Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-16
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 5.5)
In this modern era, education plays a crucial role in the shaping of everyone's future. It is widely argue that the cost of higher level education should be paid by authorities so that everyone can access it. I completely agree with this statement and I will discuss the reasons in the impending paragraphs.
To begin with, there are some paramount reason that learning should be free. Firstly equality and equal opportunity in society. To explain it, if government pay the universities cost, then it will not only provide the access to wealthier people, but poor people can get admissions also and they can learn in results it will decrease the difference between poor and rich people. For example, when everyone in the society have same level of
education then they will have same level of job and business opportunities and it will bring equality in the society or in country.
Furthermore, by providing free education to everyone, it will boost the country economy in the world level. To elaborate it, due to the free education all of the country population will be educated and fully employement in which results there will be less poverty and enhance the economic power in the world. Therefore people will live better lifestyle.
In conclusion, giving free education and cost of universities paid by government has a lot of benefits for everyone's.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of free university education. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of the arguments. While the ideas regarding social equality and economic growth are relevant, they are underdeveloped. The conclusion is also abrupt and lacks a summary of the main points. Because the response fails to meet the length requirement and lacks sufficient development of ideas, it falls into the lower band range.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is a basic logical progression. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to signal the structure. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by grammatical errors or awkward phrasing, such as the incomplete sentence at the end of the second paragraph. Paragraphing is present, but the final paragraph is very brief and lacks substance.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'impending paragraphs' (which is incorrect in this context) and 'fully employement'. The student relies on basic vocabulary and struggles to use more sophisticated or academic terminology effectively. While the meaning is generally clear, the limited range and errors in word formation prevent a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('government pay', 'everyone... have'), incorrect article usage, and awkward phrasing ('in results it will decrease'). These errors are noticeable and occasionally impede the reader's understanding. The control over complex structures is inconsistent, and the punctuation is sometimes faulty, particularly with the incomplete sentence at the end of the second paragraph.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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