Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries these days, the number of people continuing their education after school has increased, and the range of courses available at universities and colleges has also increased.

Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In different countries nowadays or even worldwide the people, people from newer generation prefer to continue and pursue higher education after their school. Secondly the choice pallete for students has increased significantly than before allwoing them to select from a big selection of courses available at universities and colleges.

This does hold quite positive benefits and developments for the future not only of the students but instead the country too. By doing this the literacy rate in the country rises rapidly, meaning more people are getting education. Secondly the level of education has also climbed higher, Therefore more people recieve education and quality of education rises rapidly too. This development also has positive impacts on the country and its economy as its literacy rates rise, more educated people are available in the workforce because of which productivity levels rise, All of these factors combined together have a positive impact on the country's economy.

Moreover these events arrive with a series of negative side effects too. First of all more peope graduate with a higher level of education with more advanced degrees because of which there will be an excess of the labor force, this can negatively impact as there are more people looking to be employed but there are limited seats and vacancies, Meaning the country's unemployment levels can increase which can further lead to economic problems and bad reputation of the country, Also the people who pursued higher education did it for almost nothing if they dont get a job, then the degree isnt worth the time, effort and resources. In my opinion pursuing higher education is beneficial because if a person doesnt find a job at his home country then can apply and get jobs abroad.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the question by presenting higher education as broadly positive while acknowledging possible disadvantages, including graduate unemployment and wasted effort if graduates cannot find work. The point about applying for jobs abroad also supports your overall view. However, the position is not fully consistent: you first describe both positive and negative effects, then conclude that pursuing higher education is beneficial without clearly weighing the drawbacks. Several claims, such as education raising literacy and productivity, are relevant but remain general and are not supported with a specific example or explanation of how the wider range of courses contributes. Develop fewer points in more depth and make your judgement explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, and a paragraph on drawbacks followed by your view. Linking expressions such as “Secondly,” “Moreover,” and “First of all” help signal the sequence. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several claims are joined into long sentences, and the final opinion appears only at the end rather than guiding the discussion. Some connections are also mechanical or unclear, particularly the move from unemployment to the country’s reputation and then to the value of a degree. Use clearer topic sentences, separate distinct ideas, and make the relationship between each claim and its consequence explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “literacy rate,” “workforce,” “productivity levels,” “unemployment,” and “higher education.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas. However, the range is limited and several choices or combinations sound unnatural, such as “choice pallete,” “limited seats and vacancies,” and “bad reputation of the country.” Spelling errors, including “allwoing,” “recieve,” and “peope,” are noticeable and reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise academic collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, you could refer to “a wider range of courses,” “limited job vacancies,” and “damage to the country’s economic prospects.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including cause-and-effect structures with “because of which” and a conditional idea about finding work abroad. However, complex sentences are often poorly controlled, and punctuation frequently makes the relationships between clauses unclear. For example, “This development also has positive impacts on the country and its economy as its literacy rates rise, more educated people are available…” joins clauses incorrectly; use a full stop or a conjunction to separate the ideas. There are also errors in sentence construction, as in “then can apply and get jobs abroad,” where the subject is missing. Practise building shorter, complete sentences first, then combine them accurately.

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