Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-22

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)

In today's era, the proper utilization of science is a matter of controversy; many think that improving people's daily lives should be the most crucial purpose of science. I strongly agree with this statement. In the forthcoming paragraph, I will explain my opinion.

First of all, the development of science and technology, it has a profound impact on our day-to-day life. For example, the invention of energy has made our lives much easier than ever before; at present, individuals can travel from one part of the world to another within a few days, which was once regarded as impossible to achieve. In addition, using science in the medical sector as well as in home appliances has made our life much easier. Such as, the invention of several vaccines is considered a lifesaver for many countries, such as those in Africa.

However, science is also being used in the destruction sector. Many nations are applying science to manufacture destructive weapons. One such example is the nuclear bomb. In the Second World War people first came to know the heinous use of science when the USA attacked Japan with a nuclear bomb. Resulting killing thousands of people. In this modern era, we definitely do not want such destruction again. People prefer to use science only to make their lives safe and comfortable.

In conclusion, the foremost aim of using science should be to only to improve people's lives.In my opinion, science has so much to offer to humankind. However it depends on how we choose to utilize it. Every nation should use it only to benefit the humankind.

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 response addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear and consistent position that the most important aim of science should be to improve people's lives. The student presents relevant supporting ideas, such as the benefits of energy transport and medical advancements, as well as counter-arguments regarding the destructive applications of science like nuclear bombs. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or briefly stated, such as the reference to vaccines in Africa, which lacks further extension. Overall, the prompt is fully addressed and a clear stance is maintained throughout the essay, aligning well with the Band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs discussing benefits and dangers, followed by a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'First of all', 'In addition', 'However', and 'In conclusion'. However, some referencing and transitions feel a bit mechanical or faulty, such as 'First of all, the development of science and technology, it has a profound impact', which creates a double-subject error. Paragraph sequencing is logical, yet overall progression can be improved for better flow and sophistication, fitting the Band 6.0 profile.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and phrasing such as 'profound impact', 'day-to-day life', 'heinous use', and 'humankind'. However, there are notable lexical and collocational inaccuracies, such as 'in the destruction sector' instead of 'for destructive purposes', and a repetition of phrasing like 'made our lives much easier'. Word choice errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the essay from reaching higher lexical bands. Spelling is generally accurate throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses ('which was once regarded as impossible') and conditional or temporal framing. There are, however, several noticeable grammatical errors and awkward punctuation marks. For example, 'Resulting killing thousands of people' is a fragment error, and 'should be to only to improve' contains a redundant preposition. Another structural glitch appears in 'First of all, the development of science and technology, it has...'. Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, placing the essay comfortably at Band 6.0.

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

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