Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-21

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 6.5)

The given statement suggests that we no longer require animals to be kept in zoos, therefore zoos should be closed.

I personally agree with the given statement. Wildlife environments are necessary for the physical and mental well-being of animals. Keeping animals in zoos can be more harmful than we assume. Animals trapped in cages can lose their hunting skills, and may account to depression and stress due to being surrounded by people everyday. This practice may change their behavior over time, by making them more aggressive towards visitors.Trapping animals is extremely unethical as animals are bound to a cage for human entertainment. I have visited multiple zoos in my locality and abroad, and have always come to notice how their behaviors were different than those in wildlife safaris.

One alternative to combat this situation are safari trips, where people can see animals in their natural habitat. This way the animals remain mentally and physically healthy, have lower chance of having mental health concerns, and do not lose any of their natural hunting skills. One of many benefits of safari trips is that people may be able to see animals freely, and learn better about them, compared to if they were trapped in zoos. This aids in better exploration of features and traits of wild animals.

To conclude, even though it can be entertaining, zoos have contributed to alot of harm to wildlife and remain extremely unethical; however, alternatives like safari trips exist with which we can explore wildlife arguably more as compared to zoos.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction, and you maintain agreement throughout. You give relevant reasons, including animals’ loss of hunting skills, stress in captivity, and the ethical concern of keeping them for entertainment; your personal observations also help make the argument relevant. The alternative of safari trips addresses what might replace zoos. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained: for example, you say safaris help people “learn better” and “explore” wildlife, but do not give a specific example of what visitors learn or how safaris avoid harm to animals. The response covers the task well overall, but developing and qualifying these claims more fully would make the argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction stating your view, a paragraph explaining the harms of zoos, a paragraph presenting safaris as an alternative, and a conclusion. Ideas generally progress logically, and linking expressions such as “One alternative” and “To conclude” help guide the reader. Some connections are less smooth or precise, however. The first body paragraph moves quickly from animal welfare to your personal visits, without explaining exactly what you observed. In the safari paragraph, several benefits are listed in similar sentence patterns, and “This way” has a somewhat unclear reference. To strengthen progression, connect each example explicitly to your main claim and vary the transitions rather than relying mainly on signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “physical and mental well-being,” “hunting skills,” “natural habitat,” and “ethical.” These choices make the subject clear, and you attempt more specific language than basic terms alone. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, such as “may account to depression,” “lower chance of having mental health concerns,” and “exploration of features and traits.” “Alot” is also a spelling error, while “everyday” should be “every day” in this context. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they reduce naturalness and precision. Aim to learn common word partnerships and choose concise expressions, such as “contribute to depression” and “observe animals’ characteristics.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including subordinate clauses in “even though it can be entertaining” and “compared to if they were trapped in zoos.” Most sentences communicate your meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. In “One alternative to combat this situation are safari trips,” the subject and verb do not agree; use “One alternative … is.” The sentence “Animals trapped in cages can lose their hunting skills, and may account to depression” also has a faulty construction, and “visitors.Trapping” needs a space after the full stop. There are some awkwardly joined or overloaded sentences, particularly in the conclusion. Review agreement, sentence boundaries, and clause construction, while continuing to use complex forms.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.