Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-21

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 6.0)

Many argue that students should have the free access to a university education and the regulatory authorities should provide the funds for running educational institutions. I stongly agree with this approach because many young students, lack the funds to afford expensive undergraduate courses. If a government support to the public, it will help to grow economy.

One of the main reasons for paying the cost of running universities though the government bodies is that it will give a chance to every student, who has a positive mindset and intelligent in their studies despite having a financial issue to pay their university fees. If a government ensures free education, students will study more. In India, for example, many students are struggling to pay their university fees after their primary education and they have to drop off their idea for getting further education due to expensive study courses. I believe a free access to every students will bring a postive approach and will help to overcome unemployment.

Their is no doubt that if a government of each country support their educational institutions, it will help to grow their economy. This is because when every student go to university for getting their education free of cost, it will boost their confidence and without any stress they will study more. Furthermore, there are high chances to minimize a significant proportion of the unemployment rates because every student has higher education to fit into their carrier and getting their jobs on a great postion. This will help to boost the economy of every nation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position that the government should cover the costs of running universities. The main ideas, such as helping low-income students and boosting the economy, are relevant and directly tied to the question. However, some arguments are somewhat repetitive and under-developed, particularly the economic impacts, which tend to generalise without deep elaboration. For instance, the mention of India provides a concrete context, but the overall development remains a bit basic. This falls comfortably into the Band 6 descriptor, where all parts of the task are addressed and a clear position is presented, though some ideas lack full extension.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is divided into a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a concluding thought, providing a coherent overall arrangement. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct ideas, such as personal access to education versus national economic benefits. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or clunky, as seen in phrases like 'One of the main reasons for paying the cost of running universities though the government bodies is that...' and 'Their is no doubt that...'. Referencing can also be slightly loose, and transitions lack the smooth fluidity seen at higher bands. Overall, the logical progression is clear enough to earn a Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common terms such as 'regulatory authorities', 'undergraduate courses', and 'proportion of the unemployment rates'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'free access to a university education' (article misuse), 'stongly' (spelling), 'drop off their idea' (unnatural collocation for 'drop the idea' or 'abandon plans'), 'carrier' instead of 'career', and 'postion' instead of 'position'. These lexical errors do not impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('If a government ensures free education, students will study more') and relative clauses ('every student, who has a positive mindset...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('many young students, lack the funds', 'every student go'), incorrect prepositions ('paying the cost... though the government bodies'), homophone confusion ('Their is no doubt'), and missing articles. While these errors occur regularly, they rarely impede overall comprehension, which aligns well with the Band 5 descriptor for grammatical accuracy.

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

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