Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-20
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 5.5)
In contemporary world, Education plays a crucial role in shaping individuals and in development of society. Some people believe that government should pay the costs to universtiies so education will be free for anyone. From my perspective, i partly agree with this view a balanced fee would be a good approach.
In the one hand, Education should be free for students who can not afford universities fees but want to study and had a good academic record, there will be no financial burden on parents. Additionaly, after completing they can support their families also in the development of country. For example, if a student who got free education, became a doctor in this way he can support his family and also serves his expertise for society.
Furthermore, there will be certain drawbacks of free education. It will create exxcessive competition between students which will cause low education quality.
On the other hand, Government should charged fees to the students who can afford, these charges will be used for development of new classes and modern labs. In addition, it will reduce the financial burden on government.Furthermore it will decrease the inequality among the childrens, while it will create better opportunities for tecahers because of higher salaries. For example, if government charged fees they will develop a modern lab for reseaches, practical skills will improved this way.
In conclusion, education is a basic rightof every human being. Free education can help students in creativity and innovation, while paid education has their own benefits for better facilities and in universities development. Although, a moderate fee structure would be fine.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages of free university education and the alternative perspective that fees should be charged for those who can afford them. Your position is presented in the introduction ('i partly agree with this view') and maintained throughout the essay. However, some ideas are underdeveloped and briefly expressed, such as the mention of excessive competition leading to low education quality. Additionally, there are minor organizational slips, as you introduce drawbacks of free education right in the middle of discussing the benefits. To reach a higher band score, you should ensure that all main ideas are fully extended with deeper explanations and more specific examples rather than brief generalizations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement and attempts a logical progression of ideas with paragraphs dedicated to different viewpoints. However, paragraphing and internal cohesion are sometimes faulty. For instance, the second paragraph opens with 'In the one hand' (an incorrect idiom blending 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand') and awkwardly mixes drawbacks into the discussion of free education benefits. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'Additionally, after completing they can support...' which has a missing pronoun, and 'Furthermore it will decrease the inequality...' with punctuation errors. To improve, focus on mastering standard transitional phrases and ensuring each paragraph has a single, unified central theme.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'contemporary world', 'financial burden', 'inequality', and 'innovation'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('universtiies', 'Additionaly', 'exxcessive', 'tecahers', 'reseaches') and awkward word choices ('charged fees to the students', 'rightof'). The use of repetitive vocabulary structures ('support their families', 'charged fees') limits the sophistication of the writing. While communication is not severely impeded by these lexical inadequacies, the presence of frequent spelling errors and limited control over less common vocabulary keeps this criterion at a modest band level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like conditional clauses ('if a student who got free education, became a doctor...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several run-on sentences and comma splices, such as 'For example, if a student who got free education, became a doctor in this way he can support his family...' and punctuation errors missing spaces after periods ('Furthermore. It'). Subject-verb agreement and tense consistency also falter at times, for example, 'practical skills will improved this way'. While these errors do not completely obscure your meaning, their frequency prevents the essay from achieving a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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