Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-15

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that allowing children to make their own choices on everyday matters (such as food, clothes and entertainment) is likely to result in a society of individuals who only think about their own wishes. Other people believe that it is important for children to make decisions about matters that affect them.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

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

Student answer (Band 6.5)

In the recent days, it has become normal for children to make their own decisions without any supervision or guidance from elders. There are avanages to this approach, such as improved critical thinking and decision making strategies in the early days. However, there are also disadvantages to this. I will be discussing both the views in the following paragraphs.

On the one hand, Children that are used to making day to day decisions on their own, such as food, clothes and entertainment to name a few, are more independent and are confident with their normal life. In addition, they improve in terms of decision making growing as a result of learning from their mistakes early on in their lives. Furthermore, children who choose to decide themselves, tend to be smarter when it comes to choices they make as they grow up, mostly from real world experience. For instance, my cousin who lost his parents when he was three years old, has been making his own decisions in his life since then and now, he is definitely the smartest in the family.

On the other hand, Children who who decide for themselves about everyday matters and important life decisions, might end up being self obsessed, not caring about the consequences because of the freedom to make their own choices and an assumption that they are good themselves without any guidance. Also, Individuals that are used to taking things in to their hand early on in their lives, might end up making bad financial choices, or relationship choices, or life choices, in general.

To conclude, It is crucial to let children make their own decisions in the everyday matters in order to teach them responsibility and critical thinking as they grow up. However, It is improtant that they are under the supervision of elders or let someone else decide for them until a certain age so that they are old enough to make their own choices appropriately and think about the consequences in the later stages of their lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. The ideas are relevant, such as the benefits of independence versus the risks of self-obsession. However, the development of these points is somewhat superficial. For instance, the example of the cousin is a bit anecdotal and could be more effectively linked to the broader societal implications mentioned in the prompt. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully extended with more nuanced reasoning rather than just listing potential outcomes. Overall, the task requirements are met, and the position remains consistent throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into four paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'In addition', and 'To conclude' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as the repetitive use of 'Children' at the start of sentences. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is generally easy to follow, though the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking phrases to connect ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'supervision', 'consequences', and 'responsibility'. However, there are occasional inaccuracies and spelling errors, such as 'avanages' instead of 'advantages' and 'important' misspelled as 'importan'. The range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, but it lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. Expanding the use of collocations and more academic synonyms would significantly enhance the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'In the recent days' (should be 'In recent days'), 'Children that are used to' (should be 'Children who are used to'), and the redundant 'who who' in the third paragraph. Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some unnecessary capitalizations, such as 'Children' and 'It' in the middle of sentences. The frequency of these errors does not impede communication, but they do prevent the essay from reaching a higher band for grammatical accuracy.

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

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