Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-22

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 5.0)

A huge number of students choose to study English independently on a self-study basis rather than attend a formal course in university because students think that we studied English from our childhood and we understand each and every word of English so we do not need any guidence from teacher but they do not understand the difference between studying and understanding.

Lot's of students think that watching movie or reading newpaper helps them understanding English which is not wrong but to study English with the help of teacher who understands each and every aspect of English is a different and positive thing. Because that teacher had done masters or PHD in English literature and he is in university for a particular reason to educate students.

I completely agree that student without the assistance of teacher will find it difficult to manage their studies because going into college or university not only provide you education but gives you knowledge of right and wrong, makes you punctual, and tells you to respect your elders.

I think students choose to study English independently because they do not want to get up early in the morning and go to university so they prefer to study in their own home whenever and whatever they want and It is not a good thing.

In conclusion, I will say that students will find it difficult to study English if they do it by them selves. They should attend a formal course to manage their studies and also they need proper guidence from teachers to what is good for them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that students find it difficult to study English independently and should attend formal courses. However, the development of ideas leans heavily on generalisations and personal assertions rather than fully extended arguments. For instance, the writer states that university makes you punctual and tells you to respect elders, which touches only tangentially on the core issue of language acquisition and self-study management. While all parts of the prompt are addressed, the ideas remain somewhat under-developed, and the progression relies on repetitive statements about teachers having Master's degrees or students wanting to sleep in. This places the performance firmly at Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text demonstrates some overall organisation, but logical progression is hindered by poor paragraphing and a lack of clear cohesive devices. The essay consists of very long, run-on sentences that lack appropriate punctuation, making the progression difficult to follow at times. For example, the first paragraph is a single massive sentence containing multiple clauses connected loosely with 'because' and 'so'. Reference words are occasionally unclear, such as shifting pronouns from third-person plural to first-person plural ('students think that we studied'). Paragraphing is attempted, but the links between paragraphs are weak, resulting in a mechanical and repetitive structure that fits the Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on everyday phrasing such as 'huge number of students', 'each and every word', and 'good and bad'. There are noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'guidence', 'newpaper', and 'them selves', which cause some minor difficulty for the reader. While the writer attempts some less common items like 'independently', 'assistance', and 'formal course', the limited range and recurrent lexical errors restrict the score to Band 5. The phrasing often resembles spoken English rather than an academic essay style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. The text is characterised by a lack of basic punctuation, resulting in extremely long, complex sentences that are run-on and grammatically faulty. For instance, the opening sentence spans several lines without a single full stop, stringing together multiple subordinate clauses incorrectly. There are frequent errors in verb tense consistency and subject-verb agreement, such as 'student without the assistance of teacher' and 'Lot's of students think'. The range of structures is limited and error-prone, meaning the writing cannot achieve a Band 6. These frequent errors occasionally cause strain for the reader.

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

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