Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-21

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 the modern world, individuals have less opportunities for entertainment beyond the screen. Zoos are a key source for entertainment and knowledge not only for the childern but also for the adults. Therefore, I disagree the idea of closer of the zoo.

Normally, animals kept in zoos are for the entertainment for youngers and children. People visit them and enjoy the presence of wild animals near to them. Visitors learn a lot of things from zoo. For instance, without reading books and literature about animals, zoo is a place where animals' behavior, diet, likes and dislikes can be observed. Zoology is an independent discipline upto doctoral level studies. The scholars, perhaps, cannot go to the jungles for their research purposes. Generally, they only visited the zoos and collect data relating to their research.

Contrary to the above, freedom or liberty is the basic right of every living creature. They are also supposed to live in their own culture and society where they can exhibit their norms. Although, management of a zoo provide necessary environment, food and company to the animals, these are somehow artificial and may be substandard. To deprive them from their requisite environment is unfair and unjustice. As far as the concern of mating and need of partner is necessary for humans, animals also need the same. I have seen mismanagement and poor arrangments in zoos which are being handled by the humans.

In conclusion, for the sake of entertainment and knoewledge the closure of zoos is not a good idea and the zoos shall provide entertainment and knowledge to the individuals. However, it may be hoped that in futurer the arrangements by the management shall be better in the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position against the closure of zoos and supporting it with reasons related to entertainment, education, and academic research. The writer acknowledges the opposing view regarding animal freedom and welfare, which adds balance to the argument. Ideas are generally well-extended, such as the point about zoology students conducting research in zoos. However, some arguments feel slightly generalised or lack deeper elaboration, keeping the task response at a solid Band 6.0 or 6.5 level. For instance, the discussion on animal mating needs and management issues in the third paragraph is relevant but somewhat brief. Overall, the student covers the prompt adequately and maintains a clear, consistent stance throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into four coherent paragraphs with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing both sides of the issue, and a conclusion. Logical progression is generally maintained; the second paragraph discusses benefits like education and research, while the third shifts to animal welfare concerns. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transitional phrases like 'Contrary to the above' are used awkwardly, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'these are somehow artificial' where the antecedent is slightly vague. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate main ideas, but the overall mechanical nature of cohesive devices places this criterion firmly at a Band 6.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'independent discipline', 'requisite environment', and 'exhibit their norms'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that detract from the overall quality, including 'childern' instead of 'children', 'closer of the zoo' instead of 'closure of the zoos', 'youngers' instead of 'young people', 'up to' written as 'upto', 'unjustice' instead of 'injustice', 'arragments' instead of 'arrangements', 'knoewledge', and 'futurer'. These errors do not impede communication since the meaning remains clear, but they prevent the score from reaching a higher band. A more careful proofreading habit would greatly elevate the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as 'Zoos are a key source for entertainment and knowledge not only for the children but also for the adults' and 'Visitors learn a lot of things from zoo.' However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward prepositions throughout the text, including 'have less opportunities' (fewer), 'disagree the idea' (disagree with), 'zoo is a place' (zoos are places), 'they only visited' (they only visit), and 'As far as the concern of mating' (As far as the need for mating is concerned). Punctuation and article usage are also occasionally faulty. These errors occur with some frequency but rarely impede overall understanding.

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

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