Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-15

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

We no longer need to have animals kept in zoos, so zoos should be closed.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Zoos should no longer be open and animals must ge given an open space to live other than enclosed environment. I agree with the statement and will provide appropriate reasons with relevant examples to support the above.

Imagine if you are trapped in a cage for the rest of your life and given orders on a specific time to eat and show yourself to others outside the cage. This feels unappropriate and cruel at the same time. This is exactly the feeling animals must be enduring when they are in a zoo. Animals need freedom and natural envirnmemnt to live freely for two major reasons. First it creates a perfect environment for breeding naturally and second the sense of freedom eliminates the fog of depression from their mind. For example a dolphine might seem happy while performing in a zoo but in reality the actual habitat for them to thrive is open ocean. Ocean is their home where they would be worry free and multiply naturally.

Furthermore, zoos create a harsh environment for certain creatures where human beings train them to do tasks under pressure. People either treat them with food or maintain a pressure of pain to perform tricks for amusement of the people. Treating animals in such a greedy way is against the law and people should be penalized for such actions. If animals were to be kept in a zoo then the only solution is to create a real world environment for them. For example a zoo in Australia is so large like a national park where people go in vechicles as a mode of jungle safari and animals do not feel traped at all.

Some people might argue that animals need to stay in a zoo but in reality their actual home is beyond a fence. In conclusion, Animals need a natural environment to grow and prosper regardless of any type of treatement by humans.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by clearly stating a position agreeing with the closure of zoos and providing reasons and examples. The writer presents a clear position throughout, highlighting animal welfare and the need for natural environments. The ideas are extended, such as the comparison between traditional cramped cages and large safari-style enclosures seen in Australia. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise, and certain points, like the legal penalties for treating animals poorly, slightly drift from the core prompt about closing zoos. Overall, the task is well addressed, meeting the criteria for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 7, though some development could be more focused.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The text is generally coherent and has an overall logical arrangement, moving from an introduction to arguments regarding mental well-being, training pressure, and counter-arguments. Paragraphing is used reasonably well to separate distinct ideas, such as breeding and psychological benefits in the second paragraph, and animal training in the third. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or lacking in smooth transition, as seen with basic linking words like 'First' and 'Furthermore'. Referencing is occasionally slightly unclear, such as pronoun use referring back to nouns. These minor mechanical issues place the text comfortably in the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'enduring', 'thrive', and 'safari'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'ge given' instead of 'be given', 'envirnmemnt', 'dolphine', 'unappropriate' instead of 'inappropriate', and 'vechicles'. While these errors do not severely impede communication and the meaning remains clear, they restrict the lexical score. The writer shows potential for a higher band but is held back by these recurring inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditionals and relative clauses effectively, such as 'Imagine if you are trapped...' and 'If animals were to be kept in a zoo...'. There is a reasonable variety of structures attempted. However, frequent errors in grammar and mechanics occur, including missing modal verbs ('animals must ge given'), spelling mistakes that affect individual words, and minor punctuation issues. Despite these errors, the sentence structures are sufficiently varied to keep the communication flowing without major strain on the reader, aligning with Band 6.0 descriptors.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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