Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-19

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 many places around the world, it has been observed that people are increasingly persuing further education after school, as well as various types of courses are also being taught in undergraduate studies and in highschool both. I believe, this is a positive development as it will promote more awareness to ongoing trends and people will not be limited to a certain set of curriculum. Also, it would promote and help individuals to land good opportunites.

Firstly, as it is said that education is the key to sucess and if people will be more aware and be able to learn beyond their curriculum and go for higher education it will broaden their horizons, they will be able to understand concepts and implement it in their everyday life. For example, if someone is persuing a finance degree, it can help an individual in its daily routine like financing decisions and be able to save for the future as well as compare to someone who is ust studying it at surface level will never learn its depth and it wont be fruitful.

Moreover, previously it was just the same old curriculum, with same boring subjects that everyone knew at some point but if more courses are taught and also more knowledge is gained it is never harmful but it can help an individual help the society, help business and help themselves and do good for both society and themselves.

So, this change in educational institutions will bring a positive wave of change and will benefit individuals and society as a whole in terms of knowledge, practical life and employment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider the growth in further education and course choice positive, and you give relevant reasons involving practical knowledge, employment and benefits to society. The finance example helps illustrate how study can inform everyday decisions. However, the response addresses the two developments unevenly: it says more about further education than about the wider range of courses, and several claims remain broad. For instance, the point that new courses can “help the society” is not explained with a specific example of how. Develop each main reason with a clear explanation and a concrete illustration, and make the link between course variety and the benefits you identify more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two supporting paragraphs and a conclusion, and signposts such as “Firstly” and “Moreover” help show the order of ideas. The overall progression is understandable, but connections within paragraphs are sometimes repetitive or unclear. In the second body paragraph, “help an individual help the society, help business and help themselves” repeats “help” and does not clearly distinguish the benefits. The finance example also runs through a long sentence, making the comparison difficult to follow. Organise each paragraph around one main point, then explain it in shorter, clearly linked sentences. Use referencing and linking expressions precisely rather than relying mainly on basic signposts.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “higher education,” “curriculum,” “finance degree,” “employment” and “broaden their horizons,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “help,” “good” and “change,” and some combinations are unnatural, including “promote more awareness to ongoing trends” and “positive wave of change.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, for example “persuing,” “sucess,” “opportunites” and “wont,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise academic collocations and check spelling carefully. Replacing repeated general terms with specific language about skills, career prospects and social contribution would make your argument clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional and subordinate structures, such as “if people will be more aware…” and “if someone is persuing a finance degree…”. However, complex sentences are often faulty or difficult to control, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. For example, “I believe, this is a positive development” has incorrect punctuation, while “they will be able to understand concepts and implement it” has unclear agreement and reference. The finance example also combines several ideas in one sentence without clear grammatical boundaries. Practise accurate conditional forms, subject–verb agreement, pronoun reference and sentence boundaries. Building shorter, correct sentences before combining ideas will improve control.

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