Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-07

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)

Animals should not be kept in zoos, and zoos should not stay open. It is necessary to understand the importance of zoos, and the role they play in preservation of species.

Zoos play an important part in education, research, preservation, and fostering human connection with wildlife. For instance, zoos contribute significantly in preservation of species that are on verge of extinction by captive breeding (giant pandas and golden lions). Moreover, zoos also serve as living classrooms, it is important in educating school going students about animals, their type and how they behave in their habitat. Hence, zoos also contribute in education by giving students the chance to see those animals live and sparks conversation. Modern zoos also serve as center for research, studying animal behavior, their response to certain situations, habits and psychology, In addition to that, visiting zoos can have positive impact on individuals. Such as, reducing stress, it also helps people to have more empathy towards animals, and it overall promotes healthy relationship between humans and animals.

However, we can not ignore the negative impacts of captivation on animals. Animals in zoos are often kept in enclosed spaces, that are far smaller then their natural habitat, this restriction can prevent them from behaving in their natural manner such as hunting, migrating, foraging, leading to physical and psychological stress, leading them to behave abnormally or become more aggressive with visitors and surrounding animals.

In conclusion, while zoos are essential in many factors and play an important role in modern education, we need to find the right balance, so that captivation does not harm wildlife and also does not steal their natural instinct from them, while serving both animals and the system.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of zoos. However, the position is somewhat contradictory. The introduction states that zoos should not stay open, yet the body paragraphs focus heavily on the positive contributions of zoos, and the conclusion suggests a compromise rather than a clear stance. To reach a higher band, you must maintain a consistent position throughout the essay. While the ideas are relevant, the development of the 'negative impacts' paragraph is less detailed than the 'benefits' section. Ensure that your arguments are balanced and that your final conclusion directly reflects the position stated in your introduction.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'In addition to that', and 'However' to link ideas. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be improved. For example, the sentence 'Such as, reducing stress, it also helps people...' is a fragment and lacks proper connection to the previous point. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows naturally into the next will help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'preservation', 'extinction', 'captive breeding', and 'psychological stress'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'on verge of extinction' (missing 'the') and 'center for research' (should be plural 'centers'). You also use 'captivation' where 'captivity' would be the more accurate term. To improve, focus on using more precise academic collocations and ensure that your vocabulary is used in the correct context to convey your ideas more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, particularly with punctuation and sentence boundaries. For instance, 'Modern zoos also serve as center for research, studying animal behavior, their response to certain situations, habits and psychology, In addition to that...' contains a comma splice and run-on issues. There are also minor errors with articles and pluralization, such as 'school going students' (should be hyphenated) and 'in many factors' (should be 'in many respects'). Focusing on sentence structure and punctuation will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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