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)

Education play a vital role to become successful in any field and there is no doubt that if you wanted to obtain skilled degree or certification you have to spend so much money in the universities.I strongly believe getting education is the basic right of each human being however circumstances are different for everybody and there are several students who cannot afford university fees even if they are really good in studies.

In my opinion government must set some selection criteria such as score in there previous class and some project to be submitted related to their previous and future subject which they planning to pursue in the university.Whichever students meet with criteria there fees must be waived off or covered by the government and those students who doesnt meet 100% with the critera then based on their situation and current percentage some of the fees can be covered by government some portion to be paid by the students.Students wil not be able to take university study for gurtanteed or misuse the idea of free education if some criteria is decided and all students will study hard to meet with the criteria

Government must provide equal opportunities to all the students so that they can grow more and pursue good craeer based on their interest. Personally I have seen many of my friends who were not financially strong to support their education in good universities even if there score was really good , they had to look for many other options and try luck in different universities and institutions whose fees is comprtaively low and some of them had to literally change there field and switch to other course due to the huge fees amount and choosen a study which falls under there budget.On the other side i have seen many students during my gratuation who were from good families and could afford the university fees but were not doing well in the class

I really hope that if givernment make such policy or certain criteria and support bright studenst to pursue there education in the area of interst then it will help the whoel society and overall a country to grow altogether and make thsi place much better as education can literlly change teh whoel perspective of a human being.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you support government help for students who cannot afford university, while proposing that assistance should depend on selection criteria and financial circumstances. This addresses the question and is supported with relevant examples, especially your account of capable friends who had to choose cheaper institutions or change fields. The contrast with wealthier students who struggled academically also helps explain your argument for targeted support. To make the response more fully developed, clarify how your proposal relates to free university education for anyone who wants it: at present, the essay mainly argues for merit- and need-based subsidies, rather than explaining whether all students should receive free tuition. Develop the fairness and practical implications of that distinction.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph proposing eligibility criteria, a paragraph giving personal examples, and a conclusion. The ideas generally progress from your position to supporting reasons, and phrases such as “On the other side” signal a contrast. However, some sentences contain several ideas joined together, making the relationships between points difficult to follow. For example, the long sentence about friends choosing cheaper institutions moves from financial barriers to changing fields without clear breaks. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “and” and “so that.” Use clearer sentence boundaries, and make each paragraph’s main point explicit before adding examples.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “selection criteria,” “university fees,” “financially strong,” and “equal opportunities.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “pursue” and “criteria.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural word combinations are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “gurtanteed,” “comprtaively low,” and “change there field”; “good in studies” and “fees amount” are also not natural choices in this context. Build accuracy by checking spelling carefully and learning common academic collocations. More precise terms such as “academic performance,” “tuition fees,” and “financially disadvantaged” would help express your argument clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “if you wanted to obtain…” and clauses explaining why students may struggle to attend university. This gives the response some structural variety. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries are frequent enough to affect clarity. For example, “Education play” should be “Education plays,” while “students who doesnt meet” needs a plural verb form. In “there fees must be waived,” the possessive form is required, and several long sentences need full stops or clearer punctuation. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and breaking complex ideas into shorter, complete sentences while retaining some subordinate clauses.

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