Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-29
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 has developed at an impressive rate and made our lives comfortable and secure in various ways. However, it's also taking a toll on the quality of living. Therefore, I would disagree that the most important aim of science is to improve people's lives.
Science has advanced by leaps and bound in this century. Exponential progess of science has sent human to the moon, rover to mars, and satellite across the galaxy. We have invented automated robots which can assemble hundreds of car in a day. Now, one can call his friend across the globe with a single touch of his smartphone through internet. With live telecast, we can see what is happening in suburbs of New York from Dhaka. Not only we conquered the sky with the help of science, we have dived into the deepest trench in the ocean and uncovered its mysteries. The natural human instinct of exploration has been the main driver throughout the epic progress of science and technology. The unquenchable thirst of knowing the unknown fueled the advancement of science.
In recent years, science has made human life easier in many aspects. But the cost of this comfort is often put to hindsight. We have better healthcare, better medication and low mortality rate. Currently, most jobs do not require physical labour due to automation. As a result, obesity is on rise. Industrial revolution has made our daily commodities cheaper. On the contrary, it has polluted our air, earth and water. Cancer is on outbreak due to our unhealthy lifestyle, poisonous air and polluted water. Therefore, science has impacted people's life in mixed ways. Evidently, the main goal of science was not upgrading the quality of life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses the prompt by taking a clear and interesting position that the primary aim of science is exploration rather than improving human life. The essay covers both the advancements of science and its negative consequences on society and the environment. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed, particularly the argument regarding why exploration is the true main driver, and the connection between the thesis and the examples could be extended further. For instance, mentioning examples like space exploration ('rover to mars') effectively supports the core premise. The stance is maintained throughout, fitting comfortably within the Band 6 descriptor range as it addresses all parts of the task while showing some tendency to over-generalise.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion appropriately. Ideas are logically sequenced, moving from the introduction of the stance to scientific achievements, and subsequently to the negative trade-offs of these advancements. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Therefore', 'Currently', and 'On the contrary' are used to guide the reader through the text, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in structure. Referencing is generally clear, and paragraphing serves to separate distinct themes effectively, supporting a solid Band 6 performance.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'unquenchable thirst', 'exponential progress', and 'low mortality rate'. However, there are notable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the text, including 'leaps and bound' (instead of 'leaps and bounds'), 'human sent' (missing article), 'car' (plural needed), 'put to hindsight' (misuse of idiom, likely meaning put aside or overlooked), and 'is on outbreak' (instead of 'is on the rise' or 'breaking out'). Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without severely impeding communication, placing it firmly at Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional-style constructions. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the response. Examples include missing articles ('sent human to the moon'), subject-verb agreement issues ('obesity is on rise', 'cancer is on outbreak'), and pluralization errors ('hundreds of car'). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally well-managed, and while errors are frequent, they rarely impede the reader's overall understanding of the text. This pattern of errors combined with a moderate range of structures aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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