Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-03

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)

Higher education plays a vital role to shape people's future; therefore, it is increasingly imperative to have such facility for everyone. It is believed by some people that the authority ought to contribute pay expenditure of running universities so that it could be possible to complete their degrees who really wants. In my view, I partially agree with this statement and will discuss my arguments in the subsequent paragraphs.

To commence with, having certain relief by government could provide assistance impoverished societies to become well-educated and beneficial for country's overall growth. To explain it, if authority handle the responsibilities of learning institutions, then those can access to acquire insights which lead them to become independent and financially stable. Additionally, qualified natives can support their nation to make it economically strong if such amenities like free learning available for everyone. For example, there will be more doctors and engineers while universities provide free learning which in result boost more employment that directly enhance nation's economic standards.

However, this trend can introduce some problems which cannot be neglected like nation can run most likely out of their budget during continuously allocating funds towards education territories and also people may become lazy enough with these aids. To make it clear, authorities have to pay attention on other resources like implementing recreational platforms for citizens, healthcare centres which may affected if governments spend all of their savings on educational parties. Furthermore, during having opportunities to get free qualifications can make individuals more lethargic since they do not need to work part-time for paying their fees, for instance, normally learners start looking for jobs before entering in higher institutions which makes them more responsible from early age, but the era of no paying fee may prove negative for them.

In conclusion, although authorities intention to help universities to provide free education can help talented people to secure their future who unable to do due to financial obstacle but, there should be some limits like it should not be for everyone those who belongs to wealthy family have to pay their fees.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, presenting a clear position that is partially in favour of government-funded education. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as the economic benefits of a skilled workforce and the potential downsides of fiscal strain and student lethargy. However, some arguments could be extended further; for instance, the point about students becoming 'lazy' is a bit speculative and could benefit from more nuanced reasoning. Overall, the response maintains a consistent stance throughout the essay, and the conclusion effectively summarises the main points while offering a balanced compromise.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the transition between the benefits and drawbacks is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Additionally', and 'However' are used effectively to guide the reader. While the paragraphing is appropriate, some of the referencing is slightly mechanical, and there are occasional minor issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as in the final sentence where the structure becomes slightly convoluted. Nevertheless, the overall flow is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some precision. Phrases like 'financially stable', 'economic standards', and 'financial obstacle' are used correctly. There are some instances of slightly awkward phrasing or word choice, such as 'educational parties' instead of 'educational sectors' or 'lethargic' which is a bit strong in this context. However, the vocabulary is adequate for the task, and the meaning is always clear. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on more natural collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While there is an attempt to use complex forms, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the authority', 'the government'), prepositions, and verb forms (e.g., 'contribute pay expenditure', 'during having opportunities'). Some sentences are also slightly fragmented or lack grammatical precision, such as 'it could be possible to complete their degrees who really wants'. Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear, and the mistakes do not significantly impede communication. A greater focus on subject-verb agreement and article usage would improve the score.

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

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