Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-13

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)

It is often argued that animals should be free and they no longer need to be kept in zoos , so zoos should disappear. I strongly agree with this view , because animals are living creatures that made to be free not closed in a prison and they human cant create for them a life that looks like the wild life.

The primary reason is that wild animals are meant to be free not caged or controlled. They run anywhere they want , hunt and mate. Because animals prisoned in zoos are most likely to die before their time. For example in many zoos espacially in the north africa and poor countries the is no investissments in these zoos so they won't have a healthy food. Furthermore , animals in general are created to live in groups not group of 2 or 3 , sometimes a group of hundreds.

The second reason is that owners of these zoos , cant afford a similar wild life inside the zoo. because of the climate , penguin cant live in an artificial ice , camel cant survive an artifical heat. adding to that , the visitors treats the animals badly. For example in tunisia , people give monkeys bread , adding to that they have an elephant who lives alone and its leg is broken , the gave him zero attention and care.

In conclusion , i believe that animals should not be caged and prisoned inside these zoos because they want and they need to live without the human hand. Therefore it is better to make a very strict rules on these zoos and a weekly visits to see the treatment of the animals in there.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you strongly agree that zoos should disappear, and the body paragraphs give relevant reasons, including restricted freedom, unsuitable conditions, and poor treatment. The examples about monkeys being fed bread and an elephant living alone help make the concerns concrete. However, the response only partly develops the task: several claims, such as animals dying early or being unable to live in artificial climates, are asserted without enough explanation or support. The conclusion also introduces a different proposal—strict rules and weekly inspections—without clarifying whether this is an alternative to closing zoos or a temporary measure. Develop each reason more fully and make sure the conclusion consistently reflects your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. The sequence from animals’ freedom to zoo conditions and visitor behaviour is generally understandable, and phrases such as “The primary reason” and “The second reason” signal the main points. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the discussion moves quickly from freedom to early death, food investment and group size without showing how each point connects. “Adding to that” is repeated, and some sentence boundaries make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Use a clearer topic sentence for each paragraph, explain links between supporting points, and vary cohesive devices. Ensure the conclusion follows logically from the argument rather than shifting towards regulating zoos.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main concerns, including “caged,” “wild life,” “climate,” “visitors,” and “treatment.” Some choices also convey a strong viewpoint, such as describing a zoo as a “prison.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning less natural: “animals prisoned,” “healthy food,” and “a similar wild life inside the zoo” are examples. Spelling errors such as “espacially,” “investissments,” and “artifical” are noticeable. Build a more precise vocabulary for animal welfare and habitat conditions, and check spelling and common word combinations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including a reason clause beginning “because” and examples introduced with “For example.” Nevertheless, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently in sentence construction, verb forms, agreement, articles and punctuation. For instance, “animals are living creatures that made to be free” needs a verb form such as “are meant”; “the visitors treats” has subject–verb disagreement; and “penguin cant live” needs an article and an apostrophe. Several sentences also run together or begin with lowercase “because,” making the structure harder to follow. Practise building accurate complex sentences, then check each sentence for a clear subject and verb, correct agreement, articles and punctuation.

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