Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-31

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)

Instead of animals being in cages, humans now prefer to look at them in their natural habitats. For this reason, zoos are losing its charm and other options such as safari parks or jungle tours in a safe vehicles are getting popular. Also, keeping animals inside cages and not treating them properly is inhumane. I agree that, captivating animals to make people entertain seems pointless as they have negative effects on the animals and there are better options.

Zoos have been famous for its recreational and educational purposes. Parents used to take their children to zoos to have fun, while learning about different kinds of animals. But in the zoos the condition of the animals were pretty vulnerable. As they had no free will, they had to live a life that was not natural. They used to be bred in captivity and forced to entertain people. For instance, if a tiger is sleeping and a child comes to see it, it'd be woken up. This affected animals mentally and physically.

However, now there are new alternatives that lets the animals stay in their own comfort zones. These options creates a way to show the children animals in their natural habitats. For example, in safari parks animals are not held inside any cage. They are free to roam around and live their own lives. People are instructed and regulated to not disturb them. In the past, when visitors came animals were forced to show up. But in safari parks either you will see the animal or not depends entirely on free will of the animal. This protects animals' rights better. Moreover, alongside animals, children can learn about plants, ecosystem and behaviors of animals. This has more educational value.

To sum it up, while zoos have been popular at a time and served as a common visiting place, the mistreatment of animals and better alternatives needs further attention to protect the animals. Animals are not only for entertainment. So, there should be better ways that would not disrupt their lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear: you agree that zoos should no longer keep animals, and this view is maintained from the introduction to the conclusion. You address the main issue with relevant reasons, including animals’ restricted lives and the availability of safari parks, and support these with examples such as the sleeping tiger and visitors being instructed not to disturb wildlife. You also explain educational benefits beyond simply seeing animals. These ideas are extended enough to support your argument, although some claims—such as safari parks being a better educational option—would be more convincing with a specific example or fuller explanation. The response addresses the task well, but a little more precise development would strengthen the case.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs develop the problems with zoos and the alternatives, and a conclusion restates the position. Ideas generally progress logically, and linking expressions such as “For instance,” “However,” and “Moreover” help guide the reader. There is some flexibility in how you connect examples and explanations. At times, though, transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the reference in “These options creates a way” is not fully smooth. The conclusion also introduces the broad point that animals are “not only for entertainment” without developing it. To improve, make links between claims more explicit and ensure each paragraph’s final point leads naturally into the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “natural habitats,” “bred in captivity,” “free will,” “ecosystem,” and “mistreatment.” These choices communicate the argument clearly, and some less common expressions show an effort to be precise. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “captivating animals” for keeping animals in captivity, “make people entertain,” and “in a safe vehicles.” There are also imprecise phrases such as “the condition of the animals were pretty vulnerable.” These do not prevent understanding, but they limit naturalness and precision. Aim to learn vocabulary in common combinations and check whether a word has the intended meaning before using it.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses (“while learning about different kinds of animals”) and conditional structures (“if a tiger is sleeping…”). Most ideas remain easy to follow, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “zoos are losing its charm” has a pronoun-agreement problem, “the condition … were” has subject–verb disagreement, and “These options creates” also needs agreement. Articles and number are sometimes inaccurate, as in “in a safe vehicles,” while “lets the animals stay” should agree with the plural subject. Review agreement, singular and plural forms, and article use. More consistent accuracy in these areas, alongside your existing sentence variety, would make the writing more controlled.

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.