Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-24
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)
Science plays an important role in modern society, and many scientific discoveries have made our lives easier and safer. I largely agree that improving people's lives should be the main aim of science, althogh science also has other important purposes.
Firstly, science can improve people health and quality of life. For instance, medical research has helped scientists develop vaccines, medicines and better treatments for serious diseases. As a result, people can live longer and recover from illness more easily. In addition, scientfic developments in technology have made daily activities more convenient. Smartphones, computers and the internet allow people to communicate and access information quickly.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The student has attempted the prompt by addressing the core topic of whether science should aim to improve people's lives, expressing a clear position of agreement. However, the response is severely underdeveloped and cuts off abruptly after only two paragraphs. The most critical issue is that the text contains only 104 words, which falls far short of the mandatory 250-word minimum for IELTS Academic Task 2. Because of this severe under-length, the task cannot be fully addressed or the ideas properly extended and supported. According to official IELTS guidelines, responses falling significantly below the word count threshold cannot achieve a passing band score for Task Achievement, restricting the score here to a 4.0, despite the relevant ideas presented.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
Within the limited text provided, the writing shows a basic logical organization. The introduction clearly states the writer's position, and the first body paragraph begins with an appropriate discourse marker ("Firstly,") and follows up with a relevant supporting example ("For instance, medical research..."). However, because the essay is incomplete and cuts off mid-argument, overall progression is limited, and there is no concluding paragraph. Paragraphing is also insufficient due to the missing conclusion. Cohesive devices are used simply but appropriately in the sentences that do appear, preventing the score from falling into the lowest bands. Overall, the structural framework is present but lacks full realization.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for discussing the topic of science and health. Appropriate topic-related terms are used correctly, such as "scientific discoveries," "medical research," "vaccines," and "daily activities." There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary like "convenient" and "communicate." However, there are a few minor lexical and spelling errors in the text, most notably the spelling mistake "althogh" instead of "althought/although" and "scientfic" instead of "scientific." Because the range is somewhat limited and constrained by the brief length of the response, it fits comfortably within the Band 6 descriptor, where an adequate range is displayed despite occasional inaccuracies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The student displays a reasonable mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Examples include the compound-complex sentence structure in the introduction ("Science plays an important role... and many scientific discoveries...") and relative clauses such as "medicines and better treatments for serious diseases." Grammatical accuracy in the completed sentences is generally good, with proper verb tenses and subject-verb agreement. While there are minor typos ("althogh"), these are spelling errors rather than structural grammatical failures. The grammar does not impede communication at all. However, due to the very short length of the text, the overall range of grammatical structures demonstrated is limited, capping the score at a solid 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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