Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-24

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 4.0)

nowadays , an incresing number of people choose to continue their education after finishing school and universities offer a wide range of courses . i belive that this is a positive devlopment because it improves career opportunities and helps people develop useful skills

firstly , higher education provides people with better career opportunities . students can gain specialised knowledge and practical skill that help them find good jobs

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You state a clear position: you believe the increase is positive because it improves career opportunities and develops useful skills. The point about specialised knowledge helping students find jobs is relevant to the question. However, the response stops after introducing only one reason, and neither this point nor the skills argument is explained with examples or supporting detail. It also does not discuss the wider range of courses mentioned in the prompt. The required minimum length is not met: the response contains 68 words, so the task is addressed only minimally. To strengthen your response, develop both reasons in separate paragraphs, explain how they benefit individuals or society, and include a specific example before concluding.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic, understandable sequence: it introduces your opinion and then begins a first supporting point with “firstly”. This gives the reader a simple sense of direction. However, the response ends before the argument can progress, so there is no development of the second reason, concluding paragraph, or clear overall progression. The opening and supporting point are also presented as separate blocks without enough linking or explanation between them. Build a complete structure with an introduction, developed body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use linking expressions to show how each example supports your position, and refer clearly to ideas introduced earlier rather than relying on a single transition such as “firstly”.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “higher education”, “specialised knowledge”, “career opportunities”, and “practical skill”. These phrases make your main point understandable and show an attempt to use education-related language. However, the range is narrow because the response is very short, and several spelling errors—“incresing”, “devlopment”, and “belive”—reduce accuracy. Some expressions could also be more precise: “good jobs” is broad, while “practical skill” would be clearer as a plural or a more specific phrase. Expand your discussion using accurate terms for course choice, qualifications, employment, and transferable skills, and check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response communicates its basic meaning through simple sentence patterns, and the opening includes a reason clause with “because”. The sentence about students gaining knowledge and skills also uses a relative clause (“that help them find good jobs”), showing an attempt to add detail. However, the range remains limited, and errors in capitalisation and punctuation are noticeable: sentences begin with lowercase “nowadays” and “i”, and spaces appear before commas and full stops. The phrase “practical skill that help” also has a number-agreement problem between the singular noun and plural verb. Practise accurate sentence boundaries, capital letters, and agreement, then add a variety of correctly controlled complex sentences to explain examples and consequences.

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