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

The position of women has changed a great deal in many societies over the past 50 years. But these societies cannot claim to have achieved gender equality

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Nowadays, gender bias is a well-discussed subject. In addition, the females' situation has adjusted a fair amount in many countries over the past 50 years. However, it seems societies cannot accept these equal opportunities yet.

Although women's role has changed compared to the past, there are still many lacks and shortages. In many societies, such as the Iranian community, people and authorities cannot coop with equality. Most citizens have illogical prejudice, so, in these societies, females have limited choices in different fields of activities ranging from occupations to entertainment. An example can be seen in women's participation in social activities, and they cannot go to the stadium to watch football matches. It is forbidden if they went there; they would be imprisoned as a punishment. Consequently, women should wear limited clothes and have a hijab. Moreover, females can't choose their wearing, which is an unfair law that leads to restrictions for women to employ and hire in many different occupations and forces them to prevent physical activities that they desire to do. So, in many areas still, gender equality has no meaning.

However, it is advisable to pay attention to some superb female conditions that have been switched. In the previous decades, they could not have social activities or careers. They used to take care of children or cook. But, these days, they have equal job opportunities. Great jobs range from driving trucks to managing big companies. All in all, countries are really far from complete gender biases.

In conclusion, the improvement of equal opportunities cannot be ignored, but there is a long way to achieve this goal ultimately.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student addresses the prompt by discussing the extent of gender equality over the past 50 years, taking a clear position that societies have not yet achieved complete gender equality. The response covers both the ongoing restrictions women face, supported by specific examples such as dress codes and stadium bans in the Iranian community, and the improvements in job opportunities. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or generalise rapidly, such as the concluding remark 'countries are really far from complete gender biases,' which contains a minor lexical mismatch. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed with a clear position throughout, aligning well with the Band 6.5 or Band 7 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing separating the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Although,' 'Moreover,' 'Consequently,' and 'However,' to signal shifts in arguments. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes a bit mechanical, and cohesion occasionally feels slightly abrupt, particularly in the transitions between paragraphs. For instance, the phrase 'superb female conditions that have been switched' is awkward and disrupts the logical flow. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but overall progression could be smoother to secure a higher band score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items like 'prejudice,' 'participation,' and 'restrictions.' However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'females' situation has adjusted,' 'many lacks and shortages,' 'cannot coop with equality,' and 'prevent physical activities that they desire to do.' Additionally, phrases like 'superb female conditions' are unnatural and imprecise. While communication is not severely impeded, these frequent lexical slips limit the vocabulary score to a Band 5.5 or Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures like 'if they went there; they would be imprisoned.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include tense confusion in 'if they went there; they would be imprisoned,' awkward phrasing in 'females can't choose their wearing,' and incorrect prepositions or verb forms. While the student attempts complex structures, control is inconsistent. These frequent errors place the grammar performance firmly within the Band 5.5 range.

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

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