Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-01

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)

It is often considered that government need to provide free education to all students.I partially agree wit this statement due to some reasons which will be discussed in upcoming paragraphs.

One the one hand,law makkers ought be provide free education to all pupils because it will be beneficial for nation.To explain it,all student will work for country after completing their higher study.It means government should provide funds for universities for students.For exmple,some student will become doctor and some students become teacher.Therefore students play important role for developing nation people of well being of nation people and educate them for future develoment.Thus,it would be correct that government must pay fee universities.

One the other hand,government should not pay universities fee of all student.The primarily reason is that student will not pay attention towards their study.While,if students pay their fee own then they will focus more towards study.Moreover,it will also create extra burden on government shoulder.As a result,government collect more tax from people and it will create burden on ordinary people.Furthermore,there are also other sections which are more crucial such as health.So it would be beneficial to pay for hospital.It will help to over come health diseases in future.

To conclude,although government should pay for universities for students because students will do jobs for nation,ordinary people have to pay more taxes.Hence,it will be better if goverment pay fee only those students who are not good financially.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both sides of the argument and presenting a clear, albeit partially developed, personal position regarding government-funded higher education. Relevant ideas are introduced, such as the economic benefits to the nation and the potential tax burdens on ordinary citizens, but some of these points are under-developed or supported with vague examples, such as stating that 'some student will become doctor and some students become teacher.' Furthermore, a critical weakness is that the response falls short of the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, containing only 234 words. This prevents the ideas from achieving the full extension and depth expected at higher levels.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at logical organisation, making use of standard organisational patterns such as 'One the one hand' and 'To conclude'. Paragraphing is used to separate different aspects of the argument, showing a clear progression from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and referencing is not always clear, as seen in repetitive transitional phrasing and minor mechanical errors in cohesive devices. To reach a higher band, the writer needs to ensure that referencing is smoother and that cohesive devices connect ideas more naturally and flexibly without relying on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'beneficial for nation' and 'extra burden on government shoulder'. However, there are noticeable lexical and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'law makkers', 'fee universities', 'primarily reason', and 'over come', as well as frequent missing spacing between words. These vocabulary choices and spelling inaccuracies cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a limited lexical control. To improve, the writer should focus on precise word choices, correct word forms, and accurate spelling of common academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, featuring a mix of simple and some attempted complex forms. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('government need', 'student will become', 'goverment pay fee only those students'), missing articles ('pay universities fee'), and prepositional errors. These errors occur across both simple and complex structures and can cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the writer must improve grammatical accuracy, particularly regarding verb forms, singular and plural agreements, and the correct use of articles in complex sentence patterns.

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