Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-18
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 recent decades, significant advances have been made in agriculture. In modern agriculture, many technologies have made irrigation systems more productive, allowing farmers to get better results and increase crop production. However, despite this, most of the people in the world are hungry. In this essay, we will discuss the reasons and solutions to this problem.
One of the main reasons is that food is distributed unequally; it cannot reach the exact place where it is needed. The transport system is very weak; food does not reach the areas that need it most. The weak infrastructure and the political conflict can mostly disrupt the food chain. Mostly, poor people can be affected by these problems because they have no resources to buy food, and in these situations they do not have any work. For example, very poor people can buy food only if it is available in the market.
On the other hand, another reason is that there are climate issues, and floods can damage the crops badly. It can disturb the agricultural system; it can break the backbone of the farmers because the farmers work hard in their fields, and their families completely rely on the crops. For example, recently in Pakistan, floods can destroy all the crops; it is a very difficult time for the farmers to see their loss with their own eyes.
In conclusion, it can be a very serious issue when crops are distributed incorrectly. To solve this problem, the Government and international organizations can work together to improve transportation and reduce poverty.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the prompt by identifying reasons for global hunger (unequal food distribution, weak infrastructure, political conflict, and climate issues/floods) and suggesting solutions (governments and international organisations working together). However, the ideas are somewhat generalized and lack deep development. For instance, the discussion on food distribution and climate change is introduced but not fully extended with precise global economic explanations. While the position is clear and all task requirements are covered adequately, placing the response within the Band 6 descriptors, the arguments would benefit from more concrete global examples rather than a singular brief mention of Pakistan.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing specific aspects of the prompt, and a brief conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as distribution issues versus climate problems. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and repetitive, with phrases like 'One of the main reasons is that...' and 'On the other hand, another reason is that...'. Referencing is generally clear, but transitional flow between sentences occasionally feels stilted, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor where cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to agriculture and global issues, such as 'irrigation systems', 'crop production', 'infrastructure', and 'international organizations'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, though precision is occasionally lacking, such as 'break the backbone of the farmers' or 'crops are distributed incorrectly'. Spelling and word-choice errors are minor and do not impede communication, supporting a solid Band 6 performance for lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'However, despite this, most of the people in the world are hungry' and 'In modern agriculture, many technologies have made irrigation systems more productive, allowing farmers to get better results...'. There are some noticeable grammar and tense errors, particularly in conditional or hypothetical contexts like 'recently in Pakistan, floods can destroy all the crops', where past tense should be used instead of present modal forms. However, these errors rarely impede communication, placing the grammatical control squarely at Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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