Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-22

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many parts of the world girls and boys are educated together in co-educational or mixed schools. Some people think that girls and boys benefit from being educated separately in single-sex schools. To what extent do you agree with this view?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience. Write at least 250 words.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

I do not agree with this stance at any cost and there are many logical arguments to stand in its opposition. Co-education from the very beginning provides both the genders with confidence and respect for each other. That is because psychologically they grow up together as a part of community studying with each other due to which they really don't feel distinctive. On the other hand, single-sex schools can put students in a bubble of curiosity about the interaction with other genders which usually develops into desparation or dire need which ultimately causes harrasment culture to come into existence. That is because when the both genders have never interacted or studied with each other, one cannot know how to act or react. They would treat or talk with them in the same way, they used to do with their same-sex friends which is the root cause of all problem because it is a scientifically proven thing that both the genders have unique traits for communication. The one major example that can be quoted is the Madrassah (Qur'anic School) Culture in Pakistan where we usually see cases of sexual harrasment from the teachers to the students. It is because the teachers don't have any interactions with the female due to being religiously conservative except their wives and that results in seeing everyone near to them as a sex object. Therefore it can concluded that one should go for co-education so that they can develop respectful and meaningful interaction with the other gender.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response clearly presents a firm position against single-sex schools, arguing strongly for the psychological benefits of co-education. The writer addresses the prompt directly and supports their perspective with arguments regarding social confidence and the prevention of gender segregation issues. However, the development is somewhat limited by being confined to a single, very dense paragraph. While the ideas are relevant and supported by a specific example regarding the Madrassah culture in Pakistan, the lack of paragraphing means the ideas are not fully extended into distinct, well-rounded supporting points. Consequently, the response aligns best with Band 6, where relevant ideas are presented, but some aspects of development and structure are restricted.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay suffers significantly from a lack of paragraphing, appearing as a single, unbroken block of text. This makes the overall visual and structural progression heavy and difficult for the reader to navigate. While basic cohesive devices are used to link ideas—such as 'That is because', 'On the other hand', and 'Therefore'—the mechanical nature of these transitions and the absence of clear paragraph breaks prevent the essay from achieving higher levels of logical organisation. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the lack of an introduction and conclusion format typical of Task 2 essays pulls the coherence score down. This performance is reflective of Band 5, where there is some organisation, but overall progression is hindered by poor paragraphing and repetitive cohesive devices.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common and topic-specific items such as 'psychologically', 'desparation', 'harassment culture', and 'sex object'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('desparation', 'harrasment') and occasional awkwardness in word choice and collocation, such as 'cause harrasment culture to come into existence' rather than 'foster a culture of harassment'. Despite these flaws, communication is not impeded, and the meaning remains clear throughout. The range of vocabulary used and the attempt to discuss complex sociological concepts fit the Band 6 descriptor well, where the student has an adequate range for the task with some inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating the ability to construct multi-clause sentences using subordinating conjunctions like 'when' and 'because'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, such as missing articles ('the female' instead of 'females' or 'women'), incorrect prepositions ('interactions with the female'), and comma splices or unnecessary commas ('in the same way, they used to do'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur regularly enough to disrupt the fluency of the reading. This grammar profile aligns closely with Band 5, featuring a limited range of structures where attempts at complex sentences often contain faulty phrasing or frequent errors.

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

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