Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-14

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

A huge number of students choose to study English independently on a self- study basis rather than attend a formal course. However, without the assistance of a teacher, students often find it difficult to manage their studies.

To what extent do you agree or disagree ?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In the modern age, a huge number of students choose to study English independently on a self-study basis rather than attend a formal course. However, without the assistance of a teacher, students often find it difficult to manage their studies. I firmly subscribe to the view that students usually prefer self-study because it allows them to bring able their skills. They can get online lectures and explore their mind. This is clearly exemplified by artificial intelligence. Many tools such as ChatGPT, Meta AI and Cloud, these apps deliver online lectures. Due to internet, they can learn different topics in a very good way. A further point of worthy consideration is that without the guidance of a teachers, students often find it difficult to manage their time and studies. Teachers discuss things in easy way so that students can easily understand and these things remain in their mind. Teachers can read their minds. And also give them some useful tips and tricks to memorize lessons. Accordingly, I remain fully convinced that learning online is a good thing, but it cannot take place of teachers. Teachers are considered the backbone of our society. They can teach their students according to their mindsets. For this purpose, governments should work to improve the education of teachers. They should also develop some important communications tools that help students to improve their vocabulary. They can read an easy English article, short stories. They also have ability to speak aloud on different topics such as about their aims, life and hometown.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both self-study and the role of teachers. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention AI tools like ChatGPT, the explanation of how they facilitate learning is brief. The argument regarding the necessity of teachers is clear, but the transition between the benefits of self-study and the importance of teachers is slightly disjointed. To improve, ensure that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-developed point with specific examples that clearly support your position. The conclusion introduces new ideas about government policy, which is slightly off-topic as the prompt asks for your opinion on the difficulty of self-study versus formal instruction.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow between them is sometimes weak. You use some cohesive devices like 'Accordingly' and 'A further point', but the connection between the ideas within paragraphs is occasionally repetitive. For example, the discussion about teachers repeats the idea of them 'reading minds' or 'understanding' multiple times. Paragraphing is present, but the final paragraph feels like a list of suggestions rather than a cohesive conclusion that summarizes your main argument. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring each sentence builds logically upon the previous one would improve the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You use some basic phrases like 'very good way' and 'easy way', which are repetitive and imprecise. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'bring able their skills' (likely meant 'bring out' or 'hone') and 'take place of teachers' (should be 'take the place of'). To reach a higher band, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education and technology, while avoiding overly simplistic descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'without the guidance of a teachers' (plural noun error), 'Due to internet' (missing article), and 'they can learn different topics in a very good way' (awkward phrasing). There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage throughout the text. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with articles and pluralization, would be highly beneficial.

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.