Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-01
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)
Nowadays education is becoming more and more important for human beings due to this few individuals believe that the government should pay the bills for the education for the students so they can feel free to learn.I totally agree with the statement and the reasons will be elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs.
Movingfuther,there are various reasons that the government should pay the universities so that the education will be free for anyone who wants to learn. Firstly, there are many students who live far from their hometown and do do hard work to fulfill the university fee and they are doing well in every studies because of that if the Government will pay for them the students feel free to focus in their studies and earn good numbers.
Apart from this, there are many universities in which student faced alot of money problem because the cources are much expensive then there needs due to that they drop their studies and can not graduate in their studies. For example, in some countries the education systems are free for the students who wants to learn like in some universities they give a paper to the students if they pass their test the Government will pay their university fees whatever studies they want to learn.
To conclude, there are various reasons why the government should pay for the university fees. Furthermore, from my point of view, the government should pay the educations because of that students can learn more easily without any stress of the education fees.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of government-funded university education. However, the development of ideas is limited. While you mention financial stress and the potential for students to focus better, the arguments remain somewhat repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the example provided about 'a paper' is vague and does not clearly illustrate a specific, real-world policy or system. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations of the societal or economic benefits of free education, such as increased social mobility or a more skilled workforce, rather than focusing solely on the individual student's financial burden.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'Movingfuther' (which also contains a spelling error) and 'Apart from this'. The progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'due to this few individuals believe' in the introduction. While the overall arrangement is coherent, the transitions between sentences and paragraphs could be smoother and more varied to improve the flow of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic phrases like 'pay the bills', 'do hard work', and 'earn good numbers'. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'cources are much expensive then there needs' and 'pay the educations'. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and government policy. The current range is sufficient to convey your meaning, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility needed for a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'due to this few individuals believe' (missing punctuation/conjunction), 'do do hard work' (repetition), and 'student faced alot of money problem' (subject-verb agreement and spelling). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic grammatical slips would be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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