Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-23
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)
It is undoubtedly true that people nowadays are becoming academically stronger. Many Individuals plan for graduation after completing their school life throughout the world. Furthermore, colleges and universities are providing wide opportunities of education to students. I think it is a positive change for our education system. In this essay, I will share my thoughts with examples.
To commence with, one major benefit of a wide range of courses is that students can find better career paths with proper education, which allows students to become professional in chosen career with certification. In other words, students may be able to acquire high paying jobs. For example, students who come from sports backgrounds have multiple options, such as a masters in exercise, a bachelor in sports management these kinds of courses. As a result, after completing their school students can go further for their higher education with variety of courses.
Moreover, another major benefit of a variety of courses is that students can change their courses after spending a few months. For example, if a student has not been enjoying his chosen course, he would have a chance to change to another course. Consequently, students' career would be safe not only is this approach helpful for their career, but it also allows students to study different kinds of courses.
In my personal opinion, i think whenever we find large range of facilities, we actually be able to find perfect one for us. For example, in India there are a few number of medical courses have been implemented by education minister, and students are becoming more interested for graduation after schools.
To sum up, although it could be confusing for students to have this range of variety, it can help students to acquire better career opportunities with their interest.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
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, including improved career prospects and the option to change courses. The sports-course example helps illustrate how different programmes can lead to specialised work. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The point about changing courses is asserted rather than explained—for instance, you could clarify how flexibility reduces the risk of students remaining in an unsuitable programme. The India example is also unclear and does not show specifically how the increase in courses benefits students. To strengthen the response, explain each main idea in more depth and connect examples directly to the question of whether this is a positive or negative development.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present benefits, and a conclusion restates your position. Linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “For example,” and “To sum up” help signal the stages of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. In the second body paragraph, “Consequently” does not clearly show how changing courses makes a student’s career “safe,” and the sentence beginning “not only is this approach helpful” joins ideas awkwardly. The final opinion paragraph repeats earlier points rather than adding a clearly developed step to the argument. Use more precise links between claims and explanations, and organise each paragraph around one main point followed by its explanation and example.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “career paths,” “certification,” “high paying jobs,” and “higher education.” There are also attempts to express more specific concepts, such as “sports management.” However, the range is somewhat limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, which reduces precision. For example, “becoming academically stronger” is not a natural way to describe more people pursuing further education, and “a few number of medical courses” is awkward. Repetition of “students,” “courses,” and “major benefit” also limits variety. Aim to use more precise phrases for educational trends and career outcomes, and check that words combine naturally in English.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses such as “which allows students to become professional” and conditional phrasing such as “if a student has not been enjoying his chosen course.” Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “students can change their courses after spending a few months” needs a clearer time reference, while “students’ career would be safe” has a number mismatch and an unclear construction. The sentence beginning “Consequently” also has faulty punctuation and clause structure, and “whenever we find large range” is missing an article. Work on accurate articles, agreement, and punctuation when joining clauses, while continuing to practise complex sentences.
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