Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-04

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 5.5)

Nowadays, many people believe that, zoos need to be closed as we do not need to have any animals in the zoos. However, I partially agree with this trend.

To begin with, we can not put any animals in to the zoo as they feel like isolated and do not live their life in their natural habitat. It is said that, their mortality rate is higher in their own habitat. Due to this reason, the government should have to closed the zoo. For example, according to the media report in the year 2025, approximately 80% of the zoos are closed and they decided to not keep any animals.

On the other hand, it is really significant to preserve the wildlife for our future generation. Furthermore, some of the endangered species are no longer available in the country. So, due to that reason, they have to be in zoo for their sustainability. For instance, according to the zoo officer in my city, he said that , we are trying to keep our wildlife in the zoo for our future generation in the country.

To conclude, it is said that, we no longer need to put the animals in zoos. On the agreement side, they need to be in their own place for their higher mortality rate. whereas, we need to maintain some of our animals for the next generation. For that, they need to be in the zoo. Due to this reason, zoos must have to open for long term for their growth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially, presenting a stance where the writer partially agrees with closing zoos. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed. For example, in the second body paragraph, the student mentions that mortality rates are higher in natural habitats and uses an unconvincing and sweeping statistic about 80% of zoos closing by 2025. While there is a stated position, the supporting arguments lack strong elaboration and logical backing, meaning some parts of the prompt are addressed more thoroughly than others. To move to a higher band, the writer would need to fully develop their main ideas with more realistic examples, clear explanations, and a consistently sustained position throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion, and the response is divided into logical paragraphs. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude', which help guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and cohesion can feel somewhat mechanical or repetitive at times, such as the frequent reliance on 'due to that reason' and similar filler phrases. Additionally, progression within the paragraphs lacks smoothness. To achieve a higher score, the writer should aim for a more sophisticated and flexible use of cohesive devices, ensuring that sentences flow naturally into one another without relying on repetitive formulas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing a sufficient range to express basic ideas about wildlife and conservation. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items such as 'sustainability', 'endangered species', and 'preserve the wildlife', but there are noticeable errors in word choice and phrasing, such as 'on the agreement side' and 'zoos must have to open for long term'. While these lexical inaccuracies do not completely block communication, they occasionally cause confusion for the reader. To improve lexical resource, the writer should focus on expanding their range of functional collocations, improving word choice precision, and avoiding unnatural phrasings when discussing abstract topics.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple forms alongside attempts at complex sentences that frequently contain errors. There are noticeable mistakes in verb forms, prepositions, and agreement, such as 'can not put any animals in to the zoo', 'the government should have to closed the zoo', and 'he said that , we are trying'. Punctuation errors, such as unnecessary spaces before commas, also occur. These frequent errors in basic and complex structures can cause some difficulty for the reader. To reach the next level, the writer needs to increase grammatical accuracy, ensure proper verb tense consistency, and demonstrate better control over complex sentence patterns with fewer mechanical errors.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.