Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-15

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 often argued that higher education should be fully funded by the states. I largely agree with this notion because it promotes equal educational opportunity for students from all income backgrounds and offer long term economical development to the country, I also believe that completely eliminating tuition fees can lower the educational quality.

To begin with, free learning offers equality among all learners. Students from lower-income families can pursue their higher studies without facing any financial restrictions, that give them a chance to build a career in their desired field. Countries such as Norway and Germany provide free education that encourages citizens to excel in the skills of the profession they are interested in. Secondly, highly educated citizens assist the nation in becoming economically strong. A more skilled and knowledgeable workforce, such as doctors, engineers, and scientists, drives national innovation and global competitiveness.

On the opposite side, completely free university education can cause overcrowding in lecture rooms and a potential decline in teaching quality. For instance, some students may choose a particular course because their friends are getting enrolled in it. Finally, if learners pay partial fees, they will take accountability for pursuing their studies with full motivation.

In conclusion, funded university education is a powerful tool for national development and helps scholars to gain specialization in an area of their choice without stressing about tuition fees. Whereas, academic standards can decline in fully state-funded models of education. Thus, government bodies should offer financial aid and scholarships to students in need instead.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, expressing a nuanced position that acknowledges both the benefits of free university education and the potential drawbacks regarding quality and overcrowding. The introduction clearly states this perspective. Main ideas are supported with relevant examples, such as referencing the systems in Norway and Germany to illustrate equal opportunity. The arguments are extended reasonably well across the body paragraphs, although the conclusion introduces a slight pivot by suggesting targeted financial aid instead of completely free education. Overall, the task is adequately fulfilled and demonstrates a clear and developed position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation with a recognizable beginning, middle, and end. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the advantages of free education versus the disadvantages. Cohesive devices are generally well-managed, using transitional markers like 'To begin with', 'Secondly', and 'On the opposite side' to guide the reader through the text. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and some sentences feature run-on structures or comma splices that disrupt the flow, such as in the introduction where clauses are joined incorrectly with a comma.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'financial restrictions', 'global competitiveness', and 'academic standards'. There are, however, some noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'offer long term economical development' instead of 'economic development', and 'getting enrolled' rather than simply 'enrolling'. Spelling is generally accurate, and the lexical errors present do not impede communication, allowing the reader to easily grasp the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. For instance, the opening sentence contains a comma splice ('...country, I also believe...'), and 'that give them a chance' lacks subject-verb agreement. Despite these frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation, the structures do not impede communication, and the majority of simple sentences are accurate.

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