Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-09-29

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)

It is often argued that a large amount of students prefer to learn english on their own instead of attending a formal course, but due to lack of help form tutors they can not manage their studies effectively. I completely disagree with this view as studying independently can be very cost effective and time-saving.

One main reason why i agree with students learning english by themselves instead of attending a formal course is that it can cut many costs. Students do not have to get enrolled into expensive programs just to learn english when they can learn it from sites like youtube and grammarly completely for free. Apart from it students usually spend a lot on fuel while commuting towards their campus. This can also be reduced by remote learning. For example, in my third year of university, our classes were shifted online because of ongoing protests in the city, which i loved because it reduced my fuel costs a lot as my university was too distant from my home.

Another significant reason why i agree with students studying english by themselves is that it can be very time-effecient. Students do not have to spend hours just to reach campus and spend same time on their way back home. It can cause fatigue and this can reduce their productivity. In today's world, time is a very valuable thing specifically for students and they should invest it in healthy activities. For example, when our classes shifted online during covid, we had a plenty of time to interact with our parents and study effectively.

In conclusion,I completely disagree that students who want to study english by themselves can find it difficult to manage it, without help of their teachers as studying independently can be both cost effective and time-saving.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear, well-defined position throughout the response. The introduction clearly states total disagreement with the prompt's premise, and this stance is maintained until the conclusion. Two main supporting ideas are introduced: financial savings and time efficiency. However, the development of these ideas shows a slight contradiction or confusion in the writer's reasoning regarding the prompt. Specifically, the student states in the body paragraphs 'One main reason why i agree with students...' and 'Another significant reason why i agree...', which contradicts the initial statement of complete disagreement with the prompt. Despite this logical hiccup in wording, the arguments regarding cost and remote learning are extended with personal examples from university life. Band 6 reflects an attempt to address the prompt fully, though some ideas regarding agreement versus disagreement are slightly unclear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement and follows a standard four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Information and ideas are generally presented in a logical sequence, moving from financial benefits to time management benefits. However, referencing and cohesive devices are at times faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Apart from it' is awkward, and capitalization is occasionally neglected, as seen with 'i' instead of 'I'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, but the internal logical flow is slightly disrupted by the contradictory phrasing noted in the task response analysis. Overall, the organizational structure is clear enough to guide the reader without excessive difficulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'cost effective', 'time-efficient', and 'productivity'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice inaccuracies, such as 'english' instead of 'English', 'form' instead of 'from', 'can not' instead of 'cannot', and 'time-effecient' instead of 'time-efficient'. Furthermore, collocation is occasionally strained, as seen in phrases like 'get enrolled into'. Despite these vocabulary and spelling errors, the range used is minimally adequate for communicating the writer's arguments, and the errors do not severely impede overall comprehension. To reach a higher band, the student needs to demonstrate more control over less common vocabulary and improve mechanical accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional-like structures, such as 'Students do not have to get enrolled into expensive programs just to learn english when they can learn it from sites like youtube...'. There are, however, frequent grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text. These include missing capitalizations at the beginning of sentences and for the pronoun 'I', comma splices and run-on structures, and minor prepositions errors like 'commuting towards' instead of 'commuting to'. While these errors are noticeable and detract from the polish of the writing, they rarely impede overall communication, as the core meaning of each sentence remains discernible. A greater focus on punctuation control and sentence boundary demarcation is needed for improvement.

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

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