Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-25

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 6.0)

A larger number of people around the world choose to pursue tertiary education. Due to this trend, many different kinds of subjects are offered by universities and colleges. I think that it is a largely positive development because it increases individuals' chance of securing a better job and becoming financially independent.

To begin with, today's job market is highly competitive. The employers look for candidates who are highly skilled and have a deeper technical knowledge. A majority of the school graduates become ineligible as their technical knowledge is very limited. Furthermore, companies want to hire individuals who can quickly cope with their work culture without the need of extensive training sessions. Many undergraduates and postgraduates have better adaptation skills as they have been taught about various aspects of corporates during their classes. For example, when I was pursuing a bachelors degree in engineering, our college frequently arranged classes and tutorials in which students learnt about how to work in a corporate. The tutorials were helpful as they helped many students to easily cope with the changing business environments.

Furthermore, often higher education is related to financially independency. Many educated individuals have highly paid jobs due to their extra-ordinary academic and practical skills. As people have a highly paid jobs, they become financial independent in their lives. Moreover, such individuals can afford luxuries such as expensive cars, foreign trips, bigger residences and many more. The thought of such benefits motivates many school graduates to continue their education.

In conclusion, continuing further education is a positive development as students will learn better skills and have better knowledge about the various subjects that learn at a university. Also it would help many people to become financially independent in their lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments regarding job market competitiveness and financial independence are relevant and supported by personal experience. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the second and third paragraphs, where the focus on 'financial independence' and 'highly paid jobs' overlaps. To reach a higher band, the student should aim to explore the broader societal or economic implications of increased tertiary education beyond just individual financial gain. The conclusion is a bit simplistic and merely restates the introduction rather than synthesizing the main points effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. For instance, the phrase 'highly paid jobs' is used twice in close proximity, which affects the flow. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a distinct thematic focus would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'tertiary education', 'competitive', and 'undergraduates'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'financially independency' (should be 'financial independence') and 'extra-ordinary' (should be 'extraordinary'). The repetition of basic terms like 'highly paid jobs' and 'better skills' limits the lexical range. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise synonyms and ensuring correct word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. Examples include 'The employers look for' (should be 'Employers look for'), 'need of extensive training' (should be 'need for'), and 'subjects that learn at a university' (should be 'subjects that students learn'). Punctuation is generally correct, but the sentence structure could be more varied to demonstrate greater flexibility. The errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.