Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-05

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)

nowadays , the number of students in colleges has increased , as well as the range of courses at universities .

this fact can in no way be a bad thing if you use it right .

first of all , we are living in a world where you got to chase opportunities , to look forward a good job and to try hard to garant a good future , especially with the development and the digitalisation .

so i believe that an ambitious person have to seek whatever road to be in the flow and left behind , because , if you don't , you are not stuck in you place , you are going back .

and the easiest , and smartest road , is education .

universities open many doors to make the student ready , mentally and by the knowledge he gets to start his work life with the minimun risk

for example , i am a very shy person , with not a very perfect personality , and i had nothing to do after graduating high school .

i was lost , not able to figure out what am i able to do , especially because all my life was about studying and being the first of my class .

if i didn't choose to continue my studies , i would be jobless , with a naive personality , and surely depressed .

thank to this decision , i met a lot of people , i left alone , i took responsability of all my life , my choices and my career , and here i am a doctor that aims to continue her master degree abroad , because you can't get enough from knowledge , i wanted to be a doctor who knows all about artificial intelligence and who can be able to use it in her clinic so that i combine my two degrees , and why not more ? we never know .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the positive nature of increased higher education opportunities, but the development remains limited and under-developed in places. The writer takes a clear stance that this is a positive development, especially regarding career prospects and personal growth. However, the arguments rely heavily on personal anecdotes rather than broader societal analysis. For instance, the discussion moves quickly from general statements about digitalization and the job market directly into a personal narrative about being shy and graduating high school. While this personal experience is relevant, it lacks the broader extension required for higher bands. To improve, the writer needs to broaden the scope of ideas, exploring wider economic or social implications with more fully elaborated supporting points.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some overall organization and the essay is readable, but the progression of ideas lacks clear overall momentum. Cohesive devices are minimal, and sentences are frequently linked in a simplistic or repetitive manner, such as starting multiple sentences with 'and' or 'so'. Paragraphing is a major weakness; the entire body of the essay is presented as a single, massive block of text without appropriate separation between the introduction, main body arguments, and personal examples. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transition from abstract arguments about the job market to the author's personal story is abrupt. To achieve a higher band, the writer must use paragraphing to structure the response logically and employ a wider range of cohesive devices to manage the relationships between ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to communicate the basic argument. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items, such as 'digitalisation', 'ambitious', and 'artificial intelligence', but these are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling. For example, the student writes 'garant' instead of 'grant', 'left behind' instead of 'be left behind', and uses phrases like 'minimun risk' and 'took responsability'. These vocabulary slips and spelling errors occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted lexical control. To progress, the writer should focus on expanding their vocabulary range, ensuring accurate spelling, and mastering natural word collocations and appropriate word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic coordination. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, these are often faulty or poorly controlled, such as 'an ambitious person have to seek' (subject-verb agreement error) and 'not able to figure out what am i able to do' (incorrect indirect question word order). Frequent errors are present throughout the text, including punctuation issues like lowercase 'i', missing articles, and awkward prepositional phrases. These errors require some effort from the reader to interpret the intended meaning. To reach higher bands, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures and improve the overall accuracy of verb forms, tense consistency, and punctuation.

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

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