Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-13

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)

The large number of students prefer to study English independently on a self study basis instead of attending a formal course.From my personal perspective majority of the people choose to learn English independently due to less confidence and resources. Although without the assitance of a teacher learning english is tough, it protect the embarrassment of speaking wrong words.

It is often argued by researchers that learning and speaking english require more confidence than learning other subjects.This is because when students are learning and speaking English, it requires practice. Furthermore, learning english is a face to face communication. Therefore in order to avoid humiliation and embarrassment after speaking wrong word, students prefer to learn English independently. Thus,the main approach students use for learning English is mirror.It helps them to boost confidence and do not require a person for teachnig.Through independent study students learn English,yet the students suffer from wrong understanding and learning issues.

On the other hand, if students learn through a assistance of teacher it will an easy process.The professional tecahers know the weak point of students and they also guide students by suggesting different books.Furthermore,the teachers know how to taught new skills in less time.For instance, in matric my teacher suggested me a English Martin grammer book.This book help to understand the basis of english sentence structure.

To conclude, most of the students who prefer learning English independently lack confidence.In my opinion majority of students learn through self study but it is not a good choice.As self study consumes more time and energy.In addition ,the chances of mistakes has also increased if students learn through social media or self learning.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both independent study and teacher-led learning, and your position is that self-study is common but not a good choice because it takes more time and can lead to mistakes. The discussion of confidence and embarrassment is relevant, as is the example of your teacher recommending a grammar book. However, the extent of your agreement is not fully clear at the start: you acknowledge that self-study protects students from embarrassment, but do not explain how strongly you agree with the claim that learners struggle to manage without a teacher. Several points, such as the claim that researchers say English requires more confidence, are asserted rather than supported. Make your position explicit and develop each reason with a clear explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph about self-study, a contrasting paragraph about teachers, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “Therefore,” and “On the other hand” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is sometimes difficult to follow because several points are compressed together, particularly the shift from embarrassment to using a mirror and then to problems with understanding. Some links are mechanical, and references such as “It helps them” require the reader to infer what “It” refers to. Improve cohesion by grouping one main idea per paragraph, using clearer references, and explaining how each example supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “independently,” “confidence,” “humiliation,” “professional teachers,” and “sentence structure.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making meaning less clear. For example, “the main approach students use for learning English is mirror” and “a assistance of teacher” are not natural expressions. Spelling errors such as “assitance,” “tecahers,” and “grammer,” along with inconsistent capitalisation of “English,” are also noticeable. Build a bank of accurate phrases for discussing learning methods, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses beginning “Although” and “when,” and you use connectors to express cause and contrast. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to read. Examples include “it protect the embarrassment,” “it will an easy process,” “know how to taught,” and “This book help.” These show problems with subject–verb agreement, verb forms, and sentence construction. Articles and plurals also need attention, as in “a English” and “wrong word.” Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb, then review articles and singular/plural forms.

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.