Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-07

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 ought be free of cost is belived by many masses so whoever has desire to get education can do it. I disagree to this statement to some extent and will explain in further paragraphs.

On the first hand, national authority has so many responsibilities to take care of and spend money on, so if they provide free study in colleges to everyone then it can make financial burden on them. Government also needs to take care of their country's health system, infrastructure, employment and so on; therefore, it may be challening for natinal authority to pay to tutors which might impact on nation's economy.

Furthermore, pupil may not concentrate on their study properly if they do not pay for their education because some children are from rich families who are always willing to engage in their family business and even their parents also ask them to contribute in their generational work. Therefore, students who are from backward families and have highly intensity to be educated and support their faimilies, might disturb from them and may to be abled to catch enough attention from their professors.

On the other hand, free education to people from any background, caste, religion and any family can assist to remove discrimination. When everyone get education in the same class and in a same batch from similar tutor then pupils may not think about each other's background and might bacome clsoe friends.

To conclude, although there can be a chance to have not any discrimination between study takers when they get education without paying anything yet this policy might shake nation's economy and children from poor family might not study in that atmosphere as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a relevant, partly qualified position: you disagree with fully government-funded university education, while recognising that free access could reduce discrimination. The essay also gives reasons, including pressure on public finances and the possibility that some students may not value education if they pay nothing. However, the response addresses the issue only partially because the central question—whether university should be free for anyone who wants it—is not explored in enough depth. The point about students from wealthy families joining family businesses is difficult to connect to tuition fees, and the claim that poorer students might not study in a free environment is unclear. Develop each reason with a clearer explanation or a specific example, and state more precisely what level of government support you favour.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two paragraphs presenting opposing considerations, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” help signal the direction of the argument. This gives the essay an overall coherent arrangement. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear: “On the first hand” is not the usual expression, and the transition from students’ motivation to the difficulties faced by poorer students is hard to follow. The conclusion also repeats the main points without resolving the position more clearly. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main claim, then connect supporting explanations directly to that claim; make references such as “this policy” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “financial burden,” “infrastructure,” “discrimination,” and “generational work.” These choices show an effort to discuss public spending and educational access beyond very basic terms. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “study,” “education,” and “children,” while several inaccurate word choices or collocations make meaning difficult to interpret. For example, “pay to tutors” does not clearly express the cost of university provision, and “highly intensity to be educated” is not a natural way to describe motivation. Spelling errors such as “belived,” “challening,” and “natinal” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of topic-specific collocations and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “if,” “because,” and “although,” so there is some variety in sentence structure. The main ideas are generally identifiable, but grammatical errors occur frequently and sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. Examples include “Education ought be free” (missing “to”), “when everyone get education” (subject–verb agreement), and “might not study in that atmosphere” following a conclusion whose meaning is unclear. There are also problems with articles, plurals, and verb patterns, as in “in a same batch” and “might to be abled.” Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then check agreement, articles, and verb forms in longer sentences. Breaking overloaded sentences into shorter units would also improve clarity.

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