Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-24

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)

It is often argued that keeping animals as prisoners in zoos is unnecessery .this issue has generated considerable debate,particularly regarding animals freedom ,from my own prespective i partially agree with this situation that animals should not be prisoned , however i also believe that zoos are somehow benificial to get to know animals in a better way.

The primary reason why i partially agree is that animals are a part of nature ,this is mainly because they are not supposed to be staying in closed caves mistreated by the workers , with the lack of suitable balanced food, in other words, they were used to be free ,using their habits getting the nutrition they needed ,so putting an alive creature between iron bars is considered punishment a clear example of this can be seen in criminals, putting a human being in prison is because he admitted a crime , so why should we treat an innocent animal this way.

One of the reasons that made me partially agree and not fully agree is that zoos can be benificial to a specific category of people which are the younger generation ,they are particularly important because they help childrens getting to know animals better see them in real life and petting them,especially animals that cant be found in the public enviroment for instanse lions and giraffs.

In conclusion , i partially agree with freeing animals from zoos because of the mistreating and the lack of nutrition with believing that making zoos a better suitable place for animals will give the chance to childrens to learn about them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and state a consistent, qualified position: you oppose keeping animals in poor conditions, while recognising that zoos can help young people learn. The comparison with human imprisonment gives a clear reason for your view, and the examples of seeing lions and giraffes make the educational point relevant. However, some ideas are not fully developed. For instance, you claim that zoos can be made more suitable, but do not explain what changes would improve animal welfare or how this would affect your position on closing zoos. The educational benefit is also asserted rather than weighed against the harm to animals. Develop these points with explanation and a specific example to make your argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting different considerations, and a conclusion that restates your position. Phrases such as “The primary reason” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The second body paragraph begins “One of the reasons that made me partially agree and not fully agree,” which is difficult to follow, and the first paragraph’s comparison between animal captivity and human imprisonment needs a clearer link to the main claim. Several long sentences join multiple ideas with commas, making the progression harder to track. Use clearer topic sentences and divide complex points into shorter sentences, while making the relationship between each reason and your position explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “mistreated,” “nutrition,” “iron bars,” and “younger generation.” These choices help communicate your concerns about animal welfare and the educational role of zoos. There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as describing animals as “prisoners.” However, spelling errors and inaccurate word forms are noticeable, including “unnecessery,” “prespective,” “benificial,” and “childrens.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “petting them” as a general educational benefit and “public enviroment” for places where animals are not normally encountered. Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations; this will make your meaning clearer and your vocabulary more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because” and “which,” and your main ideas are generally understandable. However, some sentences are overloaded or inaccurately constructed, which limits clarity. For example, “this is mainly because they are not supposed to be staying in closed caves mistreated by the workers” combines several ideas without a clear grammatical relationship. There are also errors in agreement and sentence boundaries, as in “they help childrens getting to know animals better see them,” and the opening has a full stop followed by a lowercase “this.” Work on separating ideas into complete sentences, using infinitives after “help” consistently, and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation. More accurate control of these patterns would strengthen your argument.

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

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