Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-10

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 6.5)

Some people believe that the government should cover the cost of running universities so that higher education can be provided free of charge to everyone .I partly agree with this view because free university should contribute to the cost in some circumstances .

On the one hand ,make university education free can provide significant benefits to societr.Many talented students Form low -income families cannot afford high tuition fees, even though they have the ability to succeed academically .If the government pays university fees, these student will have a better oppertunity to obtain higher qualification and secure well -paid jobs. For example ,a student from a poor family could study medicine or engineering eithout having to take on a large amount of debt.In the long term ,this can help reduce inequality and create a more highly education workforce.

On the other hand , providing completely free university education for everyone could place a heavy financial burden on government .Universities require large amounts of money to pay teachers ,maintain duildings ,purchase equipment and conduct research .If all of these cost were paid by taxpayers, government might have lees money available foe the important service such as healthcare ,public transportation and schools.Moreover ,wealth families who can easily afford tuition fees would also receive the same benefit as poorer families.

In my opinion ,university should be made more affordable than completely free foe everyone. Government could provide full scholarship or financial assistance to students from wealthier families to pay of the cost .This approach would make higher education accessible while avoiding unnecessary on public finances.

In conclusion ,although free university education can promote equality and provide opportunities for talented students .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, presenting a clear position that is maintained throughout. The arguments regarding the benefits of free education and the potential financial burden on the government are relevant and well-developed. However, the conclusion is incomplete, as it trails off mid-sentence, which prevents a full summary of the position. While the ideas are logically extended, the final paragraph lacks the necessary closure to fully satisfy the requirements for a higher band. Overall, the response is balanced and addresses the prompt's core requirements effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the two main body paragraphs, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, there are some minor issues with punctuation and spacing that occasionally disrupt the flow, such as the missing space after the period in the first paragraph and the incomplete final sentence, which impacts the overall coherence of the conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task. The student uses relevant academic terms such as 'tuition fees', 'inequality', 'financial burden', and 'taxpayers'. There are some spelling errors, such as 'societr' instead of 'society', 'eithout' instead of 'without', and 'duildings' instead of 'buildings'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the score. To reach a higher band, the student should aim for more precise collocations and ensure consistent accuracy in spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the government', 'a university education') and pluralization ('wealth families' instead of 'wealthy families', 'important service' instead of 'important services'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several missing spaces after periods and commas. Despite these errors, the student successfully uses complex structures to express nuanced opinions, and the errors rarely cause difficulty for the reader.

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

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