Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-24

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 4.5)

Education is the most significant asset to grow in the contemporary world. It is often believed by the people that higher authorities should pay the costs of running universities as a consequence everyone can get the university education who cannot afford it. According to my opinion, education should not be free but there should be fees that every person can afford it who wants to get education. The reasons to explain this statement is discussed in the subsquent paragraphs with relavent example.

To commence with education is the key element to achieve the ambitions of life. Some people feel that government should pay the cost of running unvir

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You state a position—“education should not be free” but that fees should be affordable—and this is relevant to the question. However, the response stops before explaining why you hold this view or giving the requested supporting examples. The opening promises that reasons will follow, but the only further point is the general statement that education helps people achieve their ambitions; it does not show why government funding or affordable fees are preferable. The final sentence is also cut off, so the argument is incomplete. The response is substantially below the required 250 words, which leaves the task only minimally addressed. Develop two clear reasons, explain each, and support them with a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an introductory paragraph gives your position, and “To commence with” signals the start of a body paragraph. The ideas are broadly connected to university education, so the reader can identify the topic and your general stance. However, the response ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence, and there is no completed development or conclusion to create a clear overall progression. Phrases such as “The reasons to explain this statement is discussed” announce a structure that the response does not then fulfil. Use separate paragraphs for each reason, connect claims to explanations and examples, and finish with a conclusion that restates your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “higher authorities,” “costs of running universities,” “afford,” and “ambitions.” These choices show an attempt to discuss the issue beyond very basic language. However, several expressions are unnatural or imprecise, such as “the most significant asset to grow” and “as a consequence everyone can get the university education.” There are also spelling errors in “subsequent” and “relevant,” and “unvir” is incomplete, which makes the final idea unclear. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, you could write “a valuable investment in personal development” and “enable more students to access university.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes both simple statements and attempts at more complex structures, such as “It is often believed by the people that…” and the clause beginning “who cannot afford it.” The main position is understandable, but grammatical control is uneven. In “there should be fees that every person can afford it,” the relative clause has an unnecessary second object; write “fees that everyone can afford.” “The reasons … is discussed” also has a subject–verb agreement error, and the opening sentence lacks a comma after “To commence with.” The final sentence is incomplete, so its structure cannot be followed. Practise accurate relative clauses, agreement, and punctuation, then proofread each sentence for completeness.

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