Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-13

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)

Some people believe that confining animals in zoos has become redundant and that such institutions ought to be permanently closed. Although due to the decrease in the number of animals kept in captivity, I believe that having such facilitiies are a great form of saving species and animals.

On the one hand, a zoo is an outstanding accommodation service that contributes in several factors to animal life. A zoo takes excellent care of animals in terms of providing safety, sufficient food and more importantly it creates a better chance to preserve endangered species. Furthermore, zoos also focus on breeding which enables consistent growth of genetic population. For example, there was a major drop in the California Condor's population, with only last 22 birds remaining, however through the zoo's breeding programs helped in enlarging the population of the birds, substantially preserving the specie.

On the other hand, keeping animals in a zoo can lead to multiple drawbacks to animal life, in the long term. Animals deserve to spend their lives in the wild life, outside of cages. They are structured in a way that they must hunt for their own food in their native habitation. Enforcing animals into captivity can lead to irritation, annoyance and also disobeyance from animals which could potentially harm zoo keepers. However, keeping animals in the wild life is highly dangerous, especially for endangered specifies, as there are substantially greater possibilities of being preyed by other animals. For example, if there were little amount of birds left which would be hunted down by eagles or other wild animals, it leads to complete extinction.

In conclusion, having animals in the wild life, rather than zoos, is beneficial because that is their primary habitat and controlling animals can result in animal exploitation and psychological distress. However, due to the provided benefits to animals held captive, such as great safety, consistent feeding and structured breeding preventing extinction, I believe that having zoos is a better idea.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both sides of the argument and clearly stating a personal position in the introduction and conclusion. In the first body paragraph, the ideas regarding preservation and breeding are well-supported with a specific example of the California Condor. In the second body paragraph, the student explores the drawbacks of captivity and the dangers of the wild. However, the conclusion presents a slight contradiction by stating in the first sentence that having animals in the wild is beneficial, before concluding in the final sentence that having zoos is a better idea. Despite this minor confusion in the concluding summary, the core position is discernible and the main ideas are adequately extended and supported, fitting the criteria for a Band 6.5 or 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is structured logically with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing viewpoints, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', 'For example', and 'On the other hand' are employed to guide the reader through the arguments. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally become slightly mechanical or confusing, particularly in the transition between sentences in the third paragraph. For instance, the phrase 'if there were little amount of birds left which would be hunted down...' lacks smooth integration. Overall progression is clear, supporting a solid Band 6.0 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting less common items such as 'redundant', 'captivity', 'endangered species', 'substantially', and 'psychological distress'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. Examples include 'having such facilitiies are' (agreement error alongside lexical choice), 'outstanding accommodation service' (unnatural collocation when referring to a zoo), 'enlarging the population' (increasing would be more natural), and 'specie' (incorrect singular form; species is both singular and plural). Additionally, 'wild life' is repeatedly used instead of 'the wild'. These errors do not impede overall communication, placing the response firmly in Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional structures and relative clauses. There are, however, several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present. For example, 'having such facilitiies are' contains a subject-verb agreement error. Other issues include 'through the zoo's breeding programs helped in' (unnecessary preposition 'through' leading to a dangling structure), 'little amount of birds' (should be 'few'), and 'native habitation' (habitat is more accurate). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors occur, they rarely impede the reader's understanding. This performance aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

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

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