single penny. So, government should provide the the subcidies or scholarships to the students who are unable to pay their tution fees.
In conclusion, I believe that university study should be free for low-income background students only to provide them better future, while, others who can afford it should contibute for their education. So, tha tpublic money can be used precisely on other services.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the essay is under the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. While the arguments regarding financial burden and social equity are relevant, they are somewhat brief and could have been expanded with more detailed examples or analysis to fully meet the criteria for a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes the position, but the overall development is limited by the length constraint.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two sides of the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Moreover', and 'In addition' are used to guide the reader through the text. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow could be improved with more sophisticated linking phrases to connect ideas more fluidly between sentences.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are some spelling errors, such as 'subcidies', 'tution', and 'contibute', which are minor but noticeable. The range of vocabulary is sufficient but lacks the variety and precision required for higher bands. Using more academic collocations or topic-specific terminology would enhance the quality of the writing. The word choice is generally accurate, but there is little evidence of less common lexical items.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'give the equal opportunity' (should be 'give equal opportunity'), 'government has to pay attention on' (should be 'pay attention to'), and 'tha tpublic' (typo). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors in article usage and prepositional phrases. The majority of sentences are understandable, but the frequency of these small errors prevents a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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