Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-17

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)

It argues that the university education fee should be paid by the government for citizens. Although, I partially agree with this statement because it will reduce the financial burden of people, I also think that money should be spent to improve the healthcare sectors to make people's life better.

To commence with, paying tuition fee by the government helps people to complete their desired education. Many individuals have to leave their study because they are not financially supported by family due to an unaffordable cost of annual fee. Therefore, if students are educated free of cost, they will not only gain a higher education, but also be able to get a high standard job. For example, in Canada, citizens are given free education so that they can contribute in the country's development after becoming a doctor and scientist. However, I say that the government should take care of other sectors because money can be arranged for education by doing a part time job along with study.

Moving towards another reason where investments should be made, is healthcare. As it is seen that an increasing number of people are loosing their lives because countries do not have enough facilities and space in the hospitals when people need the treatment in critical situation. Therefore, money should be spent to improve healthcare so that people's life can be saved. For example, in developed countries, individual's death rate is lower than developing nations because they have the digital technology to prevent the disease. In my opinion, people's life is more important so the government must consider to improve healthcare.

In conclusion, although people can gain a higher level of education by the support of free education, the healthcare provides a better standard of life to citizens so the state must invest in it to face any serious pandemic in the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear, albeit nuanced, position. You acknowledge the benefits of free education while arguing that healthcare funding should be a higher priority. The ideas are relevant and supported by examples, such as the mention of Canada and the general comparison between developed and developing nations. However, the development is somewhat uneven; the argument regarding healthcare is slightly more persuasive than the argument for education. To reach a higher band, ensure that both sides of the argument are explored with equal depth and that the conclusion clearly synthesizes your position rather than just restating it.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'However', and 'Therefore' to link ideas. While the progression is generally clear, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the start of the second body paragraph ('Moving towards another reason...') is slightly clunky. Additionally, referencing could be improved; ensure that pronouns clearly point back to their antecedents to enhance the flow. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to a coherent reading experience.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'financial burden', 'unaffordable', and 'critical situation'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'loosing their lives' (should be 'losing') and 'individual's death rate' (which is slightly awkward phrasing). You attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is good, but the precision could be improved to reach a higher band. Focus on collocations—for example, instead of 'get a high standard job', consider 'secure a high-paying career' or 'attain professional success'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are recurring grammatical errors, such as 'It argues that...' (the subject 'It' is unclear here), 'paying tuition fee' (missing an article: 'the tuition fee'), and 'people's life' (should be plural 'people's lives'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are occasional slips. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. The complexity of your sentences is sufficient for a 6.0, but increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences will help you move toward a 7.0.

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