Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-20

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 is irrefutably true that people hold conflicting perceptions regarding every aspect of society. few individuals feel that costs of operating the universities should be managed by the government so that it should be free for needy students. I partially agree with this viewpoint.

To commence with, countless logical validations support the viewpoint. One of the most convincing arguments is that university education is too expensive to afford. Parents are unable to pay such high tuition costs of their children, due to which many talented students have to drop their studies after graduation. Moreover, they say that education plays a crucial role in every person's life, and it should be accessible to everyone, so it should not be affected by individuals' income, which should result in the fulfilment of everyone's studying dream. Additionally, people with higher education have more employment opportunities so they will contribute more towards the economy

On the other hand, why the government should not pay for everything is the high financial budget requirement. universities require huge amount of money for teachers, buildings, laboratories and research. government invests people's money out of taxes, and individuals who do not want to study have to pay for others. Rich people can contribute is another reason to remove liability from government, as they earn higher salaries and have many income sources so it is a social responsibility.

To conclude, in my opinion, university education should not be free completely rather than that government should provide scholarships to students in need.

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 ideas are relevant, such as the economic benefits of education versus the burden on taxpayers. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited; for instance, the argument regarding 'rich people' contributing is a bit underdeveloped and could have been expanded with more specific reasoning. The conclusion provides a clear summary of the writer's stance, which is a strength. To reach a higher band, the writer should aim to provide more depth in the supporting arguments rather than listing several points briefly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and there are instances where the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the discussion of tuition costs and the benefits of education is slightly abrupt. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different sides of the argument, contributing to the overall coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'irrefutably' and 'logical validations'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'fulfilment of everyone's studying dream' and 'remove liability from government'. These do not impede communication but show a need for more precise word usage. The range is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, but lacks the sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('universities require huge amount of money'), capitalization issues ('government' should be capitalized when referring to a specific institution), and awkward phrasing ('why the government should not pay for everything is the high financial budget requirement'). These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding the argument. A greater focus on sentence variety and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would improve the score.

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

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