Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-17

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In spite of the advances made in agriculture, many people around the world still go hungry.

Why is this the case?

What can be done about this problem?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In spite of the major advances in agriculture, millions people around the world still suffer from hunger. The main reason is the distribution of food is unequally and low income people cant afford it. However, governments and international organizations can play a part and take several safety measures to address this problem.

The major caused of hunger is poverty. Although modern farming techniques have increase food production, many poor people cant afford enough food. This is usually common in developing countries , people who belong from low income families cant buy it. For example, farmer may grow enough crops for his family but due to drought he's unable to harvest them. Maybe he dont have extra money to buy food from market. Additionally, political condition ,wars and countries who suffer from natural disasters, also face shortage for food. People cant transport food in affected areas.

Another significant issue is unequal distribution of food. Many countries produce large amount of food and even waste massive quantity, while others face shortages. Its really difficult to transport food to remote areas because poor communities didnt have well constructed roads, proper storage systems for food.

On the other hand, government should invest in rural infrastructure, water irrigation system and provide proper food storage facilities. This can also help farmers to protect their crops and transport to the market on time. Moreover, government and international organizations should take measures and provide emergency to provide food in affected areas from war or natural disasters. At the same time, stop wealthier countries from wasting food.

In conclusion, hunger will exist because of poverty. If we increase the production or increase modern farming but it will continue due to not equally distributed food. Until or unless we work on several areas , we will never be able to control it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the reasons behind global hunger—specifically poverty and unequal food distribution—and potential solutions such as investing in rural infrastructure and international disaster relief. The position is clear throughout the essay. However, some ideas are under-developed or briefly stated, such as the mention of political conditions and wars, which lack concrete elaboration. Examples provided, such as a farmer struggling during a drought, help support the arguments, although they tend to be somewhat general rather than fully extended. These characteristics align well with the Band 6 descriptors, as all parts of the task are addressed with relevant main ideas, but some areas require deeper exploration and more thorough development to achieve a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct topics, such as causes in the second and third paragraphs and solutions in the fourth. However, progression is sometimes hindered by mechanical or faulty cohesive devices, such as abrupt transitions and referencing issues (e.g., 'This is usually common in developing countries , people who belong from low income families cant buy it'). Additionally, some sentences within paragraphs feel disconnected, and internal cohesion lacks smoothness. These features fit the Band 6 descriptor, where information and ideas are generally coherent, but cohesion within and between sentences is occasionally faulty or repetitive.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'agriculture', 'international organizations', 'infrastructure', and 'natural disasters'. There are, however, noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'The major caused of hunger' instead of 'cause', 'distribution of food is unequally' instead of 'unequal', and 'provide emergency to provide food'. Spelling mistakes like 'dont' (missing apostrophe) and grammatical word-form slips also appear. While these lexical errors occur, communication is not impeded, and the vocabulary remains minimally adequate to convey the intended meaning, which places the response securely at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination with 'although', 'while', and 'if'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are numerous errors in verb agreement, tense consistency, and missing articles (e.g., 'millions people', 'farmer may grow', 'he dont have', 'countries who suffer', 'poor communities didnt have well constructed roads'). Punctuation errors, such as spacing before commas, are also frequent. Although these errors are noticeable and require the reader to occasionally reread, they rarely impede overall communication. This performance aligns with Band 5, as the control over complex structures is limited and frequent errors persist.

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

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