Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-25

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)

Continuing higher education after school is a rapidly growing trend nowadays. Range of courses are avilable at college level for students. It has some advantages and disadvantages. I believe that it is positive trend as it increases rate of literacy and better productivity.

On the one hand, literacy rate and level of education determine the modernization of a society and culture. Induviduals seeking higher professional education such as medical, engineering and computer science successfully achieve higher ranks in society. They can serve the country better for their services and valuable contributions. Inaddition, educated people can be source of financial stability of a country and help generate revenues and sending remmittances if they work abroad in the future.

On the other hand, continues education at higher level may pose financial problems for students and their families especially in developing countries where pople have to self finance their studies. Moreover, this approach delays the starting of job worsen the situation.

Moreover, many conservative societies stressed upon early marriages of their children. Studying after school may delay in age of marriage and can leads to social problems.

In conclusion, education in universities and college have more advantages than disadvantages. The government should promote free education at higher level to produe more professional for better productivity and innovation. These people are important assest of a country and should be supported by national funds.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view that the growth in higher education is positive, and you address both benefits and drawbacks. The points about professional qualifications contributing to society and the financial burden on students are relevant. However, several ideas are asserted rather than explained: for example, the link between studying later and “social problems” is not made clear, and the claim about remittances needs a specific explanation or example. The response is also below the required 250 words, which limits the space available to develop and support your arguments. To strengthen the response, explain each main point with a concrete example and make the connection to your positive overall position explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body sections presenting advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. This gives the reader a coherent overall arrangement. Linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the argument. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes abrupt. The final point about early marriage is introduced with another “Moreover” but is not clearly connected to the preceding discussion, and the conclusion adds a policy recommendation without developing it earlier. Use topic sentences to group related ideas, vary linking expressions, and add explanatory transitions so that each point follows logically from the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “higher professional education,” “financial stability,” “revenues,” and “innovation,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “valuable contributions.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: “avilable,” “Induviduals,” “remmittances,” and “assest” are examples. Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “delays the starting of job” and “source of financial stability.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, for example, “delays entry into the workforce” and “contribute to a country’s financial stability.” This would make the vocabulary more precise while retaining your relevant range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “where people have to self finance their studies” and the conditional phrase “if they work abroad in the future.” Meaning is generally understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction remain. For example, “Range of courses are available” needs an article and singular agreement (“The range … is available”), while “education in universities and college have” has a subject–verb agreement problem and inconsistent number. The sentence “Moreover, this approach delays the starting of job worsen the situation” is structurally incomplete because the ideas are not joined correctly. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, and use conjunctions or punctuation to connect related clauses accurately.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.