Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-23
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)
Nowdays, universities education is becoming more expensive so many individuals are arguing that government should pay the cost of universities ,so students can study at free of cost. I partly agree with this statement because free education can help many students but, can put government in finacial problems.
On the one hand, Many students are intelligent and have talents but because of the monetary problem they are not able to acheive university education as they are expensive if government pay ther eduvation bills they can grow in there lifes. For instance some students do overtime work for education and paying there fees. If they get free education they can focus on study and get better jobs and future.
However, government is alredy making a lot of road, schools, hospitals and need to manage international trade. As now influation is increasing and trade between overseas become more expensive. It can become a burden of normal people because tax may increase to fullfill all requirements.For example there are a lot of people who can afford luxury lifestyle and expensive education if government give free education to those people it may be unfair with others.
I think government should provides scholorships to student who are needed and talented because many students do not have interest in studieas also.
In conclusion i think government should pay fees of needed student not of every student because this will be fair and students are willing to study they can take advantage of this. I think instead of free education partial help can be also a better option.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the extent of agreement regarding free university education, presenting a clear position throughout. The writer acknowledges both sides, noting that free education helps students but creates financial and tax burdens. Ideas are supported with relevant examples, such as students working overtime and the issue of wealthy individuals receiving free tuition. However, some arguments lack deeper extension, and the conclusion slightly shifts by introducing partial help alongside scholarships, which remains somewhat brief. Nonetheless, the task is addressed adequately and a clear stance is maintained, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, separating the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, run-on sentences and comma splices frequently occur, such as in the opening sentence ('Nowdays, universities education is becoming more expensive so many individuals are arguing...'). Transitional markers are basic or missing, and referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'if government give free education to those people it may be unfair with others'). Paragraph transitions could be smoother, and logical progression suffers slightly from abrupt shifts between ideas, placing it firmly at a Band 5.5 to 6.0 level.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'monetary problem', 'inflation', and 'scholarships'. However, there are numerous spelling errors ('Nowdays', 'finacial', 'acheive', 'ther', 'eduvation', 'alredy', 'influation', 'fullfill', 'scholorships', 'studieas') and awkward word choices ('needed student' instead of 'needy students', 'paying there fees' instead of 'paying their fees'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, their frequency prevents the score from rising higher. The lexical control is generally characteristic of a Band 5.5 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('If they get free education they can focus on study...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, marred by frequent errors including missing articles, subject-verb agreement issues ('government is alredy making', 'government should provides'), and punctuation flaws like run-on sentences and comma splices. For example, 'I think government should provides scholorships to student who are needed and talented because many students do not have interest in studieas also.' These persistent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the grammar score to Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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