Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-21

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)

The modern advances of agriculture have not been able to solve the problem of hunger and many people around the world still go hungry.

Unfortunately, techonological advancements in agricultue has not helped in reducing world hunger. These technologies improved per acre crop production, but these same technologies have made food more expensive. The increased cost of production due to these modern machinery leads to the increased prices of crops and ultimately every kind of food. This expenisve food still remians out of reach for many low-income families and these families go hungry. For instance, framers have to rent or buy modern thresher machines to separate grain seeds and to balance their annual investment and yield they have to sell their crops at higher prices.

These modern machineries has increased the price of food but still are substantially important for the agriculture sector and can not be simply discarded. Government's can play a significant role in reducing hunger by supporting farmers economically. If government's provide subsidies to farmers for buying the expensive seeds and renting the machinery like threshers it would reduce the financial burden on farmers and encourage them to keep farming and even encourage them to reduce the prices at which they sell their crops. If their investment on their crop decreases and they are financially supported by government, farmers might be in a better condition and could reduce the selling price of crops.

In conclusion, we can say that technological advancements are not always the answer to every problem like world hunger. Even though these machineries have increased the cost of production but they are still substantially important to the agriculture industry and this is where the government step in and play their role in reducing world hunger.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and maintain a relevant focus: you explain that machinery and other inputs raise production costs, then propose government subsidies to reduce farmers’ expenses. The thresher example helps illustrate the cause. However, the explanation is narrow and partly unclear: higher production costs do not necessarily mean that modern technology itself makes food more expensive, and the response does not consider other causes such as unequal distribution, poverty, conflict, or food waste. The proposed solution is also developed mainly through its effect on farmers’ costs, with little explanation of how support would ensure that food becomes affordable or reaches hungry people. Develop a broader, more carefully qualified explanation and connect each solution directly to hunger reduction. The response meets the stated length requirement; eight words copied from the prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph explaining a cause, a paragraph proposing action, and a conclusion. This makes the main direction easy to follow. However, progression within the paragraphs is repetitive: the claim that machinery raises costs and that subsidies could lower them is restated several times, especially in the solution paragraph. Linking phrases such as “For instance,” “If,” and “In conclusion” are used, but the relationships between some claims need clearer explanation. For example, show explicitly how subsidies would lead to lower retail prices and improved access, rather than repeating that farmers might reduce crop prices. Use clearer topic sentences and develop each point once, in a logical sequence, with references that make the links between ideas unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “crop production,” “financial burden,” “subsidies,” and “low-income families,” so the reader can understand the central argument. There are also attempts at more specific terms, such as “thresher machines.” However, the range is limited by repeated use of “modern,” “machinery,” “increased,” and “prices,” and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate. “Modern machineries” is not the natural plural form, while “balance their annual investment and yield” does not clearly express the intended idea. Several spelling errors, including “techonological,” “agricultue,” “expensive” misspelled as “expensive” in the text, and “framers,” are noticeable and reduce accuracy. Build a wider set of precise terms for food access, production costs, and distribution, and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If governments provide subsidies … it would reduce the financial burden.” This shows an effort to express cause and effect, but the conditional form is inconsistent: use “If governments provided …, it would reduce …” or “If governments provide …, it will reduce …”. Agreement and sentence construction errors also occur, for example, “These modern machineries has increased” should be “This modern machinery has increased” or “These machines have increased,” and “the government step in” should be “the government steps in.” Apostrophes are incorrectly used in “Government’s” and “government’s” when the intended meaning is plural “governments.” These recurring errors sometimes make sentences less clear. Practise agreement, conditional patterns, and accurate sentence editing.

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