Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-15

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)

The more number of people are choosing further education after schooling and the number of courses availability and colleges also rises in numerious countries nowadays.I think it is positive development beacuse it strengthens students skills and expand their knowledge.

on the one hand, students are more cautious about their further education as a result, colleges and course availabilities are increasing and it is beneficial in both the ways economically and educationally. furthermore importance of education is promoted and students become more knowledgeable and smart so they can fetch good opportunities in future. for example, individuals only with schooling education attracts less opportunities than graduates and postgraduates.This shows skills and knowledge importance and therefore it has more positive developments than its detrimental effects.

On the other hand, it is also seeen as a negative development beacuse of the high amount of cost is required to get admission in the university so it is difficult for poor students. Additionally, students earning period gets postponed and they need to manage all expenses by own till then. for instance, school students start earning immediately after schooling as compared to graduate or postgraduate student as they are not enrolled for the other courses or for colleges.

In conclusion, besides its negative effects on society and students, positive developments are more crucial and outweigh its disadvantages. so by considering its detrimental effects, students should be focused on the effectiveness of degree and complete their further education. I firmly believe that studying further is more beneficial for the betterment of the students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both positive and negative aspects of increasing higher education and course availability, ultimately taking a clear position that it is a positive development. Key ideas are presented, such as skill enhancement, better career prospects, financial costs, and postponed earning periods. However, the development of these ideas remains somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument that graduates fetch better opportunities is supported by a very brief comparison rather than a deeply elaborated example. Similarly, the counterargument regarding costs is introduced but lacks substantial exploration. This places the response comfortably at Band 6.0, as all parts of the task are addressed with relevant ideas, though some areas are under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a generally coherent overall arrangement with standard paragraphing dividing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The student attempts to use cohesive devices such as 'on the one hand', 'furthermore', 'for example', 'on the other hand', and 'in conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, sentences often begin without proper capitalisation, and transitional phrases do not always seamlessly connect ideas. The progression of thought is clear enough to follow, but logical organisation suffers slightly from repetitive sentence structures and mechanical linking. This performance corresponds to a Band 6.0 in Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, touching upon terms like 'further education', 'detrimental effects', and 'postponed'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'The more number of people', 'courses availability', and 'earning period gets postponed'. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'beacuse' and 'numerious'. While the writer attempts less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in form and collocation prevent the score from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary used is minimally adequate to convey meaning, fitting the Band 5.5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at subordination with words like 'as a result', 'so that', and 'whereas'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are frequent errors in basic sentence structure (e.g., 'The more number of people are choosing'), missing capital letters at the beginning of sentences and after full stops, and punctuation slips. For example, 'nowadays.I think' lacks a space, and 'expenses by own' contains a preposition error. Although these errors do not severely impede overall communication, their high frequency across simple and complex structures restricts the grammar score to a Band 5.0.

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