Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-06

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)

University education has a significant role for building a better future for individuals. People often argue that the authority should maintain and take care of the expenses which araise in the smooth running of universities. I believe that it is necessary for the government support to deal all the university expenditure for a great extent, and the reasons are discuess in this essay.

Generally, university studies are expensive all over the world, the maintenance cost and professionals salary are the major expenses occures in universities. Most of the university includes high talented techers and lectures, although the board of managment should pay them a high salary for their service. Without an effective support from the side of government which is not easy for the smooth running of the university. Moreover, the academic carriculams has several pratical classes and those sessions include the usage of various resourses and it is mostly costly. For example, in the chemistry labs and other science labs have pratical session which contains the usage of different expensive resoures.

Additionally, university also associated with other extra carriculam activities and students support departments, therfore the effective running for this services need help from the outside otherthan students fee. Students sports centers and library has to be well maintain in every terms and it contains staffs and equipment expenses. Furthermore, university should conduct several arts and sports festivals for overall improvemnts and which also associated with heavy expenses.

In conclusion,students fee is not enoughf for the smoot running of the university, perhaps with the authority support the institution can meet theri expensens and effectively run.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is broadly clear: you support government funding, arguing that it can cover staff, practical classes, facilities and extracurricular activities. These are relevant reasons, and the chemistry-lab example helps illustrate the costs involved. However, the response only partly addresses the central question of whether university education should be free for anyone who wants it. It focuses mainly on universities’ operating expenses and gives little explanation of how government payment would remove fees for students, or whether access should have any conditions. Several points, such as festivals and sports facilities, are listed rather than fully explained. Develop the link between public funding, reduced student fees and wider access, and consider a counterargument before concluding.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. The paragraphs group related points, and signposts such as “Moreover,” “Additionally” and “In conclusion” make the direction of the essay easy to follow. However, progression within the body paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with several expenses added one after another rather than connected through a clear explanation of their importance. Some references are unclear, as in “the effective running for this services,” and the conclusion repeats the general claim without drawing together the main reasons. Use clearer links between each example and your position, and make pronoun references precise. A more focused sequence—costs, consequences for students, then the case for public funding—would strengthen the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “maintenance cost,” “practical classes,” “resources,” “sports centers” and “equipment expenses,” so the reader can identify the subject of each point. There are also attempts at more formal wording, such as “overall improvement.” However, the range is limited and several inaccurate spellings or word choices make the writing less fluent, including “carriculams,” “resoures,” “theri” and “smoot.” Some combinations are also unnatural, for example “professionals salary” and “support from the side of government.” Build accuracy with common academic collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “operating costs,” “teaching staff” and “public funding” would help express your ideas efficiently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “although” and “which,” and you use present-tense statements to discuss general issues. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction occur frequently enough to make some passages difficult to read. For example, “the academic carriculams has” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “Without an effective support … which is not easy” is an incomplete sentence. The opening also needs a grammatical link in “necessary for the government support.” Practise building complete sentences around one main clause, then check subject–verb agreement and singular/plural forms. Accurate simpler sentences will make your argument clearer.

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