Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The most important aim of science should be to improve people’s lives. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

For centuries, science has played a vital role in the development of modern technology which is being widely used by people in their daily life. However, now many research organizations are heavily investing money on irrelevant projects like space exploration and modification of defense systems instead to work on those projects which can improve the living standards of a person. I strongly agree with the notion that government should invest money in science projects to improve people's lives for some reasons.

Initially, modern science is now researching and inventing the unnecessary gadgets like modern missile systems and armed vehicles for the defense purpose but all these things consume wealth of the country which can be used for health sector to improve its facilities to provide a better place for patients and even a better hospital environment for doctors. For example, in UK and Italy, everyone can access medical treatment without any cost and the hospital's environment is also satisfying there. Now many other countries are inspiring from these nations and making reforms in health sector.

Secondly, science education can also be improved if countries invest more on modern studies instead of old theoretical syllabus without any research major. Basically, modern education is the most important factor which can improve the people’s lives and communication. Education can develop any nation within no time if government start giving attention to it. For instance, some South Asian countries are now focusing more on research based education by getting inspiration from developed countries where this investment gave so much benefits to those countries.

In conclusion, I believe that modern science should be used to research to fulfil the basic needs of people which can improve their life instead of investing on irrelevant things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The ideas are relevant, focusing on the redirection of funds from defense/space to healthcare and education. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'unnecessary gadgets' is a broad generalization that lacks nuance. While the position is clear, the supporting examples (e.g., mentioning UK and Italy healthcare) are brief and could be more deeply integrated into the argument to show how they specifically relate to the 'most important aim of science.' The conclusion is a bit repetitive and does not fully synthesize the points made in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially,' 'Secondly,' and 'In conclusion' are used to signal the progression of ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition between the discussion of defense spending and the example of healthcare in the UK/Italy feels slightly abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is a bit repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'improve people's lives' or 'improve the living standards.' Overall, the structure is coherent, but the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'research organizations,' 'defense systems,' and 'theoretical syllabus.' However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly unnatural collocations, such as 'without any research major' or 'consume wealth of the country.' The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, the student should focus on using more academic collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'investing money on' (should be 'in'), 'instead to work on' (should be 'instead of working on'), and 'are inspiring from' (should be 'are inspired by'). Additionally, there are minor issues with article usage and pluralization, such as 'in UK' (should be 'in the UK') and 'gave so much benefits' (should be 'provided so many benefits'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score. The student should focus on subject-verb agreement and prepositional accuracy.

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

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