Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-05

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 people argue that university education should be government-funded, which allows any student to pursue higher education without financial burden or loans. In my opinion, I agree with that notion for the equality in opportunities and financial stability for students in the beginning of their lives.

The main reason why university education should be free is the equality of opportunities for all students. Many students deprived from going to college because of the high tuition fees, despite of their high grades. Therefore, These students are obliged to give up their dreams and the opportunity to catch their dream job, moreover, work for less jobs because their families could not afford the requested fees. Funding the educational fees by government should help these students to have better future.

Another major reason why government should pay the university education costs is financial stability. Most students who look up for a higher education have to take a loan to be able to fund their tuition fees, which form a huge financial burden on them in the beginning of their practical lives for years. However, government subsidizing will make a significant impact in the lives of these students to begin it free of debt that provides them with financial stability.

In conclusion, I firmly agree that government should play a crucial rule in declining the university educatioal costs, additionally, providing equal opportunites for all students too choose if they prefer to pursue their university education for free and be able to achieve their dreams without worrying about financial burdens or start their practical lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on government-funded university education throughout the essay. The main ideas regarding equality of opportunities and financial stability are relevant and clearly conveyed, reflecting a strong understanding of the prompt. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed rather than fully extended. For instance, the discussion on how students are obliged to work lower-paid jobs is introduced but lacks further exploration or a concrete example. To reach a higher level, the writer should ensure that every main argument is fully elaborated with deeper reasoning or specific illustrations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression throughout the paragraphs. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, starting with an introduction, followed by two well-defined body paragraphs focusing on equality and financial stability, and concluding with a summary of the writer's stance. Cohesive devices such as 'The main reason why', 'Another major reason why', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader, although referencing and linking can sometimes feel a bit mechanical. To achieve a higher level, the writer could employ more sophisticated and varied cohesive patterns, making the transitions between sentences and ideas even more natural and seamless.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'financial stability', 'tuition fees', and 'practical lives'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word form. Examples include 'deprived from going' instead of 'deprived of going', 'less jobs' instead of 'lower-paying jobs', and 'educatioal' (a spelling error). Furthermore, phrases like 'look up for a higher education' are unnatural in this context. To reach a higher standard, the writer needs to refine their lexical control and ensure that less common vocabulary items are used with greater precision and correct collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt to use varied structures such as relative clauses and conditional ideas. However, there are several errors in grammar and punctuation that persist throughout the text. Instances include 'which allows' where tense agreement could be smoother, missing articles or incorrect prepositions in phrases like 'by government should help', and punctuation issues such as comma splices ('Therefore, These students'). While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they prevent the text from featuring frequent error-free sentences. To improve, the writer should focus on strengthening control over complex sentence patterns, articles, and prepositions.

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