Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-10
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 6.0)
The ongoing debate about whether children to make decisions on their own regarding everyday lives or to make choices on matters that mainly affect them is still in progress without any conclusion. This essay will discuss both perspectives before stating my opinion of why I believe allowing children to decide themselves regarding situations that affect them will be more effective.
On the one hand, giving over freedom to children to make their own choices about their lives including food, clothes, and entertainment will result in irresponsible attitudes and behaviors. To illustrate this, on family dinner occasion the individual will irritate for not allowing to choose their own food, if the child is given full priority to choose their own meals everyday, eventually disturbing the whole vibe of the party. In terms of clothes, they will spend more than required on buying their favorites which doesn't make any sense at all. Therefore, parents should control children and make their everyday decisions for certain age before giving them whole freedom.
On the other hand, restricting children to make their own decisions only in situations that affect them will make them responsible and provide awareness about the social circumstances. Decisions regarding higher studies, for instance, allowing children to choose their own course will reflect their interest and ensure them to excel in that particular field of study and contribute to the society. Henceforth, the children should be given ultimate freedom about their life choices and field of interests to encourage them to perform better in them.
In my opinion, allowing children to make their own choices about life since childhood will reflect their attitude towards parents in an harsh way. I believe giving them complete freedom after certain age will ensure peace and harmony within the family and in the society.
In conclusion, children shouldn't be allowed to make decisions regarding their everyday matters as it will change them to become selfish and self-oriented while, providing full freedom about decisions that will affect them will bring peace and awareness among individuals.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat inconsistent. While the first body paragraph provides a concrete example regarding dinner, the second body paragraph is more abstract. The conclusion introduces a slight contradiction: the prompt asks about 'everyday matters' (food, clothes), but the essay shifts to 'higher studies' as a separate category. The position is clear, but the distinction between 'everyday matters' and 'life choices' could have been more sharply defined to fully satisfy the prompt's requirements. Overall, the response is relevant but lacks depth in the supporting arguments.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Henceforth, the children should be given...' and 'In my opinion, allowing children to make their own choices... will reflect their attitude towards parents in an harsh way.' The latter sentence is confusing and does not logically follow the preceding argument. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences occasionally feels disjointed due to grammatical inaccuracies.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific language like 'social circumstances' and 'peace and harmony.' However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and awkward collocations, such as 'giving over freedom,' 'vibe of the party,' and 'in an harsh way.' The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but the lack of precision and occasional errors in word formation prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary is functional but lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for a Band 7.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'whether children to make decisions' (missing verb), 'on family dinner occasion' (article usage), and 'for certain age' (missing article). Some sentences are structurally flawed, such as 'the individual will irritate for not allowing to choose their own food.' While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. The student demonstrates an attempt at complex structures, but control over these is inconsistent, leading to a reliance on simpler, sometimes error-prone, phrasing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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