Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-20

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 6.5)

Nowadays, the number of individuals continuing their education after school has increased; however, the range of courses available at universities and colleges has also increased considerably in many countries compared with the past. I believe it is a positive development because students can choose their preferred specializations and follow their interests in various fields.

One of the primary reasons I believe that it is a positive development as it provides opportunity to learn skills that is required by the organizations for job roles. This is because many people are not able to get practical education in the school due to lack of facilities available. As a result, more and more people opt for postgraduate courses to get better career opportunities in the future. For example, according to one article, in the Times of India many people often continue their studies even after completing their higher secondary because they lack technical skills, which is required in almost any profession.

Another reason I support this view is that it helps people to follow their interests in a particular domain as graduation schools now offers a wide range of courses. This is mainly because many individuals discontinue their further studies with regard to limited choices or less interesting subjects. For instance, in many countries, graduate schools offering a wide range of subjects led to more enrollments because students can opt for the subjects according to their interests. Consequently, more individuals can pursue their higher studies, helps creating a labour of skilled professionals, that directly contributes the economic growth of the country.

In conclusion, I firmly maintain that it is a positive development because many students can take it as a chance to refine their practical knowledge, while offering wide range of courses usually help them to pursue their further studies in their choice of domain; hence, it directly contributes to the nation's GDP.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by clearly stating a position from the outset that the trend of increased higher education and course variety is a positive development. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant explanations regarding practical skill acquisition and personal interest alignment. For instance, the writer notes how postgraduate courses help individuals secure better career opportunities due to a lack of practical education at school. While the reasoning is logical and the position is clear throughout, the development of ideas occasionally leans towards generalisation, such as the broad claim regarding economic growth and GDP in the conclusion. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 7, as it covers all parts of the prompt with a clear position and supporting arguments, though some extensions could be more thoroughly explored.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, moving smoothly from the introductory position to body paragraphs focused on practical skills and personal interests, and finally concluding. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'One of the primary reasons', 'As a result', and 'Consequently', which help connect ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally a bit mechanical or slightly repetitive in sentence openings, preventing it from reaching a higher band. Nevertheless, the progression of ideas remains easy to follow, aligning well with the Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, such as 'specializations', 'postgraduate courses', 'practical knowledge', and 'technical skills'. Less common lexical items are attempted, demonstrating an awareness of style and collocation in academic writing. However, there are some word-choice and collocation errors that prevent a higher score, such as 'graduation schools' instead of 'graduate schools' or 'universities', 'helps creating' instead of 'helping to create', and 'contributes the economic growth' missing the preposition 'to'. Despite these minor inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the message clearly, fitting the Band 6.0 to 6.5 profile, and is safely awarded a 6.0 due to the frequency of minor slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-style structures effectively. However, there are several grammatical errors scattered throughout the text. For example, the clause 'One of the primary reasons I believe that it is a positive development as it provides opportunity' contains a structural breakdown. Additionally, there is a subject-verb agreement or form error in 'skills that is required' instead of 'are required', and 'helps creating a labour of skilled professionals, that directly contributes the economic growth'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of grammatical mistakes in complex structures limits the score to a Band 6.0, as these errors require the reader to occasionally re-read parts of the text.

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