Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Summit Mastery · 2026-10-23

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)

Studying without guidence is just like a being expert in our own scenario because there's no one who can point out our mistakes. However, on the other hand self study boosts confidence and enhance student's ability to do work alone without the help of tutuor, both methods carry equal advantages and disadvantages.

As we can see, actual study in the class room or in tuition has many benifits because there's continuous guidence a student can gain from the tutor and learn things more accurately and more effectively. If pupil got any difficulty while doing work or solving any equation, he/she can ask from its mentor without any hesitation and by without wasting time. But this available support and guidence from the mentor lead students towards the lack of confidence as it snatch the ability of self thinking from the students, in such kind of scenarios most of the time students stays dependent on guide.

On the hand, self study is a method which boost student's way of thinking and enhace their ability to think alone, to make decisions quickly without opinion of others. Students who study alone in their home are more confident and more groomed than those who rely on teacher and choose to study in physical classes. Their ability to solve problems is more stronger and they avoid unneccessary techniques which are taught in formal courses. But at some point if they need any sort of assisstance they might seek help from guide or from internet.

In my opinion, both the methods are fair but students who study independently are more confident and sharp minded.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both independent study and formal teaching, and your final view—that both have advantages but independent learners may become more confident—is identifiable. However, the response only partly answers the precise question of whether students struggle to manage their studies without a teacher. Much of the discussion compares confidence and problem-solving, while the difficulty of planning, maintaining progress, or knowing what to study is barely addressed. The claim that classroom support can reduce confidence is relevant as a counterpoint, but it needs clearer explanation and a specific example. To strengthen the response, state your degree of agreement directly in the introduction and develop reasons that focus on managing study, such as setting goals or correcting misunderstandings.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph about formal classes, one about self-study, and a concluding opinion. This gives the reader a coherent overall arrangement, and transitions such as “On the hand” signal a change in focus. However, progression is sometimes weakened by unclear links between claims. For example, the opening says independent study means there is “no one who can point out our mistakes,” but the next point shifts to confidence without explaining how these ideas connect. Some references, including “this available support” and “such kind of scenarios,” are also imprecise. Use topic sentences that directly address study management, and connect each example to the paragraph’s main claim rather than relying mainly on broad transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use a range of relevant vocabulary, including “continuous guidance,” “dependent,” “self-thinking,” and “solve problems,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited by repeated words such as “students,” “study,” and “guide,” and several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable: “guidence,” “benifits,” “enhace,” and “assisstance.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “more stronger” and “ask from its mentor.” These issues make parts of the response less fluent and precise. Build a bank of accurate phrases for education and independent learning, and check spelling and collocations carefully. More precise terms such as “manage their workload” and “receive feedback” would help address the question directly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if they need any sort of assistance they might seek help” and longer sentences using “because” and “however.” This shows some variety, but control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “self study boosts confidence and enhance,” where the verb does not agree with its subject, and “If pupil got any difficulty,” which has problems with the article and verb form. The sentence beginning “But this available support” also has an unclear structure, while “students stays dependent” has subject–verb disagreement. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject, correct verb form, and complete clause; shorter, accurately controlled sentences would improve clarity.

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

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