Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-13

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)

In this recent era, a segment of people think that there should no longer animals kept in a zoos and they also claims that zoos should be closed. I believe that the reasons for disagreeing the statement are far more than agreeing with it.

The supporters who oppose this decision thinks if the animals will not kept in a zoos so it might be become extinct soon from this world. To elaborate this, in this modernize sector, the nature is not same as the previous era due to the range of fatal disease in the environment that animals could not handle. Additionally, if they might be get any disease, it should be immediately treated if they are in under-care of zoos specialized doctors.

Furthermore, as the rapid urbanization we observed in this upcoming era, it it difficult to have a peace place for animals who can live in their own habitats. Besides this, in many areas, the wild animals came in the human area for searching the food and faces the human and attack on them. For instance, in country like India, there are several small towns who are nearer to forest and there are many cases that tigers has attacked many humans and kill them and due to that it directly damaging human population.

Finally, one more reason for disagree with this notion is Education and research. To detail it out, if the animals kept in a zoos, so the researchers and educationist can continue their research on them so as per that they can provide proper habitat atmosphere and mitigates the problem if they faces some.

Conclusively, there are more reasons for disagreement than agreement such as poor environment they cannot face and urbanization.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against closing zoos. The ideas regarding animal conservation, habitat loss, and research are relevant. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument about disease is repetitive, and the example regarding tigers in India is slightly tangential to the core debate about the necessity of zoos. While the position is clear throughout, the supporting arguments lack the depth and nuance required for a higher band. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not fully synthesize the main points presented in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore', 'Besides this', and 'Finally', though some transitions feel mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'To detail it out'. Referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the flow is interrupted by grammatical errors, which makes the progression of ideas feel slightly disjointed at times. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the overall structure could be improved by ensuring that each paragraph has a more robust topic sentence and a clearer concluding thought.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety expected at higher levels. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'animals', 'zoos', and 'reasons'. Some word choices are imprecise, such as 'modernize sector' instead of 'modern era' or 'peace place' instead of 'peaceful habitat'. There are also minor collocation errors, such as 'mitigates the problem if they faces some'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and the student struggles to use less common lexical items accurately or naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('they also claims', 'animals has attacked'), article usage ('in a zoos'), and tense consistency ('if the animals will not kept'). These errors are noticeable and occasionally impede the reader's flow, although they do not prevent the overall message from being understood. To improve, the student needs to focus on basic sentence construction, particularly the correct use of passive voice and pluralization.

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

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