Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-08-20

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)

English is a very keen subject that every student wants to learn fluently. Learning English by themselves is not what i agree in my opinion.

First of all there is a need of assistance of a teacher to get the right knowledge through the right channel. Student by themselves cannot cope to the level of teacher's knowledge. Moreover students can't get the knowledge through internet the way their teachers give them because of diversity in teaching

Students should do self learning at home period, but they cannot get to where there teacher wanted them to be. In addition to that teacher always teaches a student like their own because its their job to do it so, it is what they are getting paid for

Student should attend a course in my opinion to get more learning in an advance way which might help them to get a better future for themselves. Students should often learn English outside the class also but in a way that they can get more knowledge

I firmly disagree that students want to learn and study English by themselves because it is not right for them or for their future. I believe that student should always attend a regular coaching class or attend school class where they can get on point knowledge and can experience the new way of learning through various teaching styles of their teacher in English.

In addition to that in English there are so many sub topics in it where different kind of teacher is needed with different kind of skill set to teach them and to get their doubts straight .

To conclude that i disagree that should should learn or study English by themselves

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against self-study. However, the development of ideas is limited and repetitive. For instance, the argument that teachers are 'paid to do it' is simplistic and lacks depth. The essay would benefit from more nuanced exploration of the benefits of formal education, such as structured curriculum, peer interaction, or immediate feedback, rather than repeating the same point about needing a teacher. The ideas are relevant but remain at a surface level, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. While some cohesive devices like 'First of all', 'Moreover', and 'In addition to that' are used, they are often mechanical and sometimes used incorrectly. The flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed, particularly in the third paragraph where the transition from self-learning to the teacher's motivation is abrupt. Paragraphing is present, but the ideas within the paragraphs do not always build upon each other effectively, leading to a repetitive structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive, often relying on simple phrasing like 'get the right knowledge' or 'get a better future'. There is limited evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic language. Some word choices are imprecise, such as 'English is a very keen subject', which is not a natural collocation. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the frequent use of generic terms restrict the score. To improve, you should focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to education.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'teacher always teaches a student like their own'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'there teacher wanted them to be'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences and missing commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable and demonstrate a lack of control over more complex grammatical forms.

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

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